Third time lucky

After two previously unsuccessful attempts, I've finally seen the Victorian dinosaur sculptures in Crystal Palace Park. Commissioned in 1852 and unveiled to the public in 1854, they were the first life-size dinosaur sculptures ever created. While subsequent research has rendered many of the reconstructions inaccurate, they remain a remarkable record of Palaeontology's early years.


The dinosaurs are the work of Richard Owen, the same man that first categorised these animals as a new scientific classification and gave them the name, 'dinosaur'. He was commissioned by The Crystal Palace Company, the park's owners to prepare 33 life-size reproductions. Professor Owen called on the talents of renown animal sculptor, Benjamin Waterhouse-Hawkins to help him create his dinosaurs. Inspiration for much their final design came from observing the movements of modern animals and their skeletons.


Today, fifteen of the original sculptures are still on display, scattered along the shores of artificial islands in the midst of Crystal Park lake. The largest and perhaps most dramatic are the Iguanodons. They're depicted walking on all fours much like enormous rhinos. Modern images depict these animals walking on two large hind legs, with small fore limbs. Despite the error, the surviving sculptures are an impressive sight.


Nearby are three Ichthyosaurus, partially submerged by water. Again the reproductions are now considered dated. However, they remain a captivating sight. Equally, arresting are three Megaloceros, giant elks from the Philocene era which ended 1.8 millions years ago. They stand in a fenced enclosure that's remarkably like a regular zoo exhibit.


As you wander through the park it's easy to forget that these sculptures were created in century when most people believed the Earth was little more than a few thousand years old. Even Charles Darwin had yet to publish his controversial Origin of the Species. Since their creation they've endured neglect and the damp English weather, before finally being restored in 2002. Today they stand tribute to the pioneering research of curious Victorians.