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Culture minister protects the dinosaurs

South London's stone prehistoric dinosaurs that were designed in the Victorian era have joined Buckingham Palace as a Grade-I listed monument.

The 15 sculptures, which are the first attempt to design three species of dinosaur, were built in Crystal Palace park after being moved from The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park.

They were listed Grade-II in 1973, but now the dinosaurs will join the exclusive 2.5 per cent of list entries which are Grade 1 - which includes the Royal Albert Hall..

They were designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and were built out of brick and artificial stone on a framework of iron rods.

Culture Minister, Margaret Hodge, said: “They are believed to be unique and are clearly of exceptional historic interest in a national and probably international context.”

According to English Heritage, the 15 life-size models are "the first attempt to accurately reconstruct the three dinosaur species known to the scientific world in the 1850s within their geological environment".

Although the sculptures are now considered out of date and inaccurate, palaeontologists believe they were groundbreaking when they were designed in the 1850s.

The main purpose of listing a monument is to ensure that care will be taken over decisions affecting its future, that any alterations respect the particular character and interest of the building

Listing a building or a monument also means that the case for its preservation is taken fully into account in considering the merits of any redevelopment proposals.

Aug 24, 2007
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