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Articles, essays and features from well known contributors and opinion formers in Greenwich.

The Borough Halls and a Greenwich Town Museum

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Crooms Hill resident and Greenwich Historical Society member Allan Watkins has sent this open letter to the new leader of Greenwich Council, Danny Thorpe, suggesting a new use for the Borough Halls in Greenwich...

To Danny Thorpe, Council Leader, Royal Borough of Greenwich,

THE BOROUGH HALLS AND A GREENWICH TOWN MUSEUM

I write to ask you consider a single possible solution to two issues over which you have control and responsibility, namely the Borough Halls in Greenwich, and the Greenwich Heritage Centre in The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.

The Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich commissioned and built a brand new modernist Town Hall with attached Borough Halls in 1939. Designed by 29-year old Clifford Culpin in a cutting-edge style, it was influenced by Dudok’s Hilversum Town Hall in the Netherlands, and was considered a masterpiece. Nicholas Pevsner in The Buildings of England, London,1951, declared it “ the only town hall of any London Borough to represent the style of our time adequately”. It has Grade II* listing, recognised as in the top 8.3% architectural importance of buildings in the country.

Since 1965, when the Metropolitan Boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich were amalgamated into The Royal Borough of Greenwich, the main council offices were established in Woolwich, eventually leaving the building without its original purpose.  The  Borough Halls part is now empty, and although there was news recently of a plan to relocate the Greenwich Theatre there, it was occupied until recently by a dance agency, and subsequently squatters. Its future seems uncertain.

Greenwich doesn’t have a town museum. Although it enjoys more magnificent historic buildings than most other London boroughs, and the very fine Royal Museums, it lacks something equally important, a museum of Greenwich town itself, - a people’s history of the area. The history of Greenwich town is the exemplar for the development of the entire Royal Borough of Greenwich. It should be central to the understanding of the history of the borough, including Charlton, Eltham, Kidbrooke, Plumstead and Woolwich.

The Tourist Information Centre does its job, and would not be expected to cover what I am proposing here.  It is housed inside the Greenwich Hospital’s Discover Greenwich, which makes an interesting introduction to that organisation’s history, but again cannot tell the whole story.  The exhibitions at The Royal Greenwich Heritage Centre in Woolwich cover Woolwich, but not Greenwich.

The  Borough Halls could house a permanent display, utilising the Council’s amazing collection of paintings, prints and artefacts, emphasising the people’s history, the industrial and technological developments, and give an interpretation of the Greenwich people and the town, from prehistory to the present day. It would also include children’s and educational facilities, an eventing space, perhaps a performance space for lectures, music, and film screenings, as well as a cafe, bookshop, and children and visitor facilities. Possibly the rooftop could be developed as a summer space. What is also being proposed here is that the main collection of archives and artefacts be re-located to Greenwich into a new centre of the Royal Greenwich Heritage Centre, located in the Borough Halls, additional to the museum, the exhibition space, and the income-generating facilities.

The new museum and heritage centre would support the work of local history initiatives in the other areas of the Borough. This would benefit all, not least the Council itself, who would be seen to be preserving and promoting this extraordinary heritage, explaining the history of the town, and its place in the story of the whole Borough, as well as in the larger story of England and the world. The Royal Borough Council would also be seen to be giving new life to its magnificent 1939 commission, and conserving it.  No doubt architects with known authority on mid 20th Century building would be engaged for the conversion.

The advantages of having a Greenwich Town Museum and Heritage Centre in Greenwich itself will be many. The visitor footfall would be higher than at present. I would point out to rapidly increasing numbers of visitors to the town over the past ten years, and would suggest that the Borough Halls, could have a useful and financially viable future as such a museum. The building is large enough to make a splendid display of the town’s story, reflecting the fascinating events and historical characters who have made up the borough’s history, something which will interest residents, students, and tourists alike. The proposed location is well positioned on the route from Greenwich railway and DLR station to the town, and would act as an intermediary stop for visitors, filling in what is a slightly blank spot in terms of visitor attractions.

