The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-02 00:00:00

THE NEW CRYSTAL PALACE.

-
Tho first column of this marvellous structure will be
raised on Thursday next by Mr. Laing, M.P. the chair-.
man of the Crystal Palace Company. Sine% our last
repoit of the arrangements contemplated by the pro.
jectors of the undsrtakirig, the preliminaries for carrying
out.thdroughly the comprehensive design have been cone
*eluded, and a thousand hands are already at work, that
faith may be kept and the bedding, thrown open to the
public, on the Ist of May, 1853.
We are happy to be able to state that, so far as the
Government are concerned, no impediment will be
thrown in the way, end that there is now no fear of the
peoete's losing their palace on the day on which they
can best avail, theinseVves- of its many means of eleva-
tion and refinement When the directors of the Crustal
Niece Company applied some few weeks since to Lord
Derby for a oharfer, they communiceted to his Lord
chip the terms upon which they proposed to open
the building and' grounds on Sundays. They were
of opinion that wadi after one o'elick no trains
ebould run from Lendon, and the Crystal. Palace itself
should be. strictly closed. After that hour they pro-
posed to throw open the park and the winter garden, but
not to exhibit those departments of the building which
will partake exclusively of 'a , manufacturing and cem-
inercial character, the intention being to devote a certain
Onion of the space to specimens of manufactures, Fee:,
which the public will be invited upon • certaid conditions
to display. 'ln the third place, the directors undertook
that on Sunday no spirituous liquors should be sold in
their grounds. On Monday last Lord Derby requested
an interview with the directors,. who, with Sir J. .Pax-
ton, waited upon the Premier and the Home Secretary
in Downing-street. At this meeting his Lordship ac-
quiesced in the stipulations proffered by the Crystal Pa-
hice Company, suggested a- few trifling variations, and
'promised to grant the' required charter.
Before the first column of the gie,antic edifice is raised,
it will be interesting to trace the various modifications
which the design of the Crystal Palace has under-
gone, from the celebrated blottingpaper sketch of Sir
Joseph Paxton to its present state, as about to be
erected by the Crystal Palace Company, with all the ins-
provements which thee° engaged upon it have been able
to suggest. • • •
A will be remembered that the fir design submitted
to the, Royal Commission by Sir Joseph. Paxton was a
building in three steps, consisting of a nave and four
side aisles, straight from end to end. But, in order to
meet the tequirements of the Building Committee, a
transept was added in the centre; and when it was de-
cided Unit the large trees should be preserved and en-
closed within the building, this transept was moved east-
ward, thus dividing the building unequally, and, for she
purpose of covering the trees, an arched roof, similar
to the Chatsworth conservatory, was placed on the top
of it. It was, suggested by Sir Charles Barry to con-
tinue this arched roof over the nave of the building, but
the idea was abandoned owing, to the expense, and -the
fear that 'he difficulties; of construction might possibly
delay the opening of the Thieibition beyond the fiat of
May, 1851, It was felt universelly that tl+is feature
was wanting to render the Crystal Palace in Hyde-park
a perfect building, and it was one of the earliest deci-
sions of the Crystal Palace Company that the new build-
ing should have a circular roof
.to the nave.. Other mo-
difications and improvements were .subsequently adopted
from the-requirements-of the site, 'and these we shall now
proceed to describe. .
Thiesite chesen, for the reeereetion of file• Crystal
talece is an irregular parellelogram of 300 acres, ex-
tending from the Brighton Railway, where it has a
frontage of 1,300 feet; between the Sydenham -end the
Anerky stations, to the road which borders the' top or
lltilsviche wood, where it has a frontage towards the road
of 3,000 feet. The fall from this point to the Brighton
Railway is 200 feets It was at once lett that the otily
position for the new building was en the summit of this.
bill, anclimmeeliately adjoining the read. The building
placed in thia.commandiug
,position will be visible from
London on the one side, and froui'a vast extent of coun-
try on the other. In 'consequence 'of the rapid fall of
the ground an additional st,ry became necessary on the
park front of the building; and this will remedy a de-
fect universally felt in the old building; viz., the little
elevation 'of the front.
