Greenwich, Kent

Historical Description

Greenwich, a town, a parish, and a parliamentary borough in Kent. The town is suburban to London, within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan police and the Central Criminal Court, and of the London County Council, is separated from Deptford only by the river Ravensboume, and stands on the Thames, opposite the Isle of Dogs, with stations on the L.C. & D.R. and S.E.R., 3 miles by rail and 5 by water SE by E of London Bridge.

History.-Greenwich was known to the Saxons as Grenawic, signifying " Green Town," and seems to have taken that name from the verdure of its site, or of its environs, as seen from the Thames. Eitruda, niece of King Alfred, gave it, along with Deptford and Lewisham, about the year 900 to the Abbey of St Peter at Ghent. The Danes took possession of it in 1011 and other years, made camps on the high grounds above it at Blackheath, and slew, on the site of its parish church, Archbishop Alfege, whom they had brought from Canterbury. It figured at Domesday as Grenviz, and belonged then to Bishop Odo. It appears to have soon, by royal grant, reverted to Ghent Abbey; it was held by that establishment till the suppression of alien monasteries by Henry V.; it then reverted to the Crown, hut was soon given to the Carthusian priory of Skene, and at the Reformation it again came back to the Crown. Yet a part of it, apparently from the time of the royal grant to Ghent Abbey, was always reserved by the Crown, and that part, together with the rest, after the Reformation, owing to the pleasantness of the locality add the salubrity of the air, was a favourite residence of the kings and queens of England, and it has ever since been rich in historical associations. Edward I. and some of his successors made it their occasional abode. A splendid tournament was held here in 1217. Henry IV. resided much here, and in 1408 he dated his will from it. Henry V. gave it for life to Thomas Bean-fort, duke of Exeter, on whose death in 1417 it passed to Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, uncle to Henry VI. That duke in 1433 rebuilt or enlarged the manor house, called it Placentia, raised round it some fortifications enclosed in the park, and erected a tower on the site of the present observatory. Edward IV. re-enlarged the palace and founded in its vicinity a minorite friary. Henry VII. made the palace his favourite residence. Henry VIII. was born in it; was baptized in the parish church; married here Catherine of Arragon and Anne of Cloves; kept here his Christmas in 1521, 1525, 1527, 1537, and 1543; held here a series of tournaments and gorgeous spectacles; received here in 1527 a splendid embassy from France; celebrated here in 1536 the festival at which Anne Boleyn was arrested; and generally throughout his reign maintained here a surpassing display of luxury and magnificence. His daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, were born here. Edward VI. died here. Elizabeth, as figured by Shakespeare, was baptized here in the " Friar's Church; " as figured by Sir Walter Scott, went here through the scene of Raleigh's first interview, and of his mudded cloak; resided in the palace here during most of her reign; was entertained in the park in 1539 by the city of London; received here in 1585 the Dutch deputies, offering her the Crown of the Low Countries; received here in 1586 and 1597 embassies from Denmark and Poland; was seen here in 1598 in all her magnificence of costume by Hentzner the traveller; and watched from the windows of the palace here the vessels of her adventurous seamen as they floated past on their way to fresh discoveries in the new world. James I. resided a considerable time here, and his queen, Anne of Denmark, improved the palace, walled in the park, and laid the foundation of " The House of Delight." Their daughter, the Princess Mary, was baptized here with great pomp in 1606, Charles I., previous to the Civil War, often resided here, and his queen, Henrietta Maria, completed Queen Anne's " House of Delight." Charles II., after the Restoration, occasionally resided here, ordered the demolition of the decaying palace, and commenced the building of a new one on a most splendid scale, but was not able to erect more of it than what now forms a portion of the western wing of the present royal hospital The palace was finished by William and Mary. Queen Mary, in 1688, George I., and the mother of George III., landed at Greenwich. Lord Nelson's body was brought here in 1805-6 from Trafalgar. George IV. embarked here amid a vast display of magnificence in 1822 for Scotland. Sir W. Boreham, of the time of Charles II., resided in an old carved house near Crawley's Wharf. Dr Johnson, in 1737, " struck with the seat that gave Eliza birth," lodged in the house in Church Street next the " Golden Hart," and during walks in the park composed great part of his " Irene." Lord Chesterfield lived in what became the Ranger's house. Vanbrugh built on Maze Hill a residence after the model of the Bastille, and called Vanbrugh House. Dr Bumey had a school in Stock-well Street, and Dr Crombie near Maze Hill chapel. Admirals Lawson and Leake also were residents, and Ducarel the antiquary, Goddard the Gresham professor, and Munro the physician were natives. Greenwich gave the title of Duke to the great Argyle.

