Photo special: Inside the crypt of St Alfege Church

ST ALFEGE Church recently celebrated the thousandth anniversary of the martyrdom of its patron saint, Alfege. The current church is the third to occupy the site since Alfege’s murder at the hands of Vikings a millennium ago. The church was built early in the 18th century, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and funded by the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches.

On the north and south sides of the church are entrances into the crypt (above). It was used for the interment of bodies in family vaults between the 1750 and 1859.

The St Alfege Church crypt is the final resting place for famous names from Greenwich history such as General Wolfe and John Julius Angerstein. Bodies including that of Thomas Tallis are buried below the crypt, from the church’s previous incarnation.

The church has in the past opened the crypt as part of Open House weekend so look out for opportunities to visit this year.

The current church will have its 300th anniversary in 2018, and restoring the crypt to make it more accessible is one of the aims of the St Alfege Restoration project.

Cutty Sark re-opens to the public

THE CUTTY SARK yesterday opened its doors to the paying public.

After the residents’ day, a starring role in the London Marathon and an opening ceremony attended by the Queen, it was finally a chance for the general public to see the transformation that has taken place.

On board, visitors can learn about Cutty Sark’s role in the tea trade, look up crew members from the archives, try to navigate from Australia to England and enjoy great views across London as well as look up to see eleven miles of rigging.

The iconic tea clipper, as has been well noted before, has now been raised by three metres, to create a new space below, called the Sammy Ofer Gallery, where there is the world’s largest collection of merchant navy figureheads and a new cafe.

I asked Richard Doughty, Director of the Cutty Sark Trust, what it is about Cutty Sark that captures people’s imagination:

From the day of the London Marathon

Daily Photo: 26/04/2012 – More royal visit photographs

Here’s some of the great photos that were sent to Greenwich.co.uk following the visit by HM The Queen yesterday.

Taken by Sam Coles

The King’s Troop entering the Old Royal Naval College. Taken by Lara Ruffle

Sheila Winstanley sent this photo: “Early birds from St Joseph’s Primary school, Greenwich”

Thanks to Daniel for this one: “my first day off in three weeks and I get to see the Queen up close, wow!”

Maureen Stapleton took this one of the Queen’s Range Rover.

Brilliant local photographer Fergus Noone shared this photo of the King’s Troop making their way through Greenwich Park.

And finally, here’s some videos of the Royal Hospital School marching band…

There’s more photos at the Greenwich Phantom

Long to rain over us – crowds brave weather for Queen’s visit

HUNDREDS of people turned out this morning to witness the Queen’s visit to Greenwich.

Despite the down-pouring of rain which has become a characteristic of this drought, a large crowd gathered in Cutty Sark Gardens over an hour before the monarch’s arrival.

With no choice but to literally soak up the atmosphere, those gathered waved their flags while stirring tunes were played by Trinity Laban’s Symphony Orchestra

Trumpets sounded to announce the imminent arrival and as if by royal arrangement, the rain seemed to stop. Those reluctant to take down their umbrellas were quickly urged to do so by crowd members keen to catch sight of the Queen who had minutes earlier officially named the royal barge Gloriana at Greenland Pier.

At 11.26, a Range Rover pulled up, bearing the Royal Standard, from which HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh emerged to be greeted by the mayor of Greenwich, Jim Gillman, the Leader of the Council, Chris Roberts, and the Council’s Chief Executive, Mary Ney.

They were seated on a stage near the bow of the Cutty Sark where Councillor Roberts gave a short speech and Her Majesty was presented with a gift by the mayor. Prince Philip was given a framed certificate confirming the Freedom of the Royal Borough that he was awarded in March.

The Queen then unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the newly re-landscaped Cutty Sark Gardens.

After listening to a suite of music, composed for the Queen’s Jubilee and performed by children from across the borough, the royal guests received a bouquet (pictured top) and made their way in to the Cutty Sark as the crowd cheered. “Hello Queenie” was shouted from somewhere deep in the crowd.

The royal couple were then shown around the restored Cutty Sark. Prince Philip is the President of the Cutty Sark Trust and was instrumental in bringing the iconic tea clipper to Greenwich in the 1950s. The Queen unveiled a plaque to officially declare the Cutty Sark open, just as she first did in 1957.

The Queen is shown around the Cutty Sark by Lord Stirling. Photo: Tim Keeler

The Queen was then taken through the Old Royal Naval College, where she knighted Sir Francis Chichester in 1967, for an inspection of the King’s Troop which moved from St John’s Wood to Woolwich in February.

While the Queen was en route to the National Maritime Museum, a number of savvy onlookers lined the northern tip of the Greenwich Park, opposite the museum for a sighting that hadn’t been publicised before. The crowd was entertained by music from the Royal Hospital School marching band as they waited for Her Majesty to arrive.

Once inside the museum, almost seventy-five years to the day since she attended its opening ceremony, the Queen was shown around the new Royal River exhibition by guest curator, David Starkey.

After about twenty-five minutes, the couple emerged, smiling, to find sunlight had started to break out. Passing the newly-installed Ship in a Bottle, they returned to their car and left as the line of onlookers cheered, clapped and waved flags.

More photos from the Queen’s visit to Greenwich

Did you take any photos of the Queen? Tomorrow’s Daily Photo will be dedicated to your pictures of Her Majesty’s visit to Greenwich. Please send any contributions to rob@greenwich.co.uk

Queen to visit Greenwich tomorrow

HER MAJESTY The Queen will make her first visit to Greenwich tomorrow since the borough was awarded royal status.