By the choice of this site, also, a complete`chatige be-
came necessary in the external character of the build-
ing. . ha tin Hyde-park' had been the side here
became the front. The great length of the old building
prevented it being comprehended in one view; it. was
therefore shortened by 240 feet. A transept similar to
the .transept of the old: building was placed at each
eed, and a centre transept, with A vast circular roof 120
feet 'in diameter rising majestically over the circular
roof of the nave.. The transepts,' with their aielee, ad-
vance from the main line of the building, 'and thus form
a most majestic group; nt the intersections of the roofs
of transepts and nave will be low towere, adding im-
mensely to the general effect.
A further improvement; of vast importance, was the
introduction of arched recesses at the, cede of these
transepts, 24 feet deepeethat "of the centre transept, 194
feet high and 120 feet wide; those of the side transepts,
150 fees high and 72 feet wide. •
The improvementi which have been made in the in-
" terior are not less important] independent-of the vast
additional effect afforded by the increased height of the
nave (4.4 feet higher thah the old building). Advan-
tags; has been taken of the neoeseitienof the construc
tion of 'this important feature to add greatly to the ar-
tistic effect of the interior.
In the old building the effect was secured by the
simple repetition of two elements, a column and a gir-
der, and although great grandeur was thus obtained, it
may be said that there was hardly sufficient variety, and
the fell effect of the. vastness of the structure was not
entirely realized. At the extreme ends of the building,
the columns 'and girders fell so rapidly' one on the other
that the eye had no means of measuring the length;
this defect had to be remedied ih the new building, and
it has been d me in -this wise—the columns' -and girders
do not keep to one line as'before, but every 72 feet, pairs
of coluinna 24 feet apart, advance eight feet into the
nave, and from there colqmns springarched girders eight
feet deep, in lattice-work of wrought iron, which eiup-'
port-the longitudinal. girders. of the roof. These ad-
vancing celunens are tied together,e and Otte form groups
of [killers, like those of a gothic cathedral. Threw
groups- ()marring every 72 feeedowu the nave thus furel
Dish the eye a means of measuring the building which it
had not before:
As regards the contents of the building it hie already
been ann•;unced that the whole Of the sides of the nave,
transepte, end the divieions on either side between the
'seVeral courts will be lined with the plants and trees of
every clime interspersed with statues and works of art.
On the north-east,side of the building will be arranged
the historical galleries of sculpture and architecture with
easta of the finest works of sCulpture and portions of
bnildings.of ancient art. On the south-east side will be
displayed similar collections of mediaeval art; while in
the north and south-west portions of the building, as
well` s the whole of a 24-feet gallery found the building,
will be devofed to the purposes of exhibition. The
machinery will' be placedin the lower story on the park
stele; in a gallery 24 feet wide; extending the whole
length of the building.:
Outside, tot decorotions will have reference to the fur-
nishing, of thc,inxrior.. , The ends of the building Swill
extend into large wino projecting a eensikrable die-
cance forward inte the grounds, and encempaesing terrace -
'gardens which themselves occupy more than 30 hares:
Attached to one of trieie glass wings will bo the railway
station, so arranged that persons descending from the
railway carriages are at once introdeced to th palaceand obtainedg round es %Tn.
by the wing. These wings wilt be terrninat4 with
grand glass towers, from whit." will be
sive views of the gardens, fountains,
also a'view of the surrounding-country toe very g r,,t
distant.,. Beyond the . terrace gardens, which 'will he
adornedem pl
e s, Wanitati,..ftUaUtallatar.:Sinanfio: astuf
and on aJ,
so
es
ate
..pehh,
hitherto
Paxton
has undertuk,n to carry out a design for-waterworke
00kr,0 en, Two of the jets which he, has in earid_
will
rise to a . height of goo feet,' and will' form
spoken
t_lle main
object of interest from the glass towers a
O. Sir Juseph has also "in preparation lace 'milled
collection of lle.oxrdpLna:
the'half-hardy naturalp 'an trand Laginn' Li itei set'
tdc r ofa.-
traive series
system's of britany. • He has already secured' for the
Crystal Palace Company the
magnificent collection of
palms aad.other choice plants brought together during
the past century by Messrs. Lodridges, specimens
hitherto unrivalled ill Europe, and is daily aading to the