Greenwich Opus

greenwich history ILLUSTRATION infographic London royal Degtyarev maxdwork

Greenwich is a historic area of modern London. It is particularly famous for its Royal Observatory, Greenwich Park, the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum as well as many pubs that have kept the spirit of old Greenwich.

The illustration is dedicated to the buildings of the Greenwich riverside from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Since then, most attractions have remained untouched. However, many buildings were demolished as a result of modernization, completely rebuilt or destroyed during World War II.

Let's take a tour to old Greenwich along the river from the Power Station to the Foot Tunnel.

- 1 -

Greenwich Power Station is an early example of a steel-framed building with a stone-clad brick cover. It was built in two sections between 1902 and 1910 to provide power for the London County Council Tramways.

The power station relied on a huge amount of coal. Coal was delivered by sea-going steamers to a large coal jetty on the river, which stands on 16 Doric-styled, cast iron columns.

Later on, a new white coal bunker was constructed on the west side of the station.

Overshadowed by Power Station is Trinity Hospital. Founded in 1611, it is the oldest surviving building in Greenwich. The building was once used as an Almshouse by Henry Howard the Earl of Northampton.

- 2 -

The first regatta, which a ‘Curley’ crew participated in, took place in 1787. Curlew Rowing Club was formed in 1866 and rented the Crown & Sceptre Inn building as their headquarters, which had been so until 1934.

The Crown & Sceptre Tavern was formerly a competitor to the Trafalgar and more humble Three Crowns beside it.

The white Crown & Sceptre Tavern building was demolished in 1882. It wasn’t until 1937 that the Crown & Sceptre Inn and the Three Crowns buildings were taken down.

- 3 -

R. Moss had a wharf here and bought old rope which he sold to the paper industry. Mr. Moss’s old rope wharf was bought by Greenwich Council for Globe Rowing Club in the 1960s.

A century ago the Yacht Tavern and Trafalgar Tavern offered their customers a famous Greenwich whitebait. Just like these days.

The Trafalgar Tavern opened in 1837, having been built on the site of The Old George Tavern. It was familiar to novelist Charles Dickens, who set the wedding breakfast in Our Mutual Friend there. It also became well-known as the venue for political whitebait dinners for the Liberal party in Victorian times, the last being held in 1883.

In 1915, the Tavern closed and served as a home for aged seamen during World War I, later becoming a working men’s club between the wars. It reopened as a pub in 1965.

- 4 -

The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich.

The site of the Old Royal Naval College was once Greenwich Palace built in 1498. The palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil War. With the exception of the incomplete John Webb building, the palace was demolished in 1694.

In 1692 the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich was created on the site on the instructions of Mary II, who had been inspired by the sight of wounded sailors returning from the Battle of La Hogue. Architectural highlights included the Chapel and the Painted Hall. The hospital closed in 1869 and the remains of thousands of sailors and officers were removed from the hospital site in 1875 and reinterred in East Greenwich Pleasaunce.

In 1873 the Naval College in Portsmouth acquired the buildings of the old Royal Hospital for Seamen and the Royal Naval College was born. It became the most highly rated naval training college in Europe, with a reputation for academic rigour. The Royal Naval College provided state-of-the-art training for around 27,000 promising officers from Britain and beyond as the Navy made the transition from sail to steam power.

The Royal Navy left the College in 1998 when the site passed into the hands of the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College. The Greenwich Foundation, an independent charity, was established to conserve the site for present and future generations, and create enjoyment, learning and unique cultural experiences for everyone.

- 5 -

Greenwich was once a small town in the South-Eastern suburbs of London. It would take several hours to get there by horse in the old days.

Thus the Greenwich Pier was built in 1836 to cater for the many paddle steamers that brought visitors on day trips to Greenwich from London further up river.

- 6 -

Next to Gardens Stairs there used to be a large pub called the Ship Tavern, which dates back to 1649. It was last rebuilt around 1880 only to be destroyed by bombing during World War II and was never restored. The place is now occupied by the clipper ship called Cutty Sark.

The Greenwich Foot Tunnel crosses beneath the River Thames in East London, linking Greenwich on the south bank with Millwall on the north. The project started in June 1899 and the tunnel opened on 4 August 1902. The tunnel replaced an expensive and sometimes unreliable ferry service. This allowed workers living south of the Thames to reach their workplaces in the London docks and shipyards in the Isle of Dogs.

—

I wonder what Greenwich will be like in another 100 years? Will it remain the same or change completely? Will a new pier be built? Or maybe an airport? How much will the river tide change? Will whitebait be still served in pubs? We can only guess.

But perhaps, at the beginning of the 22nd century, someone will draw an illustration about Greenwich of our time.