Sep 16, 2026 · 20 min · 11 segments
Sitting proudly at the top of a hill in North London is the building of Alexandra Palace, with its recognisable mast - still in use today! This podcast looks at the history of Ally Pally! Join…
Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London borough of Haringey.
A Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm.
It was designed by John Johnson and Alfred Meason.
It opened in 1873, but following a fire two weeks after its opening, was rebuilt by Johnson.
It was intended as the People's Palace and is often referred to by the nickname Alley Pally.
At first, a private venture.
A group of neighbouring local authorities managed to acquire it.
The Act required the trustees to maintain the building in the park and make them available for free use and recreation of the public forever.
The present trustee is the London Borough of Haringey, whose coat of arms shows lightning bolts depicting Alexandra Palace's pioneering role in the development of television.
In 1935, the trustees leased part of the Palace to the BBC for use as production and transmission centre for their new television service.
Thus, in 1936, it became the home of the world's first public regular television service.
The broadcasting system was 405-line monochrome analogue television, the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting.
Although other facilities soon superseded it after the Second World War, Alexandra Palace continued to be used by the BBC for many years and its radio and television mast is still in use.
The original studios A and B still survive in the southwest wing with their producers' galleries and are used for exhibiting original historical television equipment.
The original Victorian Alexandra Palace Theatre with its stage machinery also survives and, as of 2019, is back in use The theatre and the stage structure are an English Heritage Buildings at Risk register.
Alexandra Palace became a listed building in 1996 at the instigation of the Hornsey Historical Society.
A planned commercial development of the building into a mixed-leisure complex, including a hotel, a replacement ice skating rink, a cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley and an exhibition centre, encountered opposition from public groups and was blocked by the High Court in 2007.
The Great Hall and the West Hall are typically used for exhibitions, concerts and conferences.
They operated by the trading arm of the charitable trust that owns the building and the park on behalf of the public.
It's also the site of the Borough of Importance for Nature Conservation .
Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London borough of Haringey.
A Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm.
It was designed by John Johnson and Alfred Meason.
It opened in 1873, but following a fire two weeks after its opening, was rebuilt by Johnson.
It was intended as the People's Palace and is often referred to by the nickname Alley Pally.
At first, a private venture.
A group of neighbouring local authorities managed to acquire it.
The Act required the trustees to maintain the building in the park and make them available for free use and recreation of the public forever.
The present trustee is the London Borough of Haringey, whose coat of arms shows lightning bolts depicting Alexandra Palace's pioneering role in the development of television.
In 1935, the trustees leased part of the Palace to the BBC for use as production and transmission centre for their new television service.
Thus, in 1936, it became the home of the world's first public regular television service.
The broadcasting system was 405-line monochrome analogue television, the first fully electronic television system to be used in regular broadcasting.
Although other facilities soon superseded it after the Second World War, Alexandra Palace continued to be used by the BBC for many years and its radio and television mast is still in use.
The original studios A and B still survive in the southwest wing with their producers' galleries and are used for exhibiting original historical television equipment.
The original Victorian Alexandra Palace Theatre with its stage machinery also survives and, as of 2019, is back in use The theatre and the stage structure are an English Heritage Buildings at Risk register.
Alexandra Palace became a listed building in 1996 at the instigation of the Hornsey Historical Society.
A planned commercial development of the building into a mixed-leisure complex, including a hotel, a replacement ice skating rink, a cinema, a ten-pin bowling alley and an exhibition centre, encountered opposition from public groups and was blocked by the High Court in 2007.
The Great Hall and the West Hall are typically used for exhibitions, concerts and conferences.
They operated by the trading arm of the charitable trust that owns the building and the park on behalf of the public.
It's also the site of the Borough of Importance for Nature Conservation .
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