The town became a popular resort in the 18th century, and many grand houses were built there, such asVanbrugh Castle (1717) established on Maze Hill, next to the park. From theGeorgian period estates of houses were constructed above the town centre. The maritime connections of Greenwich were celebrated in the 20th century, with the siting of the historic vesselsCutty Sark andGipsy Moth IV next to the river front, and theNational Maritime Museum in the former buildings of theRoyal Hospital School in 1934.
The place-name 'Greenwich' is first attested in anAnglo-Saxon charter of 918, where it appears asGronewic. It is recorded asGrenewic in 964, and asGrenawic in theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle for 1013. It isGrenviz in theDomesday Book of 1086, andGrenewych in theTaxatio Ecclesiastica of 1291. The name means 'greenwic', indicating that Greenwich was what is known as a-wich town oremporium, from the Latin 'vicus'.[3]
The settlement later became known asEast Greenwich to distinguish it fromWest Greenwich orDeptford Strond, the part ofDeptford adjacent to theRiver Thames,[4] but the use ofEast Greenwich to mean the whole of the town of Greenwich died out in the 19th century. However, Greenwich was divided into the registration subdistricts ofGreenwich East andGreenwich West from the beginning ofcivil registration in 1837, the boundary running down what is nowGreenwich Church Street andCroom's Hill, although more modern references to "East" and "West" Greenwich probably refer to the areas east and west of theRoyal Naval College andNational Maritime Museum corresponding with the West Greenwichcouncil ward. An article inThe Times of 13 October 1967 stated:[5]
East Greenwich, gateway to theBlackwall Tunnel, remains solidlyworking class, the manpower for one eighth of London'sheavy industry.West Greenwich is a hybrid: the spirit of Nelson, theCutty Sark, the Maritime Museum, an industrial waterfront and a number of elegant houses, ripe for development.
Royal charters granted to English colonists in North America,[6] as well as inCompany Bombay andSt Helena,[7] often used the name of themanor of East Greenwich for describing the tenure (from the Latin verbteneo, hold) as that of freesocage.[8]New England charters provided that the grantees should hold their lands "as of his Majesty's manor of East Greenwich". This was in relation to the principle of land tenure under English law, that the ruling monarch (king or queen) was paramount lord of all the soil in theterra regis,[9] while all others held their lands, directly or indirectly, under the monarch. Land outside the physical boundaries of England, as in America, was treated as belonging constructively to one of the existing royal manors, and from Tudor times grants frequently used the name of the manor of East Greenwich,[10] but some 17th-century grants namedthe castle of Windsor.[11][12][13] Places in North America that have taken the name "East Greenwich" includea township in Gloucester County, New Jersey,a hamlet in Washington County, New York, anda town in Kent County, Rhode Island.Greenwich, Connecticut was also named after Greenwich.
Tumuli to the south-west of Flamsteed House,[14] inGreenwich Park, are thought to be earlyBronze Age barrows re-used by the Saxons in the 6th century as burial grounds. To the east between the Vanbrugh and Maze Hill Gates is the site of a Roman villa or temple. A small area of red pavingtesserae protected by railings marks the spot. It was excavated in 1902, and 300 coins were found dating from the emperorsClaudius andHonorius to the 5th century. This was excavated by theChannel 4 television programmeTime Team in 1999, broadcast in 2000,[15] and further investigations were made by the same group in 2003.[16]
TheRoman road from London toDover,Watling Street, crossed the high ground to the south of Greenwich, through Blackheath. This followed the line of an earlierCeltic route fromCanterbury toSt Albans.[17] As late asHenry V, Greenwich was only a fishing town, with a safe anchorage in the river.[4]
During the reign ofÆthelred the Unready, theDanish fleet anchored in the River Thames off Greenwich for over three years, and the army encamped on the hill above. From here they attackedKent and, in the year 1012, took the city of Canterbury, making ArchbishopAlphege their prisoner for seven months in their camp at Greenwich, at that time within the county of Kent. They stoned him to death for his refusal to allow his ransom (3,000 pieces of silver) to be paid; and kept his body, until the reported blossoming of a stick that had been immersed in his blood. For this miracle his body was released to his followers, he achieved sainthood for his martyrdom and, in the 12th century, the parish church was dedicated to him. The present church on the site west of the town centre isSt Alfege's Church, designed byNicholas Hawksmoor in 1714 and completed in 1718.
