Year: 1861

FROM tbc LOnQOn Times, feD. Zo


During all Thursday the wind blew over the
hills at Norwood with extraordinary fierce
ness full against the front of the Palace facing
towards London. That il was more violent
here than in other suburban districts is evil
denced by the broken branches of trees, the
paliDgs, and even garden walls blown down in
the neighborhOod. But, although the pressure
of the gale upon the whole surface Of the Palace
must have amounted in the aggregate to sew
eral thousand tons, not the smallest perceptible
effect was produced upon it, and, as We have
stated, not single pane Of glass was broken.
All stood we'll, until about II o'clock on Thurs
day night, when, during one of the fearful
gusts which then swept over the hill, some men
in the carpenters room heard a little crashing
of glass and iron, and imm ed ately ran out on
to the terrace garden.


In another minute, with an appalling crash,
the huge tower fell over among some trees,
and lay smashed into millions Of fragments on
the ground. In the course of two or three
minutes more the rest Of the wing went, by 30
or forty yards at time, till a total length of
about l TO yards strewed the earth, a mere mass
of splinters Of glass, wood, and iron. Anything
more complete than the destruction it would
be difficult to imagine. The appearance of the
ruin rather suggests that every part of the
building has been carefully brokeR into small
pieces, than that it has been merely blown
down. A tremendous explosion could not
probably have shattered the place more effect
uslly. The woodwork is all in small pieces,
the cast-iron columns are broken up like glass,
and the rods twisted and torn into every shape.
Fortunately, there was nothing in this wing
but the empty pens used at the late poultry
show, and number Of garden seats; all these,
OF course, are more or less destroyed. As far
as can be judged from the way in which the
ruins have fallen, it would seem that the cor
ner column nesrest the railway must have had
to sustain the thrust exercised upon it by the
other columns yielding to the force of the gale.
As the wind came in gusts, it is supposed'the
tower must have oscillated to such degree as
to force the corner column, on which the main
strain came, out Of its perpendicular. when, of
course, 1t snapped at once 1t was no doubt
the breaking Of this which the carpenters first
heard, and ran out on the terrace, when the
tower, thus deprived of its main support, fell
instantly befere the next blast. 1t is great
proof, however, Of the strength of the structure
that when the rest Of the wing was thus weak
ened and broken by the fall Of the tower it was
not instantly overthrown also. II stood for
several minutes, and only fell piece by piece
as the wind swept down upon it with almost
the force Of a hurricane. The strength of these
wings, however, is not be compared with the
enormous strength and oompactness with which
the main buildings put together. The cost of
rebuilding the north wing, it is stated, would
not amount to more than f6, 900, but as lately
1t was never used for anything but poultry
shows, which can just as well be held in the
south wing, it is not probable that it will be
rebuilt at all.