In 1851 Great Britain Was Arguably The Leader Of Theindustrial... Essay - 2,346 words

In 1851 Great Britain was arguably the leader of theindustrial revolution and feeling very secure in that ideal. The Great Exhibition of 1851 in London was conceived to symbolize this industrial, military and economic superiority of Great Britain. Just representing the feats of Britain itself would have excluded many of the technological achievements pioneered by the British in its many colonies and protectorates, so it was decided to make the exhibit truly international with invitations being extended to almost all of the colonized world. The British also felt that it was important to show their achievements right alongside those of "less civilized" countries. The prevailing attitude in England at the time was ripe for the somewhat arrogant parading of accomplishments. Many felt secure, economically and politically, and Queen Victoria was eager to reinforce the feeling of contentment with her reign.


It was during the mid-1850s that the word "Victorian" began to be employed to express a new self-consciousness, both in relation to the nation and to the period through which it was passing. The exhibition was also atriumph for Victoria's German husband, Albert, whom she had married in 1840. Despite outbursts of opposition to Albert by the press the family life of the Victorian court began to be considered increasingly as a model for the whole country. Albert had appreciated the achievements of Prime Minister Robert Peel's political and military advances and publicly advocated the advancement of industry and science. These facts began to sway opinion in his favor as respectable foundations of family life and industrial supremacy were becoming rapidly acquainted with the monarchy of Victoria and Albert. Conceived by Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in London in the specially constructed Crystal Palace.


The Crystal Palace was originally designed by Sir Joseph Paxton in only 10 days and was a huge iron goliath with over a million feet of glass. It was important that the building used to showcase these achievements be grandiose and innovative. Over 13,000 exhibits were displayed and viewed by over 6,200,000 visitors to the exhibition. The millions of visitors that journeyed to the Great Exhibition of 1851 marveled at the industrial revolution that was propelling Britain into the greatest power of the time. Among the 13,000 exhibits from all around the world were the Jacquard loom, an envelope machine, tools, kitchen appliances, steel-making displays and a reaping machine from the United States. The objects on display came from all parts of the world, including India and the countries with recent white settlements, such as Australia and New Zealand that constituted the new empire.


Many of the visitors who flocked to London came from European cities. The profits from the event allowed for the foundation of public works such as the Albert Hall, the Science Museum, the National History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. This "bigger and better" building was divided into a series of courts depicting the history of art and architecture from ancient Egypt throughthe Renaissance, as well as exhibits from industry and the natural world. Major concerts were held in the Palace's huge arched Centre Transept, which also contained the world's largest organ. The Centre Transept also housed a circus and was the scene of daring feats by world famous acts such as the tightrope walker Blondin. National exhibitions were also staged within its glass and iron walls, including the world's first aeronautical exhibition (held in 1868) and the first national motor show, plus cat shows, dog shows, pigeon shows, honey, flower and other shows. The Crystal Palace has been called "proto-modern architecture," and was widely imitated in Europe and America.


At the time, however, it was not even accepted as architecture. Pugin called it a "glass-monster," Carlyle a "big glass soap bubble," and Ruskin a "conservatory." Ruskin's term, albeit somewhat mischievous, held an element of truth: the building had been designed by Joseph Paxton, using his experience in building a gigantic greenhouse for the Duke of Devonshire. Other plans had been entered in competition, but at a point of impasse Paxton published a drawing of his building, and it was accepted with enthusiasm. In the building, pioneering use was made of cast-iron structure, pre-fabricated units, and a precursor of the glass curtain wall. After the exhibition closed, the building was re-erected in South London, and continued in active use until its destruction by fire on November 30, 1936. . . .


you had better keep to building green-houses, and I will keep to my churches and cathedrals. Augustus Pugin, mediaevalist architect, to Joseph Paxton, architect of the Crystal Palace Joseph Paxton was born in Milton Bryan, England in 1801. A farmer's son, he was apprenticed as a gardener to the Chatsworth estate where he eventually attained the position of head gardener. In 1832, Paxton was appointed Manager to the Duke of Devonshire's estates. He designed large greenhouses for the Duke at Chatsworth (including one for the Giant Water Lily), and these were used as the basis for his successful design of the Great Exhibition (1850-1851) building, the Crystal Palace, which used the idea of a simple repeating motif to achieve an economical yet harmonious building. Over 233 designs were submitted for the building to house the "Great Exhibition of the Works of All Nations." Joseph Paxton produced his design for a Crystal Palace on a piece of blotting paper, and then submitted the final design in less than 9 days. The building itself was erected in just six months, a remarkable building with 293,655 panes of glass, 330 huge iron columns, and 24 miles of gutters He continued to work on landscape gardening and laying out of public parks, but also designed various country houses and other domestic buildings. One of the major advantages of Paxton's "ferro-vitreous" iron and glass design was the building's extreme simplicity.


The arrangement of all the principle elements of the building in multiples and sub-multiples of 24 feet not only facilitated and economized all the building operations (it was erected in seventeen weeks), but also produces perfect symmetry in the building. In 1800 Penge Common was thickly wooded, with a few cottages and farmhouses. One of the houses built in the next few years on the newly enclosed common was Penge Place, owned by Leo Shuster, set in a park of 280 acres. Shuster sold the land at the bottom of his estate to the London Brighton and South Coast Railway, one of London's first railways, of which he was a director. When the original Palace in Hyde Park was closed in 1852 Paxton bought the building for his Crystal Palace Company and also the estate of Penge Place where he proceeded to re-erect and extend his building. Despite its popularity the Palace was losing money.


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