The History Hub.

In 1851 Britain held the Great Exhibition. This was an enormous exhibition designed to show off Britain's achievements and inventions to the world. The idea was thought up by Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband.

 

The building in which this took place was a grand design. A competition was run in order to find the most appropriate building and Joseph Paxton won the competition. His design was one of iron and glass and as you can see from the pictures below, it was ahead of its time and rather futuristic in design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Great Exhibition attracted around 6 million visitors and was a roaring success. British inventions and achievements were displayed alongside the same from other countries and it was clear that British was best. There really is much more you can find out about the Great Exhibition, the link below is just a start. 

 

 

 

 

The Crystal Palace is symbolic of the inventive and progressive spirit of the Victorian's. Check out some of the videos on the right and see if you can find some other Victorian Inventions. For a timeline of the period and a list of some Victorian Inventions, check out the information on the page below.