The mystery of the construction of the Crystal Palace in London, the world’sworld’s largest building at the time, has finally been answered by new research. Led by Professor John Gardner of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), the study has revealed an incredible secret behind the rapid 190-day construction of this architectural wonder.
It turns out that the Crystal Palace was the pioneering structure to utilize a standard screw thread, a revolutionary feat that has since become a cornerstone of modern construction and engineering.
The completion of the Crystal Palace just in time for the Great Exhibition of 1851 was a remarkable feat, serving as a testament to the industrial prowess of Victorian Britain. Stretching over 560 meters in length and featuring a colossal glass roof supported by 3,300 cast iron columns, the sheer scale of the structure was awe-inspiring. It even had the unique ability to expand by up to 12 inches on warmer days.
Historians have long been bewildered by the rapid construction of the Crystal Palace, especially considering that the design was only approved in July 1850. However, a groundbreaking new study published in The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology has uncovered the mystery.
It has been revealed that the Crystal Palace stands as the earliest known example of utilizing Whitworth screw threads, later recognized as the British Standard Whitworth (BSW) – the world’s inaugural national screw thread standard.
The remarkable history of the Crystal Palace continues as it was originally erected for the Great Exhibition in London’sLondon’s Hyde Park before being relocated to south London in 1854. Tragically, the iconic structure met its end in 1936 when it was ravaged by fire.
The research team made a groundbreaking discovery at the site in Sydenham, south London, unearthing the use of Whitworth screw threads in both the remnants of the Crystal Palace and the nearby south water tower, a creation of the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed to power the fountains in front of the Palace.
A column bolt from the building was found to adhere to the British Standard Whitworth measurements, while a nut and bolt from the water tower, after being treated with oil and subjected to heat, hammering, and force, revealed discernible screw threads that also aligned with the British Standard Whitworth measurements. This revelation sheds new light on the innovative engineering techniques employed in the construction of the Crystal Palace.
Before Joseph Whitworth’sWhitworth’s innovation, screws and bolts were all unique, lacking standard measurements. This made construction a laborious process, with lost or broken components proving challenging to replace. With a staggering 30,000 nuts and bolts, the Crystal Palace relied on standardized threads, a groundbreaking concept that enabled the swift completion of this architectural marvel.
Professor Gardner’s research, part of a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship exploring the interplay between engineering and literary cultures, sheds light on this remarkable engineering breakthrough.
“During the Victorian era, there was incredible innovation from workshops right across Britain that helped change the world. In fact, progress was happening at such a rate that certain breakthroughs were perhaps never properly realized at the time, as was the case here with the Crystal Palace,” he said.
“This research started out as a question – how was it built so quickly? – and thanks to Ken Kiss, curator of the Crystal Palace museum, who I carried out this research with, we were able to answer this. Ken had excavated original columns from the Crystal Palace site at Sydenham, and from these, we were able to take measurements.
“I manufactured new bolts to British Standard Whitworth and demonstrated that they fitted the original nuts. Standardization in engineering is essential and commonplace in the 21st century, but its role in the construction of the Crystal Palace was a major development.
“The Great Exhibition of 1851 was organized to showcase the best of engineering excellence. It was visited by around six million people, which was a third of Britain’s population, and attracted some of the most famous people of the day, including Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Charles Darwin, and Michael Faraday.
“Ironically, Joseph Whitworth was awarded a Council Medal for his displays at the exhibition inside the Crystal Palace, but his important role in the construction of the building itself hasn’t been recognized until now.”
Journal reference:
- John Gardner and Ken Kiss. Thread form at the Crystal Palace. The International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology, 2024; DOI: 10.1080/17581206.2024.2391984
