Fully restored: the Victorian-made dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park are no longer on the ‘at risk’ register " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-232713" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=584%2C390&ssl=1" alt width="584" height="390" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iguanodon\_AndyBatePhoto\_0023.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px">
Fully restored: the Grade I-listed Victorian-made dinosaurs in Crystal Palace Park are no longer on the ‘at risk’ register
Crystal Palace Park’s Grade I-listed dinosaurs have been removed from Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, after years of painstaking work by expert restorers and local volunteers.
The move comes as the multi-million-pound restoration project across the whole park has come to a conclusion, the occasion to be celebrated with free activities for the public to enjoy this weekend.
The 200-acre park, which itself is Grade II*-listed, has been described as London’s “hidden gem” and “the world’s first theme park”. The park was landscaped and planned around Joseph Paxton’s vast Crystal Palace when it was moved to Sydenham Hill, re-assembled and extended as a modern wonder of the 19th-Century world in 1854.
Back in place: the bust of architect Sir Joseph Paxton has been put back in its original position " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?fit=640%2C800&ssl=1" class="size-medium wp-image-232715" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1" alt width="240" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=120%2C150&ssl=1 120w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=1229%2C1536&ssl=1 1229w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?resize=1638%2C2048&ssl=1 1638w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Italian-Terraces.-Photo-credit-Kilian-OSullivan-3.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px">
Back in place: the bust of architect Sir Joseph Paxton has been put back in its original position
The park is now under the management of the Crystal Palace Park Trust.
The restoration project, which has taken more than a year, is the first of its kind since the Crystal Palace burned to the ground in 1936.
The Victorian dinosaur sculptures have been carefully restored and painted in line with their original colours, meaning their appearance is as close to what the public would have seen 172 years ago.
The 30 sculptures were the world’s first life-sized models of extinct creatures, from an age of Darwin and scientific discovery. They were intended to communicate to the public the ground-breaking fossil discoveries being made by Victorian palaeontologists – to inspire wonder as well as to educate.
When unveiled to the public as one of many attractions for visitors to the Crystal Palace, the sculptures sparked the world’s first wave of “dino mania”. Today they are Grade I-listed in recognition of their exceptional role in the history of science. They were added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 2020, due to large cracks appearing in some of the animals’ bodies and limbs, putting them in danger of losing toes, teeth and tails.
Historic England said: “These sculptures were built by the Victorians to model how they understood prehistoric animals to look at a time when they were asking big questions about the origins of life on Earth.
“They are internationally important in the history of science and loved by people around the world.”
And they added: “These dinosaurs are no longer at risk of extinction.”
Today, Bromley Council said: “The regeneration works are a critical step in building the park’s status as a globally significant cultural and heritage visitor attraction. Its special green spaces continue to be loved by communities in Bromley and the four other surrounding south London boroughs.”
Heritage At Risk (HAR)
Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, Lower Lake, Crystal Palace Park, Penge, Bromley, Greater London.
A collection of over 30 life-sized statues of prehistoric animals. Unveiled in 1854 after the Great Exhibitions move from Hyde Park. They are the first dinosaur reconstruction sculptures in the world. They were created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins a sculptor and natural history artist. View of Iguanodon foot being revealed with original paint pigment still intact. " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?fit=640%2C612&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-232717" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=571%2C546&ssl=1" alt width="571" height="546" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=1024%2C979&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=300%2C287&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=150%2C143&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=768%2C734&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=1536%2C1468&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?resize=2048%2C1957&ssl=1 2048w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ANIGUA1.jpg?w=1920&ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px">
Nail polishing: all 30 dinosaur sculptures required extensive work to bring them back to how they looked when revealed in Crystal Palace Park in 1854
The works were funded by the sale of land adjacent to the park for affordable housing and a £5million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Further match funding was also received from the Garfield Weston Foundation, London Marathon Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation and Pilgrim Trust.
Visitors to the park for this weekend’s celebrations will also discover:
a new Dinosaur Playground;
restoration of the Grade II-listed Italian Terraces where the Crystal Palace once stood;
a new Visitor Centre, housing a permanent exhibition;
restoration of the Grand Centre Walk, one of the defining aspects of the park’s original landscape design;
improved footpaths and lighting around the Tidal Lakes and Italian Terraces, including the creation of two new accessible routes across the steep upper slopes of the park;
as well as extensive planting to increase biodiversity and improve habitats for wildlife including birds and bats.
Expert advice from Historic England was vital to informing the restoration of the dinosaur sculptures, just as it was for the restoration of the Grade II*-listed Subway – one of the original gateways to the Crystal Palace – which reopened in September 2024.
Fresh inspiration: the new dinosaur adventure playground is expected to be very popular " data-large-file="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?fit=640%2C428&ssl=1" class=" wp-image-232720" src="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?resize=382%2C255&ssl=1" alt width="382" height="255" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?resize=1024%2C684&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?resize=768%2C513&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/insidecroydon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dinosaur-Playground-photo-Louisa-Rechenbach-3.jpeg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 382px) 100vw, 382px">
Fresh inspiration: the new dinosaur adventure playground is expected to be very popular
“The dedication and enthusiasm of the local community, particularly through the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, was also crucial to the dinosaur restoration, with expertise and archival information provided throughout,” Bromley Council said.
Victoria Pinnington, the CEO of Crystal Palace Park Trust, said: “With this major regeneration project now complete we’re thrilled to ‘throw open the gates’ so that the Crystal Palace dinosaurs and wider park can do their job inspiring joy, wonder and curiosity among visitors, just as the park’s visionary founder, Sir Joseph Paxton, always intended.
“This September marks the third anniversary of the Trust’s custodianship of the park. We look forward to caring for these internationally significant 200 acres, and all 12 listed assets within them, for the enjoyment of many generations to come.”
Eilish McGuinness, the chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are incredibly proud that our funding has helped secure the future of its world-famous dinosaurs, restoring these remarkable Victorian landmarks and ensuring that they can be valued and enjoyed by future generations.”
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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