Muswell Hill is in north London and as its name suggests, it is high up overlooking London. And perhaps the most striking building there is Alexandra Palace or as is better known to Londoners, Ally Pally. It’s not an ancient palace as some in London and it was not designed to house members of the Royal Family. In fact, it has quite a history and can lay claim to some firsts.
It was originally opened on the 24th May1873. But, the one we see today is not the original. That first one burned to the ground just 16 days later. The culprit was a workman who dropped a burning hot coal from his brazier. It was decided that a second one should be built to replace the one destroyed. And so, on the 1st May 1875, the new Alexandra Palace was declared open. It was going to be called the Palace of the People but got changed to a Princess of Wales.
The View from Ally Pally
So, if it didn’t house the Royal Family, what was it used for. In a word, leisure. It was built for the Victorians to enjoy themselves in. So, what was on offer? There was a concert hall, a theatre, a reading room, a racecourse, a Japanese village and a circus built outdoors and being able to accommodate an audience of up to 2,000. It was and is quite a big structure.
It was said to be a competitor for the Crystal Palace of south London but it failed to become so. In fact, in 1900, it was nearly sold in order to be demolished and make room for a new development. But it wasn’t and when the First World War broke out, it became the home for captured German prisoners of war.
So, what part did it play in television? Well, on the 2nd November 1936, it hosted the first high definition (high for its time that is), which was broadcast by the BBC. With the Second World War 1939 – 1945, Ally Pally played a major part in disrupting and blocking radio signals sent by the Germans. After the war, it would once again be television which would take a hand in the building’s development. On the 10th October 1955, the first colour television signals were broadcast from here. These were tests and a year later the experiments were moved to Shepherds Bush in west London where the BBC had studios for many decades until they moved to Salford, near Manchester and to the newly expanded studios in Regents Street just up from Oxford Circus. However, the Open University continued broadcasting from Ally Pally until 1980.
In the same year, fire once again invaded the building, but this time it was repairable and then reopened again eight years later. Today it has different roles. It is home to putting on exhibitions and is also a large conference centre. There are various music concerts held there from time to time. If nothing else, it is worth a visit for the view.
John Pullen 