Pagan Eye: The Historic Subway at Crystal Palace

I took the picture of newly restored historic Crystal Palace Subway at a special event for artists and photographers last weekend, organised by CPP Trust. It really is an amazing architectural site that linked an old railway station to the glass building that once housed the Great Exhibition, but it also holds a special place in my memory and imagination. 

Back when I was a child, the remains of the old Crystal Palace, at the top end of the park in South East London, were overgrown ruins. However, for a child living nearby it was a place of adventure. I could pretend I was exploring fantastical places – climbing the crumbling steps of the terraces to an ancient temple, or descending windings stairs into the underworld, or a monster’s lair. The subway was technically out of bounds, but it was easy to get into in the past. 

The way I recall it, there were statues there then. I’m not sure if that’s a false memory, but the park had lots of statues remaining from the days of the exhibition centre. Some are still in place along the terrace above ground or at the CP Museum. I blogged about them recently. Back in the day, there were more and they were stored in various places over the years. The ones that survive have been catalogued by Invisible Palace and there aren’t any in the subway at present. 

But, in my mind, I’ve long seen this place as the lair of the Medusa from the 1980s movie Clash of the Titans: a dungeon complex of flickering firelight and hidden danger, littered with people turned to stone. Back then, Medusa was depicted as an evil creature. Nowadays, many modern pagans view her as a woman who was much-wronged, who wanted to be left alone, and defended herself from intruders with the weapons she had been given. Modern witches and ancient pagans alike have called on her for protection.

The old subway might not hold monsters, but it does still feel a magical place. It is managed by Crystal Palace Park Trust and, following the wonderful restoration project, can be visited on open days. You can find out the next dates here: https://www.crystalpalaceparktrust.org/pages/how-to-visit-the-crystal-palace-subway

On each of my Pagan Eye posts, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to [email protected] Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch’s Blog.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/06/weird-london-stonehenges-brutalist.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/06/happy-summer-solstice-from-crystal.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/03/london-dreamtime-at-crystal-palace.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/06/pagan-eye-ribbon-of-wildflowers-in.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2024/05/pagan-eye-south-london-gets-new-erection.html

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