The Largest Building In The World (in 1851): The London History Show 

The park is one of my favourite places in London. Its good to know that the tradition of the overpriced cafe has been stable of museums since the beginning.

The phrase to “Spend a penny” does stem from the great exhibition, it was not used prior to this point. Additionally the fountain in the middle of the great exhibition was also sponsored by Schweppes and was in fact filled with tonic water. The company is still proud of their association with the exhibition and their drinks logo continues to be an image of this fountain.

I’ve always been intrigued by the Crystal Palace. It’s a shame it wasn’t able to be saved or rebuilt. Though I have read that by 1936 the palace was in a pretty shabby condition which was what led to the fire being able to spread as quickly as it did. Churchill remarked it was the end of an era and I believe him.

I love how objects made especially for this exhibition are STILL appearing randomly on the Antiques Roadshow. Objects found in barns and attics or just sitting in people’s gardens. Simply brilliant I say ❤ 🙂🐿🌈❤️

History student here…Your videos make me feel like when I was a kid falling in love with history for the first time. You’re one of the best history channels on RU-vid.

I can't believe you don't have more views! Such a pity, you're a fantastic storyteller. Thank you very much for this.

Crystal palace is one of my absolute favorite human creations. When I hear the name of it it just makes me feel goosebumps, it's so freaking cool I'd love to see like a good art film about it.

I played in the ruins as a child, we managed to get into an underground tunnel which went from the promenade at the top to the bottom of the hill near the entrace to Crystal Palace Park in Penge. We didn't get very far but we saw train tracks.I believed it to be some kind of amusement ride and possibly a precursor to the London Underground.

At 16:53 is the Giant Sequoia from California called the “mother of the forest” where the bark of the tree was dismantled in sections (as you can see) and reassembled for display in the Crystal Palace. It burned in the fire that is mentioned here. The actual tree still stands in Big Trees State Park (Arnold CA) and the lines where they removed the bark still show. The tree is basically a dead standing skeleton left to remind people of the shallow thinking that people did in those days to make a buck.

My great uncle was there just before he left for Gallipoli, I have a postcard from him that he got at Crystal Palace, absolutely brilliant video

God, what I wouldn't give to get to visit and walk around that exhibition. I can't even imagine. I wish someone would make a highly realistic video game simulation of it, with the most accurate details available, and just let you... explore. Sigh.

I love the way you say the long, long, list of things you would see at the Crystal Palace. World Fairs and Exhibitions held an important role in shaping the world we live in today. I think 1967 Montreal was the last one of comparable scale, because while they still are held, we are already so well connected through the internet. They were THE place of dreams. All those inventions and connections of people from around the world. I would love to see a series on World Fairs.

Your videos, both long and short, are a treat to watch. I feel lucky that the RU-vid algorithm brought them to my attention.

My husband and I stumbled upon the Temple of Mithras when we were just walking around London last summer and I couldn't believe it wasn't more publicized because it was SO cool! Hidden gem, for sure.

great video - thats why Schweppes uses a fountain as its logo

Your channel is such a well reseached, educational and enjoyable place to be. I share it with everone. So much good work. Respect. Love from Australia.

That was brilliant! I have long been fascinated by the Crystal Palace. While it’s often mentioned as a lost wonder of the modern world, I have never encountered so much detailed information on the topic in one place. Delightfully presented as well. I look forward to watching more videos on this channel.

What a brilliant content! I was looking for a snippet of information about London's crystal palace to add to one of my cologne reviews content but instead I was taken into a wonderful "back-to-the-past" travel through this video! Thank you so much for your great work! By the way, in a trip that I recently made to Brazil, I visited a city called Curitiba, capital of a southern state called Parana, where there's a large greenhouse in the middle of the city's botanical garden which its architect was inspired by London's Crystal palace. It shows how such a marvellous British creation still amazes and inspires people's imagination and creativity around the world up to this day!!

This was a lovely video! You have a great talent for storytelling. Greatly enjoyed learning about the history of the Crystal Palace!

Oh my word. 😃 This was done and told in amazing quality!! It was like watching the History channel back when it was good. 😊 Thank you! 💛

J Draper is so good, I feel a little bit in awe of her!

I knew of the Crystal Palace and the exhibition, but this was the first time I heard the whole story, thanks.

I've been so enjoying your channel, but this piece is really exceptional. I knew about the Crystal Palace, but I learned to so in this, and your presentation is very captivating.

This is one of the most professional, interesting, fun and well edited videos I've found in RU-vid. I deeply enjoyed it. Thanks!

I've heard of the Crystal Palace before....but your video made me really want to SEE it for myself (oh for a time machine.) What an amazing story!

This was amazing. I've heard for decades of The Crystal Palace but yours is the best detailing of it I've found. Your enthusiasm and storytelling is engrossing. I found myself having a myriad of emotions during the story. The Crystal Palace was truly an example of the greatness of man when he reaches for the stars.

Oh my god, look at the sketch of the opening just imagine standing there in the crowd my god

I love it when you find a really great, entertaining, educational youtube account you've never heard of before that you can immerse yourself in their back catalogue. Im flying through these videos.