We must continue to cherish the old Borough Hall, give it a useful future preserving its architectural value, and at the same time commit ourselves to the general preservation and dissemination of our local history heritage. The Greenwich Historical Society and The Greenwich Industrial History Society are already in agreement with this suggestion, and doubtless there will be much further support from other groups and individuals.

Yours sincerely,
Allan Watkins

“The next stop is HMS Implacable for Maritime Greenwich”

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Steve Cram: The crowds in Greenwich are cheering Mo Farah as he passes the familiar sight of HMS Implacable at about the six and a half mile mark next to the River Thames on this hot Sunday morning.

Brendan Foster: It’s great to see Implacable open again after the terrible fire and long restoration. Mo is tucked in nicely behind the pacemaker as he heads on now to Creek Road.

In an alternate reality, that’s perhaps exactly how this weekend's London Marathon might be described by television commentators.

Because although the Cutty Sark has been an instantly recognisable landmark on the riverside since the 1950s, and an iconic part of the marathon route since it started in 1981, it was a very different ship altogether that almost came to Greenwich before her.

Duguay-Trouin was a 74-gun ship of the line built by the French in 1797 which saw action at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 where she even engaged against Nelson’s HMS Victory. Captured by the British, she was brought to Plymouth, refitted and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Implacable.

© Illustrated London News - British Newspaper Archive

Fifty years later, Implacable became a Navy training ship and when in 1908 there were plans to break her up, it was the personal intervention of King Edward VII that saved her. By the 1920s, she needed continued help and the Society of Nautical Research (SNR), which helped save HMS Victory, set up a special committee responsible for Implacable - with National Maritime Museum (NMM) director Geoffrey Callender as secretary.

The former Duguay-Trouin deteriorated during the years of the second World War, when she was temporarily recommissioned as a training ship. Following Callender's death in 1946, SNR member Frank G G Carr was appointed as the NMM's second director. Carr wanted to find a more permanent solution to the perilous situation Implacable was in.

In October 1947, he suggested that Implacable be restored and re-rigged, and brought to a new purpose-built dry dock in Greenwich. She would be London's Trafalgar Ship and serve as a monument to the fallen seamen of World War Two.

In early 1948 a drawing by F.A. Evans was published in the Illustrated London News, edited by SNR Vice President Bruce Ingram, and the Sunday Times which showed how the wooden warship would look in a new dry dock at Greenwich on the site of the old Ship Hotel. The Ship had been destroyed in WWII and the London County Council was planning to redevelop the land.


© Illustrated London News via the British Newspaper Archive

The drawing shows a view from the river looking towards the bow of the ship, with the familiar outline of the Pepys building at the Royal Naval College on the left and Greenwich Church Street with St Alfege Church looming above on the right. It's a vantage point which looks instantly recognisable because it's strikingly similar to how Greenwich would eventually look - but with the Cutty Sark instead.

If the campaign had been successful, it would have been HMS Implacable that would have become synonymous with Greenwich. Implacable would have been one of the most famous ships in the world, as Cutty Sark now is. It would have been Implacable that would lend her name to a DLR station in the town.

It would be HMS Implacable Gardens, not Cutty Sark Gardens, in which the ship would welcome many thousands of visitors a year. And further east at Ballast Quay, the HMS Implacable pub would be a favourite spot for a drink by the river.

The campaign received further press coverage in the Illustrated London News, The Times, The Sphere, the Western Morning News and other titles, and was raised in the House of Commons in November 1948 and February 1949 by Twickenham MP Sir Edward Keeling.

Civil Lord of the Admiralty Walter Edwards MP replied on the latter occasion that the possibility of “preserving the ship at Greenwich as part of a development scheme by the London County Council was being examined.”