Environs and Streets.-The park and Blackheath on one side, and the Thames on the other, give Greenwich very fine environs. See BLACKHEATH. The approach by the Thames is eminently striking. Its highest attraction is the magnificent hospital, presenting to the river an imposing range of beautiful though unadorned Grecian buildings, extending for several hundred feet along its side, and divided into two wings by a noble lawn, with a terrace and handsome approach by steps to the river. The ever-green verdure of the lawn forms a very striking and pleasing relief to the massive pillars and porticos with which it is surrounded. Each wing recedes to a considerable distance from the river, and is crowned in its retreat by a lofty dome, behind all which rise the hills of the park, their verdure broken into various shades by its groves of elm, pine, and chestnut, and the summit adorned by the Royal Observatory. The older parts of the town are very irregularly built. Most of their streets axe narrow, and have insignificant houses, yet some modern parts, with a spacious street leading from the parish church to the hospital, and with a continuation of the road beyond the hospital to the lower Woolwich Eoad, are great improvements. A new town also has arisen in the east. Numerous elegant villas are on the outskirts, in the vicinity of Blackheath.

Public Buildings.-The market-house was rebuilt in 1831. The court-house, in Burney Street, is a place of county courts for Greenwich, Deptford, Lewisham, Ridbrook Eitham, and Mottingham. There is a theatre and a music hall. The public baths and wash-houses in London Street were built in 1851, and are a neat structure in the Jacobean style. The lecture hall, on the Royal Hill, is the home of the Greenwich Literary and Recreation Institute. The monument to Lieutenant Bellot, the Arctic navigator, stands in front of the left wing of the Royal Hospital, was erected by public subscription, and is an obelisk of red granite, inscribed simply with Bellot's name. The other noticeable public structures are mostly of far higher mark, and will be noticed in subsequent, paragraphs.

Churches.-The livings within Greenwich parish are St Alphege, Trinity, Christ Church, St Paul, St Peter, and St Mary; and all are vicarages in the diocese of Rochester. Value of St Alphege, £260 with residence. Patron, the Crown. Trinity, £4: 00 gross value. Patron, the Vicar of Greenwich. Christ Church, £500 gross value with residence. Patron, the Vicar of Greenwich. St Paul, £450 gross value, united with residence. St Peter, £315 with residence. St Mary united with St Alphege. The old church of St Alphege was ancient, had a chantry belonging to a guild of the Holy Cross, contained a portrait on glass of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, contained also a monument to the antiquary Lambard, which was removed to Sevenoaks, contained likewise several other monuments and brasses, one of which was to Thomas Tallis, king's musician in the time of Henry VIIL, and became ruinous in 1710. The present church was built in 1718, was one of Queen Anne's fifty new churches, is a large edifice in poor, mixed Grecian style, has a square tower, with cupola and small spire, and contains portraits of Charles I., Queen Anne, and George L There were buried, in the churchyard, Admiral Stainer, who was famous during the Protectorate, General Wolfe, the conqueror of Quebec, the Duchess of Bolton, the original " Polly Peachum" of Gay's opera, Lord Aylmer, Sir C. Hardy, and the author Newcourt. The interior was thoroughly restored in 1869. Christ Church was built in 1849, St Paul's Church in 1868, St Peter's Church in 1865. St Mary's is a chapel of ease to the parish church of St Alphege. A Presbyterian chapel and a Roman catholic chapel are handsome structures. There are also three Congregational, two Baptist, and two "Wesleyan chapels, a mission church at East Greenwich, and a mission chapel.

