The now Royal Borough of Greenwich is almost synonymous with History. It’s exists in a strange juxtaposition between relative insignificance within London, and a lingering global significance due to its role in Britain’s control of the seas. In addition to being the definitive center of the world, it is borough in which I grew up.
In preparing for this walk I learned that Greenwich has only been part of London since 1889, before which it had been Kent. This straight away ‘threw a spanner in the works’ of my walk since it could be suggested that this fact would mean it was not best suited for exploring London in Renaissance and enlightenment eras. However, it actually provides a brilliant question, why was Greenwich incorporated into the city, and how did this affect the areas around Greenwich Village?
I though it would be better to not follow a map or planned path in the manor of Charles Booth but rather stumble down streets that I had never been down despite living in proximity for 20 odd years.
Rather by chance the path I ultimately followed, around Greenwich village, along the Thames Eastward and then walking along the side of Greenwich park to Blackheath showed the development of Greenwich almost chronologically. We started in the village center, comprised of 17th century buildings. This is the period Greenwich is synonymous with as displayed by naval college and the Royal observatory. Along the riverbank however buildings become increasingly industrial showing what the effects of the industrial revolution were on the peripheral village for the working classes. Finally as we walked up the hill towards Blackheath there became more of a focus on the houses of the upper classes, capped off by Vanbrugh castle overlooking the Park.
The streets showed how quickly Greenwich developed in the three hundred years before it was clearly part of London, and particularly provided insight into housing developments of the upper class as opposed to the working class.
Greenwich Village
“and thence down to Greenwich, and there walked into a pretty common garden and there played with him at nine pins for some drink, and to make the fellows drink that set up the pins”
– Samuel Pepys Wednesday 24 June 1663
The Greenwich that Pepys describes in his diary is the prevailing view of Greenwich, one of wealth and grandeur. Walking through Greenwich village it’s clear it’s retained its naval heritage; The Gypsy Moth named after the boat (£6 pints – avoid at all cost), The admiral Hardy, and Nauticalia all show the town’s heritage as the seafaring port of London. It does add to the illusion that Greenwich is still a 16th century village, but even with the cobbled streets and the market it comes across as lip service rather than authentic. Almost immediately after setting off I noticed the amount of upper middle-class aging men wearing flat caps. With hats being such an indicator of social standing, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the flat cap being an identifier of the working class it’s interesting how it’s been incorporated into a fashion of the upper middle class now.
To me this part of the walk was not particularly revealing, It’s the part that’s for show. It was only as we crossed into the college that the more hidden history started to become visible.
This building pictured here is the Old Royal Naval College, before that it was designed as a hospital and home for disabled sailors. This spot, captured by Canaletto at the center of the green is a perfect place to learn about “great man” history. Gazing down from the top of the hill is James Wolfe – the Conqueror of Canada, the hospital is inscribed with the Latin title of King George III, and in the middle is George II standing tall on his plinth,
which I have climbed multiple times and never before known who it was, depicted in this Hogarth published print titled The Greenwich Pensioner .
Along the Thames
It was only as we left the focal point of Greenwich that it became possible to see signs of those who actually lived and worked in Greenwich. I’d never been down this before and where the outcrop of land turns back away from the river is another nautical pub – the Trafalgar Tavern. This pub on the river comes across rather authentic, mostly because it is. It was a favourite of Dickens, who set the wedding breakfast of his novel our mutual friends there. At this point I had planned to follow the road up towards the park and continue up to Blackheath but just behind the Trafalgar Tavern was an alleyway and so the path devolved.
This might be the most picturesque street in Greenwich and yet I’d never seen it before. I wish I had taken better photos of the houses but at the time it didn’t seem important. Along the alley are classic Victorian working houses, all uniform with shiny black doors with huge door knobs in the middle. In Boothe’s maps of London these streets were black, even though the houses are now likely worth over a million, you can still imagine the Dickensian characters knocking about.
Continuing along the alleyway, the buildings along the left fall off and the river returns. It was at this point that while taking a photo of the huge factory in the background that I noticed the odd hospital/church in the foreground. It appears to be called Trinity hospital and one google user gives it a three out of five star review claiming it’s “a bit creepy”.
Casting a shadow over the church, the power station was just behind it and reminded me of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory from the original. The power station opened in 1906 just 7 years after Greenwich had formerly become part of London and shows some of the needs and expectations that this brought with it. While trying to learn more about this building I learned that Daniel Day Lewis’s father C. Day Lewis uses the power station as a crime scene. At this point there was an overwhelming smell of fresh bread despite the absence of a bakery.
I’m particularly fond of Architecture and I find it interesting that opposite the factory are modern apartment complex’s in the style of industrial builds, however with clearly different building materials. There’s something about this that’s fitting for Greenwich in that even as it modernises it is retrospective.
In almost a too perfect to be true way, further up the road towards the Old Woolwich Road, on the left side of the road is the remnants of a former terraced house still clinging to its standing neighbour, likely destroyed by bombs as much of Greenwich was during the Second World War.
While almost directly opposite is a large building with a heavy engraving of a ‘GR’. At this I crossed the road and saw almost completely worn away in points, the carving on the building reading ‘telephone exchange 1947’.
This part of the walk I thought showed an almost chronological showcase of jobs available to workers in Greenwich. Starting with a sailor in the 18th century you might live in Greenwich following an injury. As Greenwich and the surrounding area developed within London, power stations provided employment. Following the War, the introduction of the telephone prompted the building of a manor house just off Greenwich for work. I’m sure that if I had continued towards there would have been more examples of workplaces which would still remain.
Up through the Park
At this point we turned back and followed the streets up towards Greenwich park. Whereas the working classes lived along the river, the middle and upper middle classes lived on the hill. Cutting inside the park on the east side, a row of two-story brick buildings lay adjacent to the park so as their garden doors are built into the exterior wall of the park itself. The contemporary extension that nearly hangs into the park shows the wealth of those who inhabited the buildings at the time. Even though these houses look not too spectacular, the location and funds to expand show who at least lived in one of the homes.
Leaving the park once again and looming over Greenwich is Vanbrugh Castle, which seemed like a good place to end the undertaking. Designed and inhabited by storied architect John Vanbrugh, the 18th century mini-mansion is a sight. The building itself has turrets and towers so as to look like a Bavarian castle, but it’s still clearly from the Georgian period, as you can tell from the brick work. Vanbrugh castle is in many ways like Greenwich it has the celebrity status of John Vanbrugh, it’s retrospective as it was designed to be gothic and have medieval style ornaments during the enlightenment, and behind this there’s a somewhat of a look of working class inhabitants since you could quite easily imagine the building partitioned into rooms held each by a family.
Part of the building is owned by my best friend’s uncle which I only learned about a few years ago, and he gets to spend new year’s there which seems remarkably Dickensian. Perhaps if I asked nicely I would get to take some photos from the fortress roof.
Walking Through London's History 2018 