TheDomesday Book of 1086 records the manor ofGrenviz in thehundred ofGrenviz as held by BishopOdo of Bayeux;[18] his lands were seized by the crown in 1082. The name of the hundred was changed toBlackheath when the site of the hundred court was moved there in the 12th century. There has been a royal palace or hunting lodge here since before 1300, whenEdward I is known to have made offerings at the chapel of the Virgin Mary.[19]
Subsequent monarchs were regular visitors, withHenry IV making his will here, andHenry V granting the manor, for life, toThomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, who died at Greenwich in 1426. The palace was created byHumphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Henry V's younger brother and regent to his sonHenry VI in 1447; he enclosed the park and erected a tower (Greenwich Castle) on the hill now occupied by theRoyal Observatory. The Thames-side palace was renamed thePalace of Placentia or Pleasaunce by Henry VI's consortMargaret of Anjou after Humphrey's death. The palace was completed and further enlarged byEdward IV, and in 1466 it was granted to his queen,Elizabeth.[19] Edward IV had previously been given permission by the Pope to establish aFranciscanfriary ofObservant Friars in Greenwich, this was done in 1485, two years after his death; the first Observant House in England, it was located on land adjacent to the palace.[20] After rejecting papal authority in 1534, the Franciscan Observants were suppressed; refounded as Franciscan Conventual, the friary was dissolved in 1538, then re-established in 1555 for Observants, before the friars were finally expelled in 1559 and the friary was demolished in 1662.[20]
Ultimately it was because the palace and its grounds were a royal possession (with a useful hill) that it was chosen as the site forCharles II's Royal Observatory, from which stemmed Greenwich's subsequent global role as originator of the modernPrime Meridian.
The palace was the principal residence ofHenry VII whose sons Henry (laterHenry VIII) andEdmund Tudor were born here, and baptised in St Alphege's. Henry favoured Greenwich over nearbyEltham Palace, the former principal royal palace in south London, which was not on the River Thames and so was less accessible. Henry extended Greenwich Palace and it became his principal London seat untilWhitehall Palace was built in the 1530s. Henry VIII marriedCatherine of Aragon andAnne of Cleves at Greenwich, and both of his daughters,Mary (18 February 1516) andElizabeth (7 September 1533), were born at Greenwich. His sonEdward VI also died there at age 15.
The palace of Placentia, in turn, became Elizabeth's favourite summer residence.[19] Both she and her sister Mary used the palace extensively, and Elizabeth's Council planned theSpanish Armada campaign there in 1588.
James I carried out the final remodelling work on Greenwich Palace, granting the manor to his wifeQueen Anne of Denmark. In 1616 Anne commissionedInigo Jones to design and build the survivingQueen's House as the final addition to the palace.
Charles I granted the manor to his wifeQueen Henrietta Maria, for whom Inigo Jones completed the Queen's House. During theEnglish Civil War, the palace was used as a biscuit factory and prisoner-of-war camp. Then, in theInterregnum, the palace and park were seized to become a 'mansion' for theLord Protector.
By the time of theRestoration, the Palace of Placentia had fallen into disuse and was pulled down. New buildings began to be established as a grand palace for Charles II, but only the King Charles block was completed. Charles II also redesigned and replanted Greenwich Park and founded and built the Royal Observatory.
Prince James (later KingJames II & VII), asDuke of York andLord High Admiral until 1673, was often at Greenwich with his brother Charles and, according toSamuel Pepys, he proposed the idea of creating a Royal Naval Hospital. This was eventually established at Greenwich by his daughterMary II, who in 1692–1693 commissionedChristopher Wren to design the Royal Hospital for Seamen (now the Old Royal Naval College). The work was begun under her widowerWilliam III in 1696 and completed byHawksmoor.Queen Anne andPrince George of Denmark continued to patronise the project.
George I landed at Greenwich from Hanover on his accession in 1714. His successorGeorge II granted the Royal Hospital for Seamen the forfeited estates of theJacobiteEarl of Derwentwater, which allowed the building to be completed by 1751.
In 1805,George III granted the Queen's House to theRoyal Naval Asylum (an orphanage school), which amalgamated in 1821–1825 with the Greenwich Hospital School. Extended with the buildings that now house the National Maritime Museum, it was renamed theRoyal Hospital School byQueen Victoria in 1892.
George IV donated nearly 40 paintings to the hospital in 1824, at a stroke creating a gallery in thePainted Hall. These now form the Greenwich Hospital Collection at the National Maritime Museum. Subsequently,William IV andQueen Adelaide were both regular donors and visitors to the gallery.
In the 1880s, if this place is so cut into three: east, central and west zones of about 30,000 inhabitants each, the central one had less than 10% recognisable poverty, the minimum of London's map above, but the others (east and west) more than 40%.
Queen Victoria rarely visited Greenwich, but in 1845 her husbandPrince Albert personally boughtNelson'sTrafalgar coat for the Naval Gallery.
