It hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics and was briefly the home of Crystal Palace Football Club during World War I.

[3] Crystal Palace, however, had no banking and a poor surface and supporters favoured a track which opened north of the Thames in Paddington, in 1888.

[6] National and world records have been established there – Norwood Paragon's Frank Southall was a notable record-breaker in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

- Ernie Mills and Bill Paul set a world best of 30 miles 793 yards, unpaced in one hour, although no tandem figures were recognised by the governing body at that time.

Despite this plans for a new Good Friday meeting at Herne Hill were released, focusing on inter-schools racing, disability cycling, women-only groups, under-eights and over-40s.

[11] A. P. Chamberlin, secretary of the NCU, said: "The crevices between the concrete slabs of the track are covered with all kinds of growth, and I found it impossible to uproot small trees that were growing.

[13] It said "considerable work would have to be carried out to bring the arena, both from a competition and a spectator point of view, up to the required standard for Olympic events."

The sparse crowd of 3,000 which gathered to watch the two-hour morning racing session received a lukewarm greeting over the loudspeakers and were then immediately given the draw of the 1,000m sprint.

It was so dark when the two tandem pairs lined up for the final run that the Italians, in their blue racing vests, were invisible against the background of spectators.

[18]The light was so poor that the photo-finish camera did not work and judges told photographers not to use flash for fear of harming both their and the racers' night vision.

Among those who took professional licences was a prominent road rider, Dave Bedwell The track held meetings featuring star internationals such as Jacques Anquetil, Fausto Coppi, Reg Harris and Tom Simpson during the 1950s and 1960s.

A feature, said the journalist Richard Williams, was "a lease long enough to make it worthwhile to undertake the necessary refurbishment of the grandstand, which is closed for safety reasons, and the 450‑metre track itself.

"[5] Bill Wright of British Cycling, formed by the merger of the National Cyclists Union with the British League of Racing Cyclists in the 1950s, said: "The problem is that the venue is underfunded and deteriorating, and desperately in need of refurbishment but cannot get the investment it needs unless landlords Dulwich Estate renew their lease, something Dulwich Estate is reluctant to do.

[21] The campaign has also attracted support from British racing cyclists Victoria Pendleton and Ben Swift, as well as local residents Jo Brand and James Nesbitt.

A £200,000 grant from British Cycling allowed the track to be resurfaced, and £1.5 million was secured from Sport England and the London Marathon Trust for the construction of a new pavilion, which began in April 2016 and was completed in 2017.