| Sun in the Sands | |
|---|---|
 The pub in 2007 | |
  Sun in the Sands Location in London Show map of Royal Borough of Greenwich Sun in the Sands Sun in the Sands (Greater London) Show map of Greater London | |
| General information | |
| Type | Public house |
| Location | Blackheath,London,England |
| Coordinates | 51°28′30″N0°1′30″E / 51.47500°N 0.02500°E /51.47500; 0.02500 |
| Construction started | 1745 (1745) |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheSun in the Sands is apub-restaurant betweenBlackheath andShooter's Hill inLondon. It lends its name to the adjacent junction, where theA2 between central London and northKent meets theA102, which notably, to the north, provides access to theBlackwall Tunnel. SeveralTransport for London (TfL) bus routes pass the former simple crossroads.[1]
The upland heath, ridge, to the east was a meeting point since the Middle Ages, and was, in widespreadrecountings, a stopover ofKing Henry VIII when riding fromGreenwich to Shooter's Hill withhis first Queen and several Lords.[3] The present pub dates from around 1745[4][5] and its name comes from the sight of the setting sun amidst dust, kicked up by sheep herded bydrovers from Kent headed to London.[6] It was soon an isolated inn on heathland, frequented byhighwaymen in one period known as "the Trojans", who regularlypickpocketed.[7]William Hazlitt was known to visit the inn.[3]
The junction was built in stages, due to various 20th-century projects to bypass the old Roman Road between Blackheath and Dartford. The modern A2, parallel to this, forms the Shooters Hill By-Pass[8] which took most of the 1920s to complete.[9] The modern roundabout with side sliproad dates from the late 1960s.[10]
As well as the junction, the pub inspired the name of Sunfields Methodist Church[11] and the adjacent Sun Lane, a former caravan repair site which now hosts a garage;[12] it was previously a tiny passage, Sun-in-the-Sands Lane.[13]
Since 1995,[5] Greenwich Council has protected the appearance of a zone east of the junction, including the pub, as a Conservation Area,[14] defined as an area "of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance."[5]
