Palace water towers

The History of Sydenham from Cippenham to present day. Links to photos especially welcome!
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MartinH
Posts: 149
Joined: 10 Sep 2007 10:17
Location: Sydenham SE26

Palace water towers

Post by MartinH »

I can remember, about a year ago, Falkor saying that he had discovered a photo of the palace which had been taken before the Brunel towers had been built but which showed ( I believe) "the Bayley towers" or something of similar spelling. Can anyone expand on this with details of their design?
Konqi
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Location: Antarctica

Post by Konqi »

well here are photos of the towers being built:

SOUTH TOWER
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NORTH TOWER
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How much of this was Wild's and how much of it was Brunel's I am unsure, Interesting thing is I can't see any sign of a concrete/brick base on either tower which may suggest it was Wild's.

Also in this photo where the palace is more complete there appears to be no sign of the North Water Tower at all which would suggest that the Wild tower was no more.

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This photo is also interesting looks like the chimney for the south water tower without the iron work round it, so perhaps that remained standing whilst they rebuilt the south tower. (But this is a complete guess it could well be something else, but the tower is also missing in that shot)

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and remains of the two towers today:

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Last edited by Konqi on 20 Oct 2009 21:45, edited 1 time in total.
MartinH
Posts: 149
Joined: 10 Sep 2007 10:17
Location: Sydenham SE26

Post by MartinH »

Thanks for your swift response. So, I must presume then that the Bayley's towers are identical to the towers that survived the great fire with the exception of the bases which were designed by Brunel. Therefore,
Bayley's towers designed, built, and tested.
Bayley's towers dismantled.
Brunel's bases designed and constructed..
Bayley's towers rebuilt.
I was always under the impression that the Bayley's towers were of an entirely different design. Thanks for clearing that up. Next question.Are there any photos of the Palace showing the experimental water tanks that were built on top of each wing to supply the fountains before the Brunel bases were installed?
Konqi
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Post by Konqi »

It may well have been that Brunel improved on Wild's design and altered certain things.. but what is unclear.


Also the towers in those photos look slightly thinner.
Last edited by Konqi on 20 Oct 2009 21:46, edited 1 time in total.
Konqi
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Joined: 2 Mar 2009 15:22
Location: Antarctica

Post by Konqi »

From a bit of searching I think these are what you are after:

North Wing
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South Wing
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and in this drawing you see the added on levels to the terminal buildings:

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Last edited by Konqi on 22 Oct 2009 08:12, edited 4 times in total.
tulse hill terry
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Post by tulse hill terry »

I thought Charles Heard Wild was the original engineer, am I wrong?
Konqi
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Post by Konqi »

I am not sure
tulse hill terry
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Post by tulse hill terry »

Konqi
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Post by Konqi »

ah I'll correct myself and edit my posts.
Konqi
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Post by Konqi »

comparing the two towers you can see there are some differences from the outside.

Looks like Brunel reused a lot of parts from the original but made the towers larger by using another flat section of iron rather than a round column.

Image
Chevalier
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Joined: 19 Dec 2009 12:05
Location: Forest Hill

Post by Chevalier »

it's amazing how much is left of the cp if you know where to look.
jasonwebber
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Joined: 2 Feb 2009 15:43
Location: sydenham

Post by jasonwebber »

A few more pictures of crystal palace on the exploring 20th century london site:

http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/ser ... nRecord.16
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