The Hospital and Soy al Naval College.-The palace founded by Charles II., forming the west wing of the hospital, was begun in 1664, after designs by Webb, and completed in 1698, under the direction of Wren. The edifice was converted by William and Mary into an asylum for disabled seamen of the royal navy, was grandly extended in their reign and in that of Anne, was first opened for the reception of " pensioners " in 1705, and was much enlarged in the time of George IV. The style is Ionic, the general design is the original one by Webb, colonnades, cupolas, and the features of the great hall are by Wren, and brick buildings to the west are by Van-brugh. A terrace in front, on the river, is 875 feet long, and a great quadrangle is a square of 273 feet. A statue of George II., by Rysbrach, is in the centre of the quadrangle, and was cut from a block of marble, weighing 11 tons, taken from the French by Sir George Rooke. The buildings form four great masses or courts-the western one near the river King Charles', the eastern one near the river Queen Anne's, the north-western one King William's, the north-eastern one Queen Mary's. The great hall is in King William's building, measures 106 feet in length, 56 feet in width, and 50 feet in height, is well-proportioned and artistic, has emblematic paintings over the ceiling and the side walls, executed by Su-James Thornhill, between 1708 and 1727, at a cost of £6685, and occasioning it to be often called the painted hall, and contains pictures of illustrious admirals and famous battles, collected chiefly through the exertions of Edward H. Locker, Esq., memorials of Nelson exhibited in a glass-case, and a marble statue of Captain Sir William Peel, erected by his brother, the Hon. Frederick Peel, in 1861. The chapel is in Queen Mary's building, has the same dimensions as the great hall, was rebuilt after a destructive fire in 1789, under direction of " Athenian Stewart," and contains an altar-piece of the shipwreck of St Paul, by West, a monument to .Admiral Sir Richard G. Reats, by Chantrey, and a monument to Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, by Behnes. A library is in King Charles' building, and has a bust of Dibdin, the author of the famous naval songs. The income of the hospital includes aa annual parliamentary grant of £20, 000, the proceeds of the large estates of the Earl of Derwentwater, forfeited in 1715, and the proceeds of various private bequests, including particularly one of £20, 000 by Robert Osbaldeston, and amounts to upwards of £130, 000 a year. The Painted Hall and the chapel are open to the public. The hospital formerly received about 2700 pensioners, but, by an Act of Parliament, out-pensioners were substituted, and the buildings are now occupied as a Royal Naval College, receiving for this purpose 700 students, all officers of the Royal Navy and Marine Artillery and Engineers being admitted, as well as a limited number of the officers of the mercantile marine. The old infirmary of the hospital, situated to the west of the main buildings, has been occupied since 1870 by the Seamen's Hospital Society; the society receives no aid from Government beyond the free use of the building.

The Hospital School. - This institution was incorporated with the Royal Hospital in 1825. The building stands between the hospital and the park, includes at its centre the edifice which was called the " House of Delight," which was the residence of Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I., and which, next to Whitehall banqueting-house, is, the best extant memorial of the palaces of the Stuarts,' consists of two wings, each 146 feet long, connected by a colonnade 180 feet long, serves for the training of the sons of seamen to the sea service, is arranged into two schools, upper and lower, with 400 boys in each, and has good play-grounds, gymnastic apparatus, a rigged ship for instruction and exercise, and a small observatory.

The Park.-This extends from the Royal Hospital to the high ground of Blackheath, comprises about 200 acres,, is agreeably diversified with height and hollow, presents within itself very pleasing scenery, and commands, from two eminences, most charming views. One of these eminences is that surmounted by the Observatory, and looks away over London and the Thames, and the other bears the name of the One-Tree Hill, is situated near the east border, and looks away so far as to Windsor Castle. " Would you believe," said Walpole to Bentley, in 1755, "I had never been in Greenwich Park— I never had, and am transported. Even the glories of Richmond and Twickenham hide their diminished heads." The park, as it now exists, is only about one-half of the original one connected with the royal palace, and it was laid out, in the time of Charles II., by the famous Le Notre, who presided over the gardens of Versailles. The elms in it are said by Evelyn to have been planted in 1664, but the Spanish chestnuts, though arranged in regular avenues similarly to the elms, appear to be of greater age. The park is open to the public. Greenwich Fair, notable for frolic, was partly held in it, during Whitsun week, till 185 6, and was then abolished. Numerous tumuli, containing spear-heads, human bones, and other relics, were within the park.