Her fate was even raised with the Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, by the Duke of Edinburgh - who became a National Maritime Museum trustee and who supported Carr's vision.

But ultimately the cost of restoring Implacable - estimated to be £200,000 at the very least and likely to be higher - was thought to be too high. The NMM board concluded that they couldn't support the SNR Implacable Committee's plan. With no other credible proposals to save her, it was decided that she would be broken up.

How the Nottingham Evening Post reported it (via British Newspaper Archive)

On Friday December 2nd 1949, Implacable was towed out to the Solent with both the British and French ensigns flying. She was packed with explosives and blown up with escort ships from the British and French navy watching. Living up to her name, she refused to sink easily and it took over three hours before she was fully submerged.

The scuttling was reported in the press almost like a state funeral with The Times running a large photo under the headline "the last hours of HMS Implacable."

They recorded that four charges packed in the hull of the ship were fired at 1.45pm.

"When the charges were fired there was a heavy explosion which scattered debris on the water around, and the hull began rapidly to sink... leaving the upper deck floating like a raft with the two ensigns still flying."

It wasn't until almost 5pm that she was finally sunk.

Frank Carr was on one of the escort boats. He later wrote in the preface to the International Register of Historic Ships published in 1985:

"I watched as she was towed to her death. I marvelled at the beautiful way in which her lovely hull slid through the water, causing scarcely a ripple; and I wept when she sank. Never again would human eyes see a line-of-battle ship under way."

Determined that under-threat Cutty Sark would not suffer the same fate, Carr helped form the Cutty Sark Preservation with the Duke of Edinburgh as patron in 1952 and £250,000 was raised by to save her by public subscription. She was berthed at Greenwich in December 1954 and officially opened by the Queen in 1957.

Although Implacable could not be saved - part of the historic ship did eventually make it to Greenwich. The figurehead and stern carvings were saved, restored and presented to the National Maritime Museum in 1950 where they remain on display to this day.

  • Further reading on Implacable and many other stories associated with the development of the National Maritime Museum can be found in 'Of Ships and Stars' by Kevin Littlewood and Beverley Butler which has been indispensable in researching this post.
  • Top image: HMS Implacable in Greenwich drawn by Peter Kent.

Jumbo the Greenwich gasometer moves a step closer to demolition

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Greenwich's remaining gas holder has moved a step closer to being demolished after planning officers from Greenwich Council approved a technical plan from the owner SGN for bringing it down.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich as Local Planning Authority hereby determines that
the development described above and referred to in your Prior Notification application
received on the 15 March 2018 falls within the limits and procedures of permitted
development... Prior approval for the development is required and is hereby granted. [full decision notice]

When it was built in the 1880s by George Livesey on the Greenwich marshes, as the peninsula was then commonly called, it was the largest gasometer in the world with a capacity of 8,600,000 cubic feet. That accolade was snatched from it by a second, now-demolished, holder built at the East Greenwich Gas Works in 1892 with a capacity of 12,200,000 cubic feet.

But while everyone knows the giant gas holder thanks to its looming presence on the horizon, rather less know that it has a name. Or a nickname, at least. A close look at stories in newspapers in the years after it was built show that it was known as "Jumbo."

In The Times in 1889, an article referred to "the monster gasometer in Greenwich-marshes known as 'Jumbo,' believed to be the largest in the world."

"The great gasometer, which has been christened Jumbo" was how The Globe newspaper described it in December 1889.

The Kentish Mercury reported in 1890  "another monster gasometer in the marshes" was being erected "by the side of 'Jumbo'."

Perhaps because of the larger gasometer built alongside and the continued growth in gas holder sizes, the moniker fell out of use and there seems to be no further instances of the name used in the 20th century.

The aesthetic appeal of gas holders was not, and is not, universally appreciated. 'The Sphere' newspaper complained in 1906 that the view had already been "imperilled by ghastly gasometers" and then "finally destroyed" by the newly-built power station chimneys. It was an "eyesore... caused by commerce."