In 1838 theLondon and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) completed the first steam railway in London. It started at London Bridge and had its terminus at London Street (now Greenwich High Road). It was also the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first elevated railway, having 878 arches over its almost four mile stretch. South of the railway's viaduct overDeptford Creek isa Victorian pumping station constructed in 1864 as part ofJoseph Bazalgette'sLondon sewerage system (the Southern Outfall Sewer flows under Greenwich town centre).
In 1853 the local Scottish Presbyterian community built a church, St Mark's, nearby which was extended twice in the 1860s during the ministry ofAdolph Saphir, eventually accommodating 1,000 worshippers.[21]
In 1864 opposite the railway terminus, theatrical entrepreneurSefton Parry built the thousand-seaterNew Greenwich Theatre.[22]William Morton was one of its more successful managers. The theatre was demolished in 1937 to make way for anew Town Hall, now a listed building under new ownership and renamed Meridian House.[23]
Our Ladye Star of the Sea
Greenwich Station is at the northern apex of the Ashburnham Triangle, a residential estate developed by the Ashburnham family, mainly between 1830 and 1870, on land previously developed as market gardens. It is now a designated conservation area.[24] The present Greenwich Theatre, further to the east, on Croom's Hill, was constructed inside the shell of a Victorian music hall. Beginning life in 1855 as an annexe to the Rose and Crown, the music hall was rebuilt in 1871 by Charles Crowder and subsequently operated under many names. Further south on Croom's Hill, the Roman Catholic church ofOur Ladye Star of the Sea was opened in 1851.[25]
George V and his wifeQueen Mary both supported the creation of the National Maritime Museum, and Mary presented the museum with many items.
Prince Albert, Duke of York (laterGeorge VI), laid the foundation stone of the new Royal Hospital School when it moved out toHolbrook, Suffolk. In 1937 his first public act as king, three weeks before his coronation, was to open the National Maritime Museum in the buildings vacated by the school. The king was accompanied by his mother Queen Mary, his wifeQueen Elizabeth andPrincess Elizabeth.
Princess Elizabeth and her consortPrince Philip, who had been ennobledDuke of Edinburgh andBaron Greenwich on marriage in 1947, made their first public and official visit to Greenwich in 1948 to receive the Freedom of the Borough for Philip. In the same year, he became a trustee of the National Maritime Museum. Prince Philip was a trustee for 52 years until 2000, when he became its firstpatron. The Duke of Edinburgh was also a patron of theCutty Sark (which was opened by the Queen in 1957) from 1952.
During theSilver Jubilee of 1977, the Queen embarked at Greenwich for the Jubilee River Pageant. In 1987, she was aboard theP&O shipPacific Princess when it moored alongside the Old Royal Naval College for the company's 150th-anniversary celebrations.
The town of Greenwich is built on a broad platform to the south of the outside of a broad meander in the River Thames, with a safe deep water anchorage lying in the river. To the south, the land rises steeply, 100 feet (30 m) through Greenwich Park to the town of Blackheath. The higher areas consist of a sedimentary layer of gravelly soils, known as theBlackheath Beds, that spread through much of the south-east over a chalk outcrop—with sands, loam and seams of clay at the lower levels by the river.
Greenwich is bordered byDeptford Creek and Deptford to the west; the residential area ofWestcombe Park to the east; the River Thames to the north; and theA2 and Blackheath to the south. TheGreenwich Peninsula, northeast of the town centre and also known as North Greenwich, forms the main projection of the town.
This data was collected between 2005 and 2015 at the weather station in Greenwich:
Historically, the record high is 100 °F (38 °C) on 9 August 1911. This was the record for London until 2003, though it was disregarded due to non-standard instruments.[29]
TheCutty Sark (aclipper ship) has been preserved in a dry dock by the river. A major fire in May 2007 destroyed a part of the ship, although much had already been removed for restoration. Nearby for many years was also displayedGipsy Moth IV, the 54 feet (16.5 m) yacht sailed by SirFrancis Chichester in his single-handed, 226-daycircumnavigation of the globe during 1966–67. In 2004,Gipsy Moth IV was removed from Greenwich, and after restoration work completed a second circumnavigation in May 2007. On the riverside in front of the north-west corner of the hospital is an obelisk erected in memory ofArctic explorerJoseph René Bellot.
Boats at Greenwich at the end of the Great River RaceThe Royal NavyType 45 destroyerHMS Defender moored on the riverfront at Greenwich in 2015
Near the Cutty Sark site, a circular building contains the entrance to theGreenwich foot tunnel, opened on 4 August 1902. This connects Greenwich to theIsle of Dogs on the northern side of the River Thames. The north exit of the tunnel is atIsland Gardens,[35] from where the famous view ofGreenwich Hospital painted byCanaletto can be seen.
