Sydenham

Sydenham, a district in Lewisham parish, Kent, 8 miles S. of London. It has become of world-wide celebrity in connection with the Crystal Palace, which, however, is really in the adjoining parish of Lambeth, Surrey, and which was erected in 1852-54, chiefly from the materials of the building of the Great Exhibition (1851), and under the superintendence of Sir Joseph Paxton. The cost of the erection and appointment of the Crystal Palace amounted to nearly £1,500,000. The building is 1608 feet long, 390 wide across the transept, and 175 feet high, the height of the two water-towers being 282 feet. The chief arts and sciences illustrated by the collections within the Palace and grounds are Sculpture, Architecture, Painting and Photography, Mechanics and Manufactures, Botany, Ethnology, Palæontology, Geology, and Hydraulics. There are two concert-rooms, within the larger of which on occasion of the triennial Handel festivals (since 1859) performances have taken place with 4000 vocalists and instrumentalists. Classical Saturday concerts are held during the winter season. The park and gardens occupy nearly 200 acres, and are adorned with sculptures, stone balustrades, &c., and fountains which are perhaps the finest in the world. Cricket and football matches and cycle and other sports are held in the grounds. On 30th December 1866 there was a fire in the north wing, doing damage to the amount of £150,000. The palace, whose finances have more than once been seriously embarrassed, is directly accessible from all the London suburban railways.