Historic site’s revamp secured £3.5m in public and private funding
Crystal Palace Subway is set to reopen in South London later this month following a £3.5m restoration job designed by Thomas Ford & Partners.
The historic grade II-listed structure will be open to visitors on 21 September from 10am to 2pm in time for its 160th anniversary, as part of Crystal Palace Park’s Open House Festival.
A new roof over the east courtyard and extensive repairs to the walls, floor, steps and entrances have rescued the Victorian subway from its previous crumbling state.
Funding for the project was sourced from the City of London Strategic Investment Pot, more than £1m from public body Historic England and donations from numerous individuals.
Dating from 1865, the subway is the most substantial survivor of the Crystal Palace complex, which burnt down in 1936 after the structure was moved to the park from its original site in Hyde Park.
New community-led park custodian Crystal Palace Park Trust will run the revamped subway, whilst the Friends of Crystal Palace Subway garnered local support for the scheme, working closely with Bromley Council and Historic England over the last decade to bring the site back into public use.
Further investment will be sought to transform the subway into a venue over the coming years.
The structure’s transformation forms the first stage of Bromley Council’s £52m regeneration plan for Crystal Palace Park, to be completed in collaboration with Historic England, Thomas Ford & Partners and conservation specialists BDR Limited.
Approval has been granted for the grade II registered landscape’s next phase, including HTA Design’s restoration of the park’s Italian terraces with their Egyptian-style Sphinxes and its Grade I-listed dinosaur sculptures.
> Also read: HTA gets go-ahead for £17.75m Crystal Palace Park restoration
Karl Richter and Jules Hussey, Co-founders of Friends of Crystal Palace Subway, said: “Fourteen years ago the Friends of Crystal Palace Subway began the journey to realise the reopening of the Subway. Over the intervening years, countless individuals, groups, and local businesses in Crystal Palace have lent their support to this restoration project, whether through donating funds or their time by volunteering on open house days for the public.”
Designed by Charles Barry Jr, the subway first opened in 1865 and provided a direct line for first class passengers coming from the High Level Station, which was demolished in 1961, under Crystal Palace Parade and into the palace.
During the Second World War, the space was used as an air raid shelter before becoming a local hangout and occasional community event venue post-war.
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