Rowing has been part of life on the river at Greenwich for hundreds of years and the first Greenwich Regatta was held in 1785. The annualGreat River Race along the ThamesTideway finishes at the Cutty Sark. The nearby Trafalgar Rowing Centre in Crane Street is home toCurlew andGlobe rowing clubs.
TheOld Royal Naval College is Sir Christopher Wren's domed masterpiece at the centre of the heritage site. The site is administered by the Greenwich Foundation and several of the buildings are let to theUniversity of Greenwich and one, the King Charles block, toTrinity College of Music. Within the complex is the former college dining room, the Painted Hall, this was painted byJames Thornhill, and theChapel of St Peter and St Paul, with an interior designed byJames 'Athenian' Stuart. The Naval College had a training reactor, theJASON reactor, within the King William building that was operational between 1962 and 1996. The reactor was decommissioned and removed in 1999.[36]
Trinity Hospital, Greenwich
To the east of the Naval College is theTrinity Hospital almshouse, founded in 1613, the oldest surviving building in the town centre.[37] This is next to the massive brick walls and the landing stage ofGreenwich Power Station. Built between 1902 and 1910 as a coal-fired station to supply power toLondon's tram system, and later theLondon Underground, it is now oil- and gas-powered and serves as a backup station for London Underground.[38] East Greenwich also has a small park,East Greenwich Pleasaunce, which was formerly the burial ground of Greenwich Hospital.
South of the former Naval College is the National Maritime Museum housed in buildings forming another symmetrical group and grand arcade incorporating the Queen's House, designed by Inigo Jones. Continuing to the south, Greenwich Park is aRoyal Park of 183 acres (0.7 km2), laid out in the 17th century and formed from the hunting grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia.[40]
Spiral staircase and lantern at the Queen's House in Greenwich
The park rises towards Blackheath and at the top of this hill is a statue ofJames Wolfe, commander of the British expedition to captureQuebec.[41] Nearby a major group of buildings within the park includes the former Royal Observatory, Greenwich; the Prime Meridian passes through this building.
Greenwich Mean Time was at one time based on the time observations made at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, before being superseded by the closely relatedCoordinated Universal Time (UTC). While there is no longer a working astronomical observatory at Greenwich, aball still drops daily to mark the exact moment of 1 p.m., and there is a museum of astronomical and navigational tools, particularlyJohn Harrison'smarine chronometers.[42]
TheRanger's House lies at the Blackheath end of the park and houses the Wernher Collection of art,[43] and many fine houses, includingVanbrugh's house lie on Maze Hill, on the western edge of the park.
Around the covered Greenwich Market, Georgian and Victorian architecture dominates in the town centre which spreads to the west of the park and Royal Naval College. Up the hill from the centre, there are many streets of Georgian houses, including theFan Museum, on Croom's Hill. Nearby, at the junction of Croom's Hill with Nevada Street, is Greenwich Theatre; at the eastern end of Nevada Street is theGreenwich Tavern. To the west, the arthouse Greenwich Cinema is on Greenwich High Road, while the nearbyGreenwich Playhouse closed in 2012.
There has been a market at Greenwich since the 14th century, but the history of the present market dates from 1700 when a charter to run two markets, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, was assigned by Lord Romney (Henry, Earl of Romney)[19] to the Commissioners of Greenwich Hospital for 1000 years.[44]
The market is part of "the island site", bounded by College Approach, Greenwich Church Street,King William Walk and Nelson Road, near the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory. The buildings surrounding the market areGrade 2 listed and were established in 1827–1833 under the direction ofJoseph Kay.[45][46] A market roof was added in 1902–1908 (and replaced in 2016). Later significant development occurred in 1958–1960 and during the 1980s.
The landowner, Greenwich Hospital, enhanced the market between 2014 and early 2016. Following theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020 the rents for several of the market stalls were increased by up to 60% as Greenwich Hospital's managing agentKnight Frank said it was losing money with fewer stalls operating and only four days of trading a week.[47]
About 1.0 mile (1.6 km) east of Greenwich town centre, the Millennium Leisure Park is an out-of-townretail park on Bugsby's Way in east Greenwich. It consists of retail outlets (IKEA andB&Q), restaurants and anOdeon cinema. The IKEA store here opened in 2019 as the retailer's fourth main store in London,[48] following stores inWembley (1988),Croydon (1992) andTottenham (2005); the Greenwich store is the first inInner London.[49]
Greenwich Shopping Park is about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) further east, in Charlton.