The Sphere - via the British Newspaper Archive

This photo below from the Britain from Above archives provides an excellent aerial view of the two gas holders.


© Historic England https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW009757

Jumbo, or Gas holder No 1, as it's more formally known, suffered damage in the massive Silvertown explosion of 1917, again during World War II, and then from the IRA bomb in 1979, which more seriously damaged its bigger neighbour Gas holder No 2 and ultimately led to it being demolished in the mid-1980s.

Read more about the history of the gas holders on the peninsula

The substantial repairs and replacements to the original structure is one of the reasons that Historic England recommended last year that the structure didn't reach the criteria for being listed. The Department of Culture, Media & Sport declined a Listing proposal and issued a Certificate of Immunity meaning that the gas holder cannot be listed, or have a building preservation notice placed on it by the council, for five years.

Explaining why it was pursuing demolition, owner SGN told The Pipeline earlier this year that:

It’s no longer sustainable for us to keep these structures in a safe and visually acceptable condition long-term. We’re also committed to redeveloping the land they sit on for use that’s more beneficial to the local community, such as housing and business premises.

Although some other gas holders have been saved elsewhere and repurposed while retaining their historic appeal, such as the oft-cited Kings Cross development, that same fate now appears unlikely for Gas holder No 1.

If the iconic structure once known as Jumbo is indeed demolished, as now seems increasingly likely, the local landscape will be changed forever with the loss of one of Greenwich's most visible reminders of its industrial history.

UPDATE:

Hannah Brett, spokesperson for SGN told Greenwich.co.uk:

Greenwich Council has approved our application to dismantle our Greenwich gasholder, so we are able to proceed with this process. However, we now need to undertake further planning of our own before any dismantling work begins on site. This may take some time, but we hope to start work within the next 12 months. Although we not yet have a confirmed date for dismantling of our Greenwich gasholder to begin, we will update the local community when we do.

Our part of our dismantling programme, we are committed to celebrating and capturing the history of our gasholders. We understand that to many people these iconic structures act as a visual reminder of an area’s history. Therefore, we are working with communities, local history groups and museums to ensure each gasholder we dismantle has its history captured for future generations to learn from.

UPDATE 27/04/2018

Greenwich Industrial History Society has created this petition to save the gasholder.

Have your say on the future of East Greenwich gas holder

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The owners of the East Greenwich gas holder now have a green light for demolition from the Department of the Environment and have submitted a planning application to Greenwich Council on the technicalities.

The intention of this blog post is to urge you to comment on the application – regardless of the situation. Follow this link to the planning application on the Council web site.  The case officer is Elizabeth Jump – and you can just write to her or write to the Planning Department.

Also read the report included (under the Documents tab of the planning application) – most of it is very good and gives a lot of detail on the holder – one of two holders which were originally there – and the site itself. There are some mistakes, but, well, let’s not nit-pick too much.

We do need to be honest about this – the legal situation with planning is pretty well stitched up – and the same process has been used in other councils – like, for example, Tower Hamlets, where the holders at Poplar are now being demolished, despite an active campaign group.

So – what is going on? My guess is that the owners, Southern Gas Networks, are being panicked partly by Lewisham’s decision to locally list the Bell Green holders – and also because there is hardly a holder left now in London which doesn’t have a campaign group rooting for it. We need to understand their position – these large structures are expensive to maintain, and unless they are looked after will soon deteriorate dangerously – and without adequate security they are open to metal thieves, urban adventurers, kids climbing them for a dare, and who knows what else.

BUT there are lots and lots and lots of ideas out there from architects and designers on using old gasholder frames, and they are learning from past mistakes to do things better and cheaper. So what we need to do is to try and buy a bit of time – get them to put more security on the site – and give us some breathing space.

