From Woolwich to Greenwich

Many people’s mental map of Woolwich and Greenwich is that they are more or less next door to each other. But the stretch along the river (walked by Cathy, Raja, Bunny and Toby) is surprisingly long, at least six miles. There is a lot of industrial wilderness in between and trekking round the Greenwich Peninsula also adds quite a lot of distance.

Greenwich and Woolwich have both have strong military associations. Woolwich’s arsenal and dockyard and Greenwich maritime college. Also very unusual is the fact that North Woolwich and North Greenwich are on the north bank of the Thames detached from the main settlements on the south bank. Very few other place names in London span the river in this way.

In the summer of 1880 there was a race between a man and a dog between London Bridge and Woolwich for a wager of £250. The man and the dog plunged into the river at half past three cheered by a great crowd of spectators. The dog know as ‘Now Then’ soon pulled ahead. By the time that the man pulled out of the race at Limehouse, the dog was nearly half a mile ahead.

Woolwich cannon and Tate and Lyle sugar refinery at Silvertown on the north bank of the river. Tate and Lyle was formed by a merger between Henry Tate & Sons and Abram Lyle & Sons in 1921. The factory was hit by a bomb on the first night of the Blitz in September 1940.

Missing Sculpture near Thames Barrier

Jetties and boats, New Charlton. Greenwich’s unsual mixture of elegant architecture and heavy industry can be traced to the vision of Henry VIII who was born in Placentia Palace in Greenwich but wanted to see England compete in Europe as a major industrial and military power. I was surprised to see just how much heavy industry survives untouched by regeneration. Current and past Greenwich industries have included the manufacturing of rope cable, soap, candles, dog food, gravel, boatbuilding, cement, gas, steel, tar, chemicals, bronze, brass, guns and gunpowder.

Raja and sand tip, New Charlton Metal sculpture, Greenwich Peninsula

Trinity Hospital, founded in 1613. The current building dates from 1812 and was a almshouse for 21 old ‘gentlemen of Greenwich’. It is administered by the Mercer’s Company. In the background is Greenwich Power Station, built by the LCC in 1906 to power trams. It was used as a backup power station to power the London Underground until 2002.

Bunny meets a Pearly King at Greenwich