Crystal Palace from West Dulwich Station

A signed, hand-carved, handprinted linocut of the iconic Crystal Palace tower in South East London, carved in 2025 and limited to 150 editions.

I was born in Crystal Palace and although I then grew up in East Dulwich, I said good morning to the tower every morning when I opened my bedroom curtains, and my GP surgery was at Paxton Green, named after Crystal Palace’s architect. I even attended the famous Formula 3 race when James Hunt crashed with Dave Morgan in 1970, though I was only a baby at the time so sadly have no recollection! This linocut design was based upon a photo I took from West Dulwich Railway Station when travelling back to Alleyn's School for the Big Reunion in 2019, where my Dad taught for 30 years.

The Crystal Palace was the London Dome of its day: a prefabricated cast iron and plate glass structure with a total floor area of about 990,000 square feet, designed by Joseph Paxton. it was originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Great Exhibition showcased world industry and culture with 14,000 exhibitors, nearly half of whom were non-British.

Crystal Palace was a wonder in its own right, however - not least for being designed and constructed in less than nine months. Millions of visitors from across the world came to marvel at the exhibits, and Paxton was subsequently knighted by Queen Victoria. But the building was only allowed to stay in Hyde Park for six months, when it was relocated to an elevated site on Sydenham Hill with a view of London from south of the river, within the estate of mansion Penge Place - the location that is now known as Crystal Palace. The 200 acres grounds included beautifully landscaped gardens and the iconic life-sized dinosaur sculptures, which exist still today.

On the night of 30th November/1st December 1936, Crystal Palace was tragically destroyed by fire within a matter of hours, despite the best efforts of 89 fire engines and over 400 firemen. The remaining towers were subsequently demolished in 1941 because they were considered to be too conspicuous landmark for incoming Nazi bombers.

Before its untimely demise, the Crystal Palace had been the site of shows, exhibitions, concerts, football matches, and other entertainment. In 1861, the first recorded Crystal Palace football match took place, making CPFC the oldest league club in existence still playing professional football. They were one of the founding members of the Football Association in 1863, and competed in the first ever FA Cup competition in the 1871/72 Cup. Following on from Crystal Palace FC’s 2025 FA Cup success I thought I would finally bring to fruition this Linocut which had been on my To Do list for a LONG time! Although I’ve never considered myself to be much of a football fan I must confess to feeling a frisson of delight when I heard of the Eagles’ victory!

The existing Crystal Palace tower is a broadcasting and telecommunications mast which was constructed in the mid-1950s, located on the site of the former 1933 BBC television station and transmitter operated by John Logie Baird. The current structure is:

- the main television transmitter for the Greater London area and parts of the surrounding Home Counties, making it the most important transmitter in the UK in terms of population covered.

- the first transmitter in the world to transmit stereophonic sound, at the First Night of the Proms on BBC2, on 18th July 1986.

- The eighth-tallest structure in London; though actually it was the tallest until the Canary Wharf development in 1990.

- With its location on top of a 358 foot hill, the mast is the highest structure above sea level in London.

Final fact: the first ever recorded case of a pedestrian death in a car accident in Great Britain took place in the grounds of Crystal Palace in 1896. Bridget Driscoll was killed just weeks after the speed limit was increased from 2mph to 14mph, with a witness describing the car as being driven at “a reckless pace”.

ITEM SPECIFICS:
This design is a signed, handprinted, limited edition of 150 prints. As with all handmade items, each one will vary slightly, making it completely unique.

The image itself is A4 in size and is hand burnished with black oil-based ink onto Japanese HoSho, an off-white printmaking paper that is 280 x 395mm in size.