Palace photos bought for £13,500

The palace was destroyed in a fire in 1936

A collection of rare images of Crystal Palace dated from the late 1850s has been sold at an auction for £13,500.

The 47 shots, which were auctioned at Dominic Winter in Swindon, Wiltshire, were expected to fetch up to £5,000.

Bought by English Heritage, the pictures show the palace after it was relocated from Hyde Park to Sydenham Hill, in south-east London.

The photographs of the palace, which was destroyed in a fire in 1936, were taken by Philip Henry Delamotte.

Public hands

Chris Albury, of Dominic Winter, said he was very pleased that the pieces had been sold into public hands.

"The vendors win, we win, and it's really nice to know that something that has research potential is going to be available to the public.

"The fact that they are in this country as opposed to abroad is even better."

The palace's historically-themed rooms including the Nineveh Room, decorated with palms and a pond, as well as a line of mummies in the Egyptian Room, are featured in the shots.

It is believed the pictures of the iron and glass building will now stay in Swindon.

Crystal Palace was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton as the venue for the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.