The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county ofKent. From 1856 the area was governed by theMetropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across themetropolis of London.[3] In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made theCounty of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised variousparish vestries and district boards. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised intometropolitan boroughs, two of which were calledGreenwich andWoolwich.[4]
The name 'Charlton' was briefly considered as the name for the new borough.[7] Greenwich Council applied for city status in 2002, but was turned down.[8]
In 2012, to mark theDiamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the borough was given the additional honorific status of being aroyal borough, in recognition of the area's historic links with the Royal Family and its status as home of the Prime Meridian and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[9][10][11]
The borough lies along the south bank of theRiver Thames betweenDeptford andThamesmead. It has an area of 5,044 hectares. Because of the bends of the river, its waterfront is as long as 8.5 miles. Travelling south away from the waterfront, the ground rises: Shooters Hill in the east and the high ground of Blackheath in the west bookend the borough, Eltham to the south of these hills falls away slightly.
Greenwich is bounded by the London Boroughs of Bexley to the east, Bromley to the south, Lewisham to the west and across the River Thames to the north lie Tower Hamlets, Newham and Barking and Dagenham.
Woolwich Town Hall, the meeting place of Greenwich London Borough Council
The local authority is Greenwich Council, which meets at Woolwich Town Hall and has its main offices at the adjoining Woolwich Centre.
Shaped like an astrolabe, the 18-carat gold badge on the mayor's chain depicts thetime-ball on the principal building of the old Greenwich Royal Observatory, themeridian line, and lines of latitude and longitude. The ‘time-ball’ is set with small rubies.
The borough's population in 2011 was 254,557.[12] 52.3% of the community defined themselves asWhite British. The largest minority groups represented were of Black and Asian heritage.
Approximately 44,500 international migrants arrived in the Royal Borough between the years 2001 and 2011.[13] Of these, 25% arrived from EU member states, 24.5% arrived from central and western Africa, and 18.9% arrived from southern Asia.[13] The most common country of birth in this period wasNigeria.[13]
The Royal Borough in 2015 had a general fertility rate of 72.7 live births per 1,000 aged 15–44, higher than the London average of 63.9 and the England average of 62.5.[13]
Greenwich Community College is the main publicly funded provider offurther education in the borough, offering a range of academic and vocational courses and qualifications.Anglian College London is a private college offering further and higher education courses to students from around London and overseas. In September 2013, The Royal Borough of Greenwich Equestrian Centre – a partnership betweenHadlow College and the Royal Borough of Greenwich – opened. At present it offers Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications in horse care, as well as a range of part-time qualifications and a BSc (Hons) degree in Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation.
Greenwich Council owns many sports centres and these are operated byGreenwich Leisure Limited (GLL). They also run an outdoor swimming pool,Charlton Lido.
In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were driving a car or van, 17.5% of all residents aged 16–74; train, 10.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 10.2%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 9.7%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 2.5%; and bicycle, 1.5%.[24]
Tourism is becoming an increasingly important factor in Greenwich's economy. In 2015, 18.5 million people were expected to visit the borough for a day or more, generating over £1.2 billion; this figure was expected to increase by more than 25% by 2018. Evidence of the tourism boom included the construction of a 452-roomInterContinental Hotel near the O2 Arena (opening in 2015). Apart from the many museums and historic buildings in Greenwich town andGreenwich Park, the main tourist attractions are theCutty Sark,The O2 Arena, theLondon Cable Car,Eltham Palace (which expected over 100,000 visitors in 2015),Charlton House and theThames Barrier. In addition, theRoyal Arsenal in Woolwich is starting to promote itself as a tourist attraction.[25]
Arms were originally granted to the London Borough byletters patent dated 1 October 1965.[27] Although much of the 1965 design has been retained, the arms have been altered in 2012 by the addition of a representation of theThames. In addition a crest and supporters were added to the arms.[28]
Reinickendorf, Berlin, Germany (since 1965). The initiative of the twinning with this Berlin borough dates from the times of theMetropolitan Borough of Woolwich. A London telephone box and a red pillar box besideLake Tegel were gifted by Greenwich borough. A BerlinBuddy Bear in General Gordon Square (Woolwich) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the twinning.[29]
Maribor, Slovenia (since 1966).[29] The 50th anniversary of the town twinning with Slovenia's second largest city was celebrated with a ballet performance inWoolwich Town Hall and the revealing of a plaque in the renamed Maribor Park in theRoyal Arsenal.[30]
Tema, Ghana (since 2000). The town twinning with Tema has led to the opening of Tema's first Information Technology Centre (by theDuke of Edinburgh in 2000), the gifting of a mobile ICT learning centre to Tema (2005), the shipping of a converted Greenwich council passenger services bus, packed with books for school libraries and second-hand computers, as well as regular youth exchanges between Greenwich and Tema.[29]
^Briggs, Geoffrey (1971).Civic and Corporate Heraldry: A Dictionary of Impersonal Arms of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. London: Heraldry Today. pp. 184–185.ISBN0-900455-21-7.