The Royal Observatory.-This stands on an eminence in the park, about 300 feet above the level of the Thames. Its site was occupied by a tower called Mirefleur, built by Duke Humphrey, and said to have been the original of the Tower of Miraflores figuring in " Amadis de Gaul." The older part of the observatory was erected in 1675, after designs by Wren; the lower part is the residence of the astronomer-royal. The parts in sight are little used for any operations; but two turrets on the leads are in constant active service. One of them has an anemometer, for hourly registering the direction and force of the wind; and the other has a time-ball, about 6 feet in diameter, which drops at one o'clock, notes the time to the shipping on the Thames, and telegraphs it to time-balls and signal-guns at distant stations. Meridional observations of the sun, the moon, and the stars are regularly made, to the aggregate of upwards of 5000 in the year.; magnetic observations also are made, the choicest instruments of the London chronometer-makers are brought hither to be tested, and all English charts and maps reckon from this point the degrees of longitude, E and W. The first astronomer-royal appointed for the observatory was Flamsteed, and others have been Halley, Bradley, Maskelyne, Pond, Airy, and Christie. The cost of maintaining the observatory is about £10, 000 per annum.

Schools aad Charities.-The proprietory school was established in 1849, gives a first-class education at moderate expense, and has an average attendance of 150 pupils. Eoan's Grey-Coat School was founded in 1643, educates and clothes poor native boys of Greenwich parish. Foreman's Green-Coat School was founded in 1672, educates and supports sons of native seamen, watermen, or fishermen. The Blue-Coat School was founded in 1752, educates and supports poor native girls. National schools are at Church Passage and Blackheath Hill; industrial schools at East Greenwich and Blackheath Hill; infant schools at East Street, Lamb Lane, and Blackheath Hill; and a mission school for girls at Trafalgar Eoad. Queen Elizabeth's college was founded by Lambarde the antiquary in 1558, had originally an income of £104, devoted to the maintenance of 24 men and their wives, has acquired additional income from bequests, underwent enlargement in 1819 by the erection of tenements for aged persons, and gives an allowance of £20 to each almsman. Trinity Hospital, commonly called Norfolk College, was founded in 1613 by the Earl of Northampton, has a square central tower, gives support to poor men of Greenwich and Shottesham parishes, and has an income of £660, The Jubilee almshouses were erected in 1809, in honour of the jubilee of the 50th year of the reign of King George IIL; other houses were added to these from time to time, but in 1878-79 the whole of them were taken down and rebuilt, and they now form a handsome block of 14 houses facing the Greenwich Road. The Penn almshouses were erected in 1884 by Mrs Ellen Penn, in memory of her husband, and consist of 9 houses. There are several smaller almshouses in the town. The total amount of charities is very considerable.

Trade, &c.-Greenwich has several post offices under London, S.E., a bank, and numerous hotels and taverns, and publishes two newspapers. Large support accrues to it from the visits of pleasure-parties from London, especially during the white-bait season; much to the lower classes accrues from employment on the river, and much to the operative classes from roperies, a spinning flax factory, iron foundries, iron steamboat works, engineering establishments, and some extensive factories for the supply of materials connected with shipping. Markets are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Greenwich, with the parishes of Charlton, Ridbrook, and St Nicholas (Deptford), forms the parliamentary borough of Greenwich under the Redistribution of Seats Act, 1885, sending one member to Parliament. Previously, with an extended area, it sent two members. The population of the parliamentary borough is 78, 167. Greenwich also contributes four members to the London School Board, and under the Local Government Act, 1888, is included in the county of London. It is governed by a district board of works, consisting of 99 members. A portion of the works of the South Metropolitan Gas Company are situated in this parish, and occupy 127 acres in Greenwich Marshes. The workhouse is in Woolwich Road.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast have the following online for Greenwich: baptisms 1615-1637, marriages 1615-1636, burials 1615-1636

Findmypast have the following online for Greenwich, Hospital: marriages 1724-1754

Findmypast have the following online for Greenwich, St Alphege: baptisms 1707-1929, marriages 1604-1898, burials 1696-1914

Findmypast have the following online for Greenwich, St Andrew: baptisms 1815-1965, marriages 1822-1965

Findmypast have the following online for Greenwich, St Peter: baptisms 1822-1936

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Greenwich from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Greenwich (St. Alphege))

Maps

Online maps of Greenwich are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Kent newspapers online:

• Kent & Sussex Courier
• Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald
• Dover Express
• Kentish Gazette
• Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald
• Kentish Chronicle
• Maidstone Telegraph

Visitations Heraldic

The Visitation of Kent, 1619 is available on the Heraldry page, as is also The Visitation of Kent, 1663-68.