Crystal Palace’s famous dinosaurs have been removed from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register following several years of restoration work.
Iguanodon (c) Andy Bate
The multi-million-pound project, jointly delivered by Bromley Council and the Crystal Palace Park Trust, is the largest programme of improvements to the park since the Crystal Palace itself was destroyed by fire in 1936.
At the heart of the scheme was the restoration of the Grade I listed dinosaur sculptures and their surrounding Geological Court. The Victorian models, widely regarded as the world’s first life-sized sculptures of extinct animals, had been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register in 2020 after cracks developed in several of the figures, raising concerns that they could lose features including toes, tails and teeth.
Conservators have now repaired the sculptures and repainted them using colours based on their original Victorian appearance, leaving them looking closer to how visitors would have seen them when they were unveiled 172 years ago.
Labyrinthodon (c) Andy Bate
Created in the early 1850s, the 30 sculptures were designed to showcase the latest palaeontological discoveries to the public and became one of the star attractions when the Crystal Palace relocated from Hyde Park to Sydenham in 1854. Their unveiling helped spark what has been described as the world’s first wave of “dinosaur mania”, and today they are Grade I listed for their significance in both scientific and cultural history.
The dinosaur restoration formed part of a wider regeneration programme across the Grade II* listed park, supported by a £5 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund alongside funding from the sale of neighbouring land for housing and contributions from several charitable foundations.
The completed works also include a new dinosaur-themed playground, restoration of the Grade II listed Italian Terraces, a new visitor centre with a permanent exhibition on the park’s 170-year history, restoration of the Grand Centre Walk, and the reinstatement of a bust of the park’s designer, Sir Joseph Paxton.
Ichthyosaur (c) Andy Bate
Elsewhere in the Crystal Palace park, new accessible paths, upgraded lighting and wayfinding, sustainable drainage improvements and extensive new planting have been added to improve biodiversity and make more of the park accessible to visitors.
The landscape works were carried out by contractor Maylim, working with HTA Design and a multidisciplinary team of specialists. Historic England provided conservation advice on the dinosaur restoration, while local campaigners, including the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, contributed expertise and archival research throughout the project.