The Queen will officially reopen Cutty Sark following the completion of its major restoration project.

The famous tea clipper was first opened to the public by the Queen in the 1950s and she will perform the same duty tomorrow, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who is the President of the Cutty Sark Trust.

The opening ceremony will take place in the recently-redesigned Cutty Sark Gardens where the Queen will hear school children from across the borough perform a specially composed piece of music.

Her Majesty will also visit the National Maritime Museum, almost seventy-five years to the day since she visited it with her father, King George VI, for its opening ceremony. She will see the new Royal River exhibition, which celebrates the Thames and its relationship with royal history.

Cllr Chris Roberts, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said: “It is a great privilege to welcome Her Majesty to Royal Greenwich in the same year that Greenwich has been made a Royal Borough.

“As we prepare to celebrate The Queen’s sixty years on the throne, it is fantastic that children from Royal Greenwich will have the opportunity to sing to Her Majesty.”

Members of the public wishing to see the royal visit are advised to arrive at Cutty Sark Gardens at 10.30 on Wednesday. The royal party are expected to be escorted along College Approach by the King’s Troop around noon.

Ship in a Bottle arrives in Greenwich

NELSON’S Ship in a Bottle has arrived at its new permanent home at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

The piece of contemporary art by Yinka Shonibare MBE was commissioned by the Mayor of London and spent almost two years on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.

A public appeal was started by the Art Fund to raise enough funds to buy the 4.7 metre long bottle containing a scaled down replica of HMS Victory and bring it to Greenwich. The campaign raised over £250,000 and the ArtFund provided a £50,000 grant.

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said:

“We are delighted that the Art Fund’s first fundraising appeal for a contemporary work of art has been successful. It is not an easy environment in which to run a campaign but the campaign’s success is testimony to the popularity of Yinka’s work.”

Daily Photo: 23/04/2012 – Cutty Sark

These photos of Cutty Sark taken on Saturday when residents who had applied were able to go and see the restored tea clipper for free.

These brilliant images were taken by Summeet Seyen

Brian Paddick campaigns for London mayoralty in Greenwich

LIBERAL Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick brought his campaign to SE10 last week.

The ex-Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner spoke to local Lib Dem activists and supporters before spending time taking questions from the local press.

Paddick, 53, was keen to make the most of his policing credentials:

“Having spent thirty years in the police, starting off as a Bobby on the beat and ending up as one of the most senior officers at Scotland yard, I know exactly which levers to pull in order to the get the outcomes we’re seeking.”

He doesn’t pull his punches in pointing out police failings and is particularly critical of ‘stop and search’ tactics.

“Stop and search is discriminatory. Unfortunately a lot of police officers racially stereotype black people as criminals so that’s why I believe that you’re nationally seven times more likely to be stopped and searched if you’re black than if you’re white.

“If that isn’t why that’s happening, then the police have failed to come up with an adequate explanation as to why it is happening.”

If elected, he says he will put into action a sixteen-page report he wrote in 2004 on how to make ‘stop and search’ “far less discriminatory.” His boss put it in the bin at the time.

“I’ve been waiting for eight years to implement that report, “ he adds, hinting at the feeling of unfinished business he has with the Metropolitan Police.

The London mayor will assume the responsibilities of the Police and Crime Commissioner this year. For Paddick, this is a welcome chance to change police priorities.

“I will make sure that the police adopt our priorities, not their own priorities, by surveying local people and establishing what the local priorities are.”

Would the borough’s police stations be protected under a Paddick mayoralty?

“Absolutely. Police stations are a bit like insurance policies – you might not use one or you hope you might not need one, but it’s absolutely essential in terms of peace of mind to have a police station locally you can go to.

“If the police say these buildings are very old or in the wrong place or not suitable, fine, but you must open a police station front counter close to where the existing provision is before you close any police station because members of the public want to have a place to go to talk to the police.

“What I don’t agree with is the current plan to have only one deployment centre [from which emergency response vehicles are sent] in each borough. That doesn’t make any sense at all.

“The most expensive part of policing is the cost of the police officers and if they’ve got to spend half an hour battling  from one side of the borough to another before they can start work, it’s not a good use of money. You’ve got to have at least two deployment bases in every borough and in some of the outer boroughs you might need more than that.”

“It’s all very well to say you can save money by closing police stations, but the additional cost in terms of officer travelling time, if you added it up, would outweigh the savings you make from closing a police station. Nobody understands these issues better than me.”

The election for the London mayor and London Assembly will take place on May 3rd. Independent information on the elections and all the candidates can be found on London Elects.

See also: Brian Paddick writes for Greenwich.co.uk

 

Daily Photo: 22/04/2012 – Cutty Sark returns to London Marathon route

THOUSANDS of London Marathon runners passed the restored Cutty Sark today, and two prominent banners on board made sure that television viewers didn’t miss the fact that she opens in just four days.

Daily Photo: 21/04/2012 – Cable car gondolas hang above the Thames

The Emirates Airline cable car took a step closer to completion yesterday as moving cable car gondolas were sighted for the first time.

These pictures were taken today for Greenwich.co.uk by Daren when more test runs were being carried out using one full gondola and two skeleton gondolas.

Here’s a video that was posted to YouTube by user ‘wye001′.

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