I love the cadence of the commentary

If I ever get the keys to a time machine, the Great Exhibition is definitely on my to-do list!

02:26 - omg, J., I don't know if you'd read this, but just know that I'm so thankful that someone actually genuinely addressed this type of anxiety. Thank you for sharing this with your viewers. Whenever I try to talk about this, people just shrug it off, as if "stop comparing", "it was a different time" and etc. And actually hearing one of my favorite RU-vidrs, sharing the similar experience is so wholesome. Thank You once again🙏

I have a contemporary guidebook called "London as it is today" published for people coming to the exhibition. It has a map of London and notes on all sorts of places of interest. Madame Tussead's is mentioned and the lady herself is lamented as only recently having died.

I love how you are so thrilled and absorbed by the history you are telling that you can make anyone love it.

The Crystal Palace at Sydenham before it was burned down was home to some of the pioneering development work of television by JohnLogie Baird and of course nowadays is the site of the tall tower broadcasting modern TV transmissions across London.

You’re a doll, and a national treasure. Thank you so much for sharing Britains wonderful history and culture. I’m sharing you with everyone I can think of.

not just one of the best history channels on youtube, but just one of the best channels of any subject, and obviously doesn't have the subs and views it deserves, greetings from Colombia in southamerica, and If I may make a suggestion to the lovely jenny, you should do collabs with other history channels, that adds to the exposure and views

I've heard most of this story before, but you still gave me goosebumps.

I had heard a few obscure mentions of this before. This video was charming and wonderfully inspiring. Thank you for your work and bringing very interesting history back to life. A pure delight ! Sara, Your Gardener -Salem, MA

Ms. Draper, you must be the greatest tour guide of all time!

i already knew a lot about the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace, but I still learned something new. I wonder if there might be a movement to rebuild/replace the glass building for the bicentenary in a few years time.

What a great video! It's a pity that the second version of the Crystal Palace burned down but it's nice to know that the offsprings of the original version still stand in Kensington

There was a very similar building called The Garden Palace built in Sydney,Australia in 1879 for an international exhibition. Obviously inspired by it and probably grander as it had a huge dome! Burnt down as well a couple of decades later. I have always wondered how a predominantly glass and steel building could burn so easily creating a vast conflagration but I suppose it's the flammable things inside!

Really stunning video. I've read a deal about the palace, but nothing really prepared me for how remarkable it was. Your writing, images, editing, and delivery gave the subject an immediacy and excitement I'm sure the actual thing did, but which I'd never understood or felt before. Thank you SO MUCH for this. I'm subscribing... and probably going to binge everything you've done.

I Definitely think the Victorian period was the height of British civilisation they didn't do things by half we can learn a lot from them. Hopefully in time we can be great again

Very good storytelling! Liked and subscribed! I’ve been listening to so many Victorian and Regency books lately that there’s soo many things I’m curious about! Thanks for being here!

If I could go back in time and experience anything, it would be this. Sometimes even just thinking about it moves me to tears. All the culture, all the innovation and inventiveness. Really wish I could have experienced it. Anyway, I’ve watched probably every video on RU-vid having to do with the Great Exhibition and this is my favorite one. Awesome job covering a massive topic.

I never knew the whole history of Crystal Palace. Amazing. Could something like this be created today? Possibly. Although I am not sure we have anything now that captivates the public like this did. Thank you for a most excellent presentation.

I hesitated several times to play this video when it came up in my feed as I thought I wouldn't be interested, but I gave in in the end, partly due to the high quality and engaging nature of your other videos. I am very glad I changed my mind, this was also wonderful and interesting. It appears you can make anything appealing! Thank you 🙂

I learn so much from your videos! This is very interesting to see the origin of the idea for the Worlds Fair! Your listing the exhibits gives a sense of the experience of overwhelm of trying to see them all!! So well done!

I got worried when I noticed all the visuals were paintings and black and white photographs. I was like don't you do it don't tell me it's gone! That's really sad it sounds like it really was a sight to behold. I can just imagine how many historians and scientists of all varieties were inspired by that building.

What a wonderful video on the Crystal Palace, thank you! Just one very small correction, on the off-chance you are still reading these comments: Paxton probably had little or nothing to do with the dinosaur sculptures. Those were made by natural history artist Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins,. He was commissioned by the newly formed Crystal Palace Company and consulted with famed palaeontologist Richard Owen (who had coined the word "dinosaur" in the first place) and other scientists. The formal study of dinosaur fossils was still quite new, and they were working from the best interpretations of dinosaur fossils available at the time. Hawkins created large molds into which to pour the concrete out of which the dinosaurs were made -- indeed, the mold for the Iguanodon was so huge that he hosted a small dinner party inside it as publicity for the new and improved Crystal Palace. The biography of this artist are, btw, worth looking up, even if only on a _Wikipedia_ level -- a fascinating life story.

Wow just found your channel and I absolutely love it! Love all the history and the stories.

You might be interested to know that on the Albert memorial, opposite the Albert Hall, Prince Albert is holding a catalogue for the Great Exhibition.

