'Gorilla' by David Wynne

In Crystal Palace Park, beside the Lower Lake, stands a wonderful statue of a Gorilla, by David Wynne. The gorilla is shown on all fours as a way to convey the powerful majesty of the animal.

In 1959, London County Council, through its Patronage of the Arts scheme, commissioned David Wynne to create a large animal sculpture, to go with the spirit of the dinosaur and extinct species statues already in the park

Having studied zoology at the University of Cambridge, David Wynne chose 'Guy the Gorilla' as his subject. 

The sculpture was completed, in 1961, and unveiled near the Children's Zoo in 1962. The statue is still in place, even though the Children's Zoo closed in 1990.

Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled in 1854, the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs are the world's first dinosaur sculptures.

They were designed and sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, under the scientific direction of Sir Richard Owen. Sir Richard Owen is best known for coining the term 'Dinosauria'.

The sculptures also include other extinct animals and the collection is known as the 'Geological Court' or 'Dinosaur Court'.

By today's standards many of these sculptures are anatomically inaccurate. Many were sculpted on incorrectly assembled skeletons, showing the limit of 19th century scientific understanding. But, being the world's first, they paved the way for many of the advances in fossil understanding and palaeontology.

In 1952 a full restoration of the sculptures began, with some of the dinosaurs being moved. The sculptures were Grade II listed, in 1973. Between 2001-02 the sculptures were extensively restored, with fibreglass models replacing the more severely damaged ones. Some previous restorations had used lead, for the legs, linking these appendages to the bodies with iron rods. The iron had then corroded, causing more damage, resulting in new pieces to be cast. 

In 2007, the sculptures were Grade I listed.

Of the fifteen genera of extinct animals only three are true dinosaurs. The periods that are covered by the sculptures include the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.

In May of this year, Crystal Palace Park, the dinosaurs, playground, cafe and more began undergoing a multi-million pound refurbishment, which is due to be completed by summer 2026. The park is remaining open, but restrictions to certain areas may be in place.

Walking with Keilyn: Crystal Palace Park and Wellington Arch

Sunday March 30, 2025.

The day was set to be a warm one, as Keilyn and I set off for Watford Metropolitan station, ready to begin another day in London. However, unlike our usual visits, I had yet to decide where to go. So, we sat on the train, which would be terminating at Baker Street, due to a points failure, still wondering where to go. Approaching Finchley Road, I had an idea, so we left the train and changed to a Jubilee line train, which we took to Green Park. Here we changed to a Victoria line train, heading for Brixton.

On exiting the station we had one minute to get to Bus Stop 'Q', where we hopped aboard the 432 towards Anerley Station. Roughly 30 minutes later we got off the bus, at Thicket Road, with Keilyn still having no idea where we were going.

We entered Crystal Palace Park, via Cintra Gate and found ourselves on the Lower Terrace. Once I had explained where we were we went off to explore the terraces, sphinxes, ruins and, of course, the BBC Transmitter.

Much of the structure is now protected, by metal railings, with some of the statues in a sorry state. Walking along the upper terrace you get a sense of how massive the site is. Standing at the top of the steps we were both amazed by how far we could see, so stunning was the view.

We then headed down the park towards the National Sports Centre, where people were running around the track, while others were practising Beach Volley Ball.

Following the path we descended the steps and turned south, heading around the lakes in search of the dinosaurs and other extinct animals. We spent a good forty-five minutes wandering around, spotting as many of the animals as we could, with only the Pterodactyle being obscured by the overgrowth.

We then headed towards the Crystal Palace Park Market, that we had spotted earlier, in search of some lunch. The market had food stalls from various corners of the Earth, while other traders were here to sell their unique wares: cheese. chili, wines, pastries, herbs and the like. The smells were incredible, as we made our way through the market, making us hungrier than ever. 

It was then that Keilyn noticed a Hot Dog stall. The sausages were thick and a foot long and looked amazing. Keilyn ordered a six-inch one, with ketchup, while I had the foot-long, with onions, gherkins and chili sauce. With food in hand we sat on the grass, in the shade of a tree, and tucked in. They were delicious!

Feeling like our bellies were going to burst, we headed off around the Lower Lake, making our wat back towards the Bus Stop, stopping at a local shop to buy some more drinks and an ice cream for Keilyn.