There is a new resident at Crystal Palace station.
Big attraction: the cast of the iguanodon head, in a workshop being prepared to go on display
A life-size replica of an historic iguanodon head has been unveiled in the ticket hall by Arriva Rail London and Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, acknowledging the nearby park’s world-famous links to the Victorian era models that were installed in the grounds when the Crystal Palace moved to Sydenham Hill 170 years ago.
Iggy’s head now surveys the ticket hall at Crystal Palace. The replica was donated to Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs by Bompas and Parr, a creative food and drink company, from its 2010 event, The Complete History of Food.
The event took the form of an experiential meal, charting key periods in England’s glorious and often bizarre culinary history – including the recreation of the epic 1853 Dinner in the Iguanodon.
With its beady gaze, Iggy will welcome visitors and residents to the historic park – which was effectively the world’s first Jurassic Park.
Charlotte Whitfield, customer experience director at Arriva Rail London, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to support this project. These sculptures are a cherished part of the local area’s heritage, and it’s fantastic to bring a touch of that history into the station.
Lined up: preparations to instal the dinosaur head in the elegant, Victorian era railway station ticket hall
“The iguanodon head will now watch over the piano cove, which we introduced earlier this year, adding even more character to the space for our customers.”
In 1852, sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins was commissioned to create life-size models of dinosaurs and other extinct animals, set in a geological walk-through time. These were part of the extensive park designed by Joseph Paxton to complement the relocated, expanded Crystal Palace after the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.
On New Year’s Eve in 1853, Hawkins invited a group of “the great and good” to a dinner party with a twist.
A large striped tent was pitched around the mould used to cast the standing iguanodon, the largest of the extinct animal sculptures. More than 20 guests crammed inside the 15-foot space for an elaborate seven-course meal.
They sang a rousing toast to the dinosaur: “The jolly old beast is not deceased, there’s life in him again…Roar!”
The event received a huge amount of attention in the newspapers of the time, and heightened anticipation for the upcoming opening of the Crystal Palace later in 1854.
Hawkins consulted with numerous palaeontologists, using the latest available scientific evidence to depict the prehistoric creatures in life form, adding “flesh to the bones, and life to the animal”.
Pride of place: the iguanodon head overlooking the ticket office
Today, the sculptures provide a fascinating snapshot of the progression of palaeontology, reflecting not only the misconceptions of the field’s early days, but how much the pioneers were able to get right. For example, the forms inferred for the iguanodon sculptures have changed dramatically. Belgian discoveries in 1878 and later gave us our modern take on iguanodon anatomy. Among the inaccuracies were the bones that had been placed as horns on their noses, later found to be thumb spikes.
Hawkins’ sculptures are now Grade I-listed, and they will undergo a thorough conservation makeover in the next year thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to London Borough of Bromley and the Crystal Palace Park Trust.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