Absolutely delightful! I subscribed immediately after watching. Your presentation more that satisfied my curiosity about this signal event. Well done!

At the time of the fire it was home to Baird Television. it had a television studio inside, TV equipment manufacturing, and an experimental transmitter. Baird had hoped to get a license and broadcast commercial television since his equipment had lost out in the BBC television contract. The fire didn't start in the Baird facilities, but it did end them.

The Sydenham site was a prominent location all throughout my youth, hosting school trips, family days out, and well into my teens Saturday morning fishing trips. Thank you for bringing back some long forgotten memories.

Interesting subject with an eloquent, knowledgeable and captivating orator.

Paxton was playing the “get over 100k followers to get brand deals with no experience easily” game over 100 years ago what a lad

Punch Magazine naming it the Crystal Palace seems somehow appropriate, given that the same magazine also gave rise to the word "cartoon" as we know it, using the word for their political cartoons only a few years earlier, at a time when it meant "preliminary sketches on cardboard" from the Italian "cartone".

I can't remember gow i stumbled upon you, but I'm so glad i did. I love history and you make English history so enchanting 😊

Loved this! Big fan of World's Fair, and many of us count this as the first!

Such a fine storyteller and presenter. This is my first experience without your shining eyes and it was lovely as well!

Excellent really enjoyed this and some very good pictures and plates from the time

Fantastic video! I work at Chatsworth and we all love to talk about Joseph Paxton with visitors, so this was super interesting and insightful. Thank you so much 😊

Thank you very much for this well-researched, engagingly edited and brilliantly narrated video. I look forward to having a look at some of your other videos on YT. Definitely one of the better history documentaries that I've come across on here recently!

Fantastic story telling and video making, what a wonderful teacher you would make : )

Wow! This is just fascinating! Seriously so. And well narrated/presented. I'm forwarding the link to people I know who would appreciate it. Subscribed and liked. Thank you for posting this and I can't wait to look through the rest of your postings. Cheers!

Thank you so much. My mother - who was born in 1901 - told about how she used to go to the Crystal Palace to play in its gardens wearing a gouvered dress.

Oh wow - what a brilliant video - I had no idea about the South Ken link!

You mention the "massive" organ used in the opening ceremony. In fact, there were no less than eight pipe organs there, six built in Britain, one in France, and one in Germany.

What an incredible building.

Excellent! I’ve read about the amazing Crystal Palace recently. Your review, the illustrations, and photos made come alive.

Fantastic video, beautiful, evocative images and all so well told.

Fascinating stuff, in my studies I have often read about how certain Russian writers were inspired by their impressions of the crystal palace in the abstract, but it’s even more impressive to hear about the specifics like this

Loved this - great video! Keep up the good work

Oh my word, I love J Draper’s stuff on all platforms. She’s so clever and informative, whilst keeping it clear and (deceptively) simple. Thank you

I love how you explain history!❤

I’ve just stumbled across your channel and think it’s great. Thanks very much for this video and your ‘shorts’ as well. My dad worked on the Crystal Palace in the early 1930’s and told a story about coming out of a cinema to see the CP on fire.

Brilliant - perky informative comprehensive understandable 👏🏻

This was amazing! I knew nothing about the story of the Crystal Palace, and now I am utterly enthralled. Thank you for making this video.

That was a really fantastic video! Thanks for making it - even though I've been down many a Wikipedia rabbit-hole that has lead me to learning more about the Crystal Palace, it seems there's always more to know :)

I live right by it and grew up playing in its shaodws and still walk my dog through it's echos and it still breaks my heart to think of what we lost that fatefuil night.... Great Video !!

This video was amazing, I doubt that I ever would have learned about this amazing bit of history without you. So thanks again. New subscriber 😁👍

Thank you so much for this. I knew about this amazing building, but not what happened to it. Sad demise for such a glorious accomplishment.

Wow, this was very well produced and entertaining. You have talent! Your channel makes me really want to visit London...

The Infomart Building in downtown Dallas Texas is based on the Crystal Palace... it even has the crystal fountain in its center that was produced by the original firm who made it! You'll have to see it if you're ever in Texas.

Why is it that whenever I think of crystal Palace I think of it as being Prince Albert's pride, and never think of this Paxton dude who clearly deserves all the credit? Another amazing video xxx

What a wondrous sight it would have been! Great video!

Really well done. Thank you for all your work!

I wish I could have seen this exhibition!

I always remember my dad shouting 'Why are all the lights on? It looks like Crystal Palace in here!' Informative video thanks!

When time travel is a thing, this place is on my bucket list!

Thanks Excellent script and delivery!😂👍👍👍❤

Thank you for your work on this. Its taught me so much and saved an incredible amount of time

Excellent presentation, well written and well paced. Thanks for your effort. Ronn

I've been getting into history more lately (hated it in school but now gaining an appreciation. This is one of the best historical videos I've ever seen

Brilliant video thanks so much

I grew up in crystal palace. I have lots of fun memories of the park

I used to work there in the museum 😁

Frigging amazing 😀😀😀😀😀 Great Video btw, done extremely well in my opinion.