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Category Archives: Victorian park estates
Whose house is this? A capital FAMILY MANSION, 1854
In theory there is a lot of time to write when you’re on maternity leave but I’m an archival historian and… well… babies and archives just don’t mix. So it was a blessing when Thomas Walker at Historic Newspapers sent … Continue reading
‘What to do with the Crystal Palace?’
What better time to appreciate second chances than at the the beginning of a new year. The Crystal Palace [a name of fairy tale splendor, if ever I heard one] sparkled as the stage for Britain’s Great Exhibition of 1851 but … Continue reading
Posted in London history, Parks & gardens, Victorian park estates
Tagged Alison Kay, Brighton and South Coast Railway, Crystal Palace at Sydenham, Crystal Palace Company, Crystal Palace Park, fire at the Crystal Palace, Great Exhibition of 1851, history of Penge, history of Sydenham, Jospeh Paxton, Leo Schuster, London, Samuel Laing, Sir Henry Buckland, The Crystal Palace, the Property Historian, William Cubitt
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House tales: The brothers Letts
Following on from my earlier post ‘A brief history of park villa estates’, I’ve been devoting a number of blog posts to a park villa I previously had the pleasure of living in on the Crystal Palace Park Estate. … Continue reading
Posted in House History, London history, Victorian park estates
Tagged Alison Kay, Brockley Conservation area, Charles Letts, Crystal Palace Park Road, history of Sydenham, House History, Jewes Walk, Letts Son & Co., property historian, Rev. Edgar Letts, Thomas Letts, Victorian park villas, victorian villas
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House tales: The widower of Whitethorns
9 Crystal Palace Park Road, Sydenham Do you ever wonder who lived in your property before you did? Who were the original residents? What was the story of the inhabitants of your house? I did and found a northern merchant … Continue reading
Brief history of park villa estates
I left South London a few years ago to work ‘up north’ and now live in Southport (near Liverpool), which has a seriously delicious Victorian housing stock. The other thing Merseyside has in common with my previous haunt is substantial … Continue reading
Posted in Parks & gardens, Victorian park estates
Tagged Alison Kay, Birkenhead Park, buildings history, historic parks, house historian, House History, Joseph Paxton, Liverpool, park villa estates, Princes Park, property historian, property history, Regents Park, Victorian park villas, victorian villas
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Rediscovering Victorian park villas
Copyright: Royal Horticultural Society Victorian villas, despite the cost of renovation and upkeep, remain popular today. Just as at the time of their construction, householders are driven by the desire to reside in properties that are comfortably spacious, solid, elegant … Continue reading
The beginnings of an obsession
Several years back, before children and a lectureship at Lancaster University beckoned, I bought a flat in London on Crystal Palace Park Road. It was a neo-gothic, red brick villa and its garden backed onto Crystal Palace Park (of dinosaur … Continue reading
Posted in London history, Parks & gardens, Victorian park estates
Tagged 9 Crystal Palace Park Road, Alison Kay, Crystal Palace Foundation, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park estate, Crystal Palace Park villas, house detective, House History, Joseph Paxton, London Development Agency, property historian, Victorian London, Victorian park villas
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A gentleman wishes to LET
CRYSTAL PALACE, near Sydenham Entrance – A gentleman wishes to LET, for six or twelve months, his nicely FURNISHED villa, overlooking well timbered park-like grounds. Five bedroom, dressing room, drawing and dining rooms, usual offices; garden and croquet lawn. Rent, … Continue reading
Posted in Advice from the past, House History, Landlordism & the property business, London history, Victorian park estates
Tagged convert past values into current values, Crystal Palace at Sydenham, Crystal Palace Park Road, historical newspapers, house historian, House History, John Norton, Joseph Paxton, measuring worth, pleasure gardens, property historian, Times Digital archive
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