On 30th November 1936 the Crystal Palace was destroyed.

The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass building constructed to hold the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park in London. In 1854 it was rebuilt on Penge Common next to Sydenham Hill - which area of London is now known after the palace.

On November 30th a small office started following an explosion in the woman's cloakroom. Despite 89 fire engines and 400 firemen being called in to fight the blaze, it quickly spread, destroying the building in a fire whose glow could be seen from eight counties.

Image: See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crystal_Palace_fire_1936.jpg)