Industrial History Online
Alexandra Palace
Key Words :- People's Palace. Exhibition Hall, Theatre
Address :- Alexandra Palace Way, London, Greater London, N22 7AY
Grid Ref :- TQ 29598 90039
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.594299 , Long -0.130448
Local Authority :- Haringey London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Greater London Council
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No - 1268256,
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1875 -
Description and History of Site:-
Extensive entertainment centre. Reconstructed 1862. International Exhibition building opened here 1873. Burned down 16 days later. 1875 reconstructed by architects Meeson & Johnson.
Ravaged by fire July 1981. Outer walls and Palm Court roof now refurbished, but wrought-iron arched roof of Great Hall damaged beyond repair.
Since rebuilt to a new design and contains the partly restored Henry Willis organ.
Triumphal gateway, TQ293893, incorporates some of its ornate cast-iron columns.
Television Mast on east end for world's first public TV service, began November 1936.
Scottish inventor John Logie Baird turned existing mechanical television technologies into a workable system sufficiently robust enough to convince the BBC to set up an experimental television service in the early 1930s from a basement studio in Broadcasting House. By 1936 a regular schedule of programmes from Alexandra Palace using the Baird mechanical system had started. This was rapidly superseded by the superior all-electronic service created by EMI that had been running in parallel.
Plaque inscription:
'The world's first regular high definition television service was inaugurated here by the BBC.'
Theatre (at the east end) reopened December 2018, having been out of use since the mid 1930s.
Further Reading and References:-
Wilson, Aubrey. 'London's Industrial Heritage'. David & Charles, 1967
Smith, Denis. 'Civil Engineering Heritage - London and the Thames Valley'. Institution of Civil Engineers, 2001
BoE4 580: Lond. Enc. 15: HHS Archive:
https://www.alexandrapalace.com/our-history/overview/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/heritage-trail
Help us improve this entry
Grid Ref :- TQ 29598 90039
Co-ordinates :- Lat 51.594299 , Long -0.130448
Local Authority :- Haringey London Borough Council
Pre 1974 County :- Greater London Council
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Historic England List No - 1268256,
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1875 -
Extensive entertainment centre. Reconstructed 1862. International Exhibition building opened here 1873. Burned down 16 days later. 1875 reconstructed by architects Meeson & Johnson.
Ravaged by fire July 1981. Outer walls and Palm Court roof now refurbished, but wrought-iron arched roof of Great Hall damaged beyond repair.
Since rebuilt to a new design and contains the partly restored Henry Willis organ.
Triumphal gateway, TQ293893, incorporates some of its ornate cast-iron columns.
Television Mast on east end for world's first public TV service, began November 1936.
Scottish inventor John Logie Baird turned existing mechanical television technologies into a workable system sufficiently robust enough to convince the BBC to set up an experimental television service in the early 1930s from a basement studio in Broadcasting House. By 1936 a regular schedule of programmes from Alexandra Palace using the Baird mechanical system had started. This was rapidly superseded by the superior all-electronic service created by EMI that had been running in parallel.
Plaque inscription:
'The world's first regular high definition television service was inaugurated here by the BBC.'
Theatre (at the east end) reopened December 2018, having been out of use since the mid 1930s.
Wilson, Aubrey. 'London's Industrial Heritage'. David & Charles, 1967
Smith, Denis. 'Civil Engineering Heritage - London and the Thames Valley'. Institution of Civil Engineers, 2001
BoE4 580: Lond. Enc. 15: HHS Archive:
https://www.alexandrapalace.com/our-history/overview/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/heritage-trail
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Contributor :- GLIAS Database - 2 June 2018
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © GLIAS Database
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © GLIAS Database