As the United Kingdom grew into an advancedmaritime nation, British mariners kept at least one chronometer on GMT in order to calculate theirlongitude from theGreenwich meridian, which was by convention considered to have longitude zero degrees (this convention was internationally adopted in theInternational Meridian Conference of 1884).[note 1] The synchronization of the chronometer on GMT did not affect shipboard time itself, which was still solar time. But this practice, combined with mariners from other nations drawing fromNevil Maskelyne's method oflunar distances based on observations at Greenwich, eventually led to GMT being used worldwide as a reference time independent of location. Most time zones were based upon this reference as a number of hours and half-hours "ahead of GMT" or "behind GMT".
In recognition of the suburb's astronomical links,Asteroid 2830 has been named 'Greenwich'.[52]
In 1997Maritime Greenwich was added to the list ofWorld Heritage Sites, for the concentration and quality of buildings of historic and architectural interest. These can be divided into the group of buildings along the riverfront, Greenwich Park and theGeorgian andVictorian town centre.
TheDiscover Greenwich Visitor Centre provides an introduction to the history and attractions in the Greenwich World Heritage Site.[53] It is in The Pepys Building near to theCutty Sark within the grounds of theOld Royal Naval College (formerly Greenwich Hospital); the building began life as an engineering laboratory for the college. The centre opened in March 2010, and admission is free.
The Centre explains the history of Greenwich as a royal residence and a maritime centre. Exhibits include:
The University of Greenwich main campus occupies most of the grand, landmark riverside vista buildings of the former Royal Naval College. The university has other campuses at Avery Hill inEltham and atMedway. The Greenwich campus also houses the Trinity College of Music.
TheThames PathNational Trail runs along the riverside.[56] The Greenwich foot tunnel provides pedestrian access to the southern end of the Isle of Dogs, across the river Thames.
TheNational Cycle Network Route 1 includes the foot tunnel, though cycling is not permitted in the tunnel itself.[57]
Greenwich is home to a variety of amateur sports clubs. Its location on the tidal Thames makes it a good location for rowing; the Trafalgar Rowing Centre in Crane Street is the clubhouse of the Curlew and Globe rowing clubs.[58][59] The Globe has senior and junior squads, the latter renowned for its achievements at national and international level.[60]
The Thames Path and Greenwich Park are popular with runners. The 'red start' for theLondon Marathon is situated south of the park on Charlton Way (other starts are nearby in St John's Park, and on Shooter's Hill Road).[61] After heading east through Charlton and Woolwich, the marathon route then turns west towards Greenwich; as runners reach the 10 km mark (6.2-mile), they pass the Old Royal Naval College and then loop around the prow of theCutty Sark before continuing west towards Deptford.[61]
The Greenwich Peninsula Golf Range at North Greenwich is a riverside golf driving range with 60 bays, a mini 18-hole adventure course, golf academy, golf shop and restaurant.[62]
There was a young lady of Greenwich, Whose garments were bordered with Spinach; But a large spotty calf Bit her shawl quite in half, Which alarmed that young lady of Greenwich.
^Stern, Philip J. (2011).The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 23–24.ISBN978-0195393736.
^Words used inThe First Charter of Virginia; 10 April 1606Archived 1 November 2011 at theWayback Machine "...To BE HOLDEN of Us, [King James I] our heirs and Successors, as of our Manor at East-Greenwich, in the County of Kent, in free and common Soccage only, and not in Capite."
^Words used inCharter for the Province of Pennsylvania-1681Archived 28 April 2011 at theWayback Machine "...to bee holden of Us [King Charles II], Our heires and Successors, Kings of England, as of Our Castle of Windsor in Our County of Berks, in free and comon Socage, by fealty only for all Services, and not in Capite or by Knights Service."
^Edward P. Cheyney,The Manor of East Greenwich, American Historical Review, Volume 11, 1 October 1905.
^Flamsteed House – designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675–76, was the home of the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, and the heart of Charles II's new Royal Observatory.
^Report on Ashburnham triangle by Conservation Team, Development Town Planning First Floor, Peggy Middleton House 50 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6HQ.
^East Greenwich Gasworks (Powering the City)Archived 27 May 2013 at theWayback Machine accessed 10 December 2007. The Greenwich Peninsula gas works, being themselves notable, as being the subject of anIRA bomb attack in the 1970s, in which one gasometer – and its contents – were spectacularly destroyed.
^Greenwich and Blackheath Past Felix Barker (Historical Publications Ltd., 1999)ISBN0-948667-55-9
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