The palace, which was built in Hyde Park in 1851 before being relocated to Sydenham Hill in south London, had been extensively patched up with wood over the years. It also had a lot of wooden furniture, random garbage, and wooden floors. This wood had been in a greenhouse for decades and was tinder-dry. One spark and the whole place would have gone up in flames.
On Saturday July 14, 1987, fire broke out on the second floor of the palace. It quickly spread across the wooden beams and panels used to cover the interior walls and ceilings, and within minutes it was spreading throughout the building. No one was injured in the fire.
Why did the Palace burn down? People who know only London can be surprised to hear that the cause of the fire was probably old wiring left over from when the building was used as a hospital. The fire service said there were two separate fires on different levels of the palace that joined together to cause more damage than either one alone. A gas leak while someone was repairing a boiler room window also helped spread the fire.
After the fire, architects were asked what could have prevented this disaster. They said the main problem was the lack of fire safety equipment such as fire alarms and sprinklers. The fire service also pointed out that there were no doors on any of the rooms where burning material was stored, which would have made fighting the blaze much easier.
The garden spans 42 acres (17 ha) in the City of Westminster, London, and features 2.5 miles of gravel walks. Constitution Hill to the north, Hyde Park Corner to the west, Grosvenor Place to the south-west, and the Royal Mews, Queen's Gallery, and Buckingham Palace to the south and east form its boundaries. The site was originally part of a deer park for King Henry VIII, who built his new palace here in 1536. It remained under royal ownership until 1760, when it was given as a gift to Prince George, Duke of Cumberland, who had been victorious over France in the battle of Fontenoy. The duke turned the land into a garden to honor his wife, Caroline of Anspach.
Buckingham Palace is the largest non-royal private residence in Europe. The main building is only slightly larger than one acre (0.4 ha). Outwardly, it consists of an entrance front, central block, and two wings. But within the walls are a number of other structures including a nursery, conservatory, kitchens, and garages. The entire estate is protected by security systems and has a team of around 70 people responsible for its maintenance.
It is not known exactly when the first plants were put in the garden at Buckingham Palace, but records show that seeds were sent from Holland to provide fruit for the court in 1625.
1851 inside view of the Crystal Palace. Paxton, who was already a well-known gardener at the time, experimented extensively with glasshouse construction. Paxton invented the "ridge-and-furrow" roof design by combining prefabricated cast iron, laminated wood, and standard-sized glass sheets. This roof structure is still in use today.
The world's first practical greenhouse was built by Joseph Paxton in 1852. He called his invention the "Crystal Palace". The building was designed to house plants for the Great Exhibition being held in London that year. It was a huge success and many other greenhouses were built using different materials and designs over the next few years. In 1865, Charles Darwin visited the Great Exhibition and saw Paxton's work, which inspired him to write about greenhouse plants in his book On the Origin of Species.
Today, greenhouses are used all over the world for growing flowers, vegetables, fruits, and other plants ex vitro (outside of their natural habitat). They offer the plant food and water that are needed to grow large plants in small spaces or during periods of climate change. Plants grown this way are often more nutritious and attractive than those grown in ordinary soil because they have more space to absorb sunlight and nutrients. Greenhouses can also be used to protect plants from pests and diseases that would otherwise harm them outside of the controlled environment of a laboratory or farm.
Crystal Palace is a neighborhood in South London, England, named for the Crystal Palace Exhibition building, which existed in the neighborhood from 1854 until it was destroyed by fire in 1936. It is located around 7 miles southeast of Charing Cross and has one of the highest spots in London, at 367 feet (112 m), with views of the metropolis. The population of Crystal Palace was estimated to be 13,000 in 2011.
The area is served by several stations on the Sydenham Line of the London Underground: North Palace Park, East Palace Gate, North Palace Gate, and South Palace Station.
Palace station opened on 1 April 1905, as part of the new South Eastern Railway (SER) line from St Petersburg to Greenwich. The original building was designed in a French Renaissance style by Charles Wightwick Alcock and built by Mowlem & Co. It is made of red brick with white stone dressings and has a tile roof. The entrance hall is decorated with mosaics created by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. In 1913, the SER expanded its premises by purchasing the neighbouring former offices of the Royal Geographic Society for use as a museum. This building, now known as Palace Museum, is open daily except on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
In 1937, the SER merged with several other railway companies to form the Southern Railway. As a result, the palace became a joint station for both the Waterloo-Southampton and the Charing Cross-Southend lines.
It was founded as a monastery in 1128, and modifications in the 1670s led to the palace's effective upkeep today, owing in great part to Charles II, who erected the upper level where the royal family's private rooms are currently located. The current version of the palace was built by William III and Mary II, and is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in London.
The palace is owned by the British government, but it is also used by the Royal Family for state occasions such as opening ceremonies for new programs at the BBC. However, they do not live there; that is done by other members of the family. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge are both responsible for the management of the palace, while the Duchess of Cornwall has a role in advising the Queen on cultural matters and organizing social events within the palace community.
All in all, the Palace of Westminster is a must-see when visiting London. It is unique in Europe and has been called "the last English cathedral" because of its similarity to medieval cathedrals in England. The building also has another nickname: "the house that Winston Churchill Built". That is because of the role that he played in saving it from destruction after the second world war. Today, it is home to both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, two of the three branches of the British government.
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