The other issue – which I know well – is how unhappy local people are with the level of development in East Greenwich – lots and lots and lots of tiny new flats and very little in the way of anything else. For many older residents (that’s anyone who has lived here more than 5 years!!) the Greenwich they knew is vanishing, upsettingly. We all need something to tie us to the place we live in, everywhere needs something about continuity as well as change. For a lot of people the holder is saying just that.

So write in – it is always important to make yourself known – and never go down without a fight.

160 year old photo of Royal Observatory discovered in New Zealand archives

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One of the oldest photographs ever taken of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich has been found in New Zealand's Public Library Archives where it's been kept for over five decades and is described simply as a "building with scaffolding."


Building with scaffolding. Craddock, Gerald Rainsford, 1910-1990 :Photographs relating to the Glaisher family. Ref: PA1-o-191-43. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22834107

The remarkable 160 year old image is attributed to James Glaisher, the famed balloonist and former Superintendent of Meteorology at the Observatory who lived on Dartmouth Hill and who enjoyed two spells as Royal Photographic Society president.

His photo, taken in 1857 less than 20 years after the birth of photography, captures the construction of the Great Equatorial Building, also known as the South East Dome, which housed the Merz 12.8-inch Visual Refractor. About 35 years later the Merz was replaced in the tower by the famous 28-inch telescope.

Charles Shepherd's iconic 24 hour clock which was installed in 1852 can also be seen in the picture. But to an unfamiliar eye on the other side of the globe, the photo's recognisable features and significance appears to have been missed and for over 50 years it's been catalogued with no detailed description. [Read more...]

Changing view from Greenwich Park

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The changing view from Greenwich Park looking towards the Isle of Dogs is well noted as new towers continue to spring up around Canary Wharf. But wandering through the park the other day, I noticed that the view looking towards the Dome has also substantially altered. I took a photo and by luck found one in my archives which roughly corresponded to it so have been able to create this animated GIF which illustrates some of the changes to that part of Greenwich over the past eight years. [Read more...]

Why I cannot support the Mayor of London’s Silvertown Tunnel proposals

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I have never met a constituent who did not agree that the two sides of the Thames east of Tower Bridge should be better connected. The issue is how we achieve that cross river connectivity in a way that contributes to a sustainable local transport system that delivers benefits for local residents in terms of improved air quality, inward investment and expanded opportunities.

In the wake of Transport for London’s (TfL) October-December 2014 consultation, I took the view that the case for a new road tunnel under the Thames linking Greenwich Peninsula and Silvertown had not been made convincingly. I hoped at the time that TfL would listen carefully to the concerns that had been raised and respond positively to the range of suggestions that were put forward by the council and others to improve the scheme. [Read more...]

Obituary: Owen Bryce

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By chance today I learnt of the death of Owen Bryce at the age of 95. Woolwich should be proud of Owen, not just because he was a shopkeeper here but because he was one of the people who started revivalist jazz in Britain. ‘Trad jazz’ – played by a group of lads from Woolwich in wartime Barnehurst.

We don’t hear much about ‘trad’ these days. The history of popular music tends to be written in terms only of rock and roll – but, for the discerning teenager in the late 1950s, ‘trad’ was what it was all about. We knew about Owen Bryce, same way that we knew about Chris Barber, Terry Lightfoot and people like that – and we knew Owen had been one of the first. We rather looked down on any band that became too popular. [Read more...]

Remembering Mike King

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mikeonellistonhouse_edited-1

Mike King was a rather exceptional human being. I first met him early in 2012 in Greenwich Park where he was photographing the start of a cycling event and was soon struck by the sweet nature of this tall, smiling man with a couple of Nikon DSLRs around his neck.

I like to think we became good friends quickly and over the next couple of years it was a great honour to spend time with this gentle man. He was naturally modest but his achievements were many, having covered Olympic games, World Cups and other major events to create a stunning body of work, first as a staff sports photographer on Fleet St and latterly a freelancer. [Read more...]

The Greenwich Peninsula: what a difference a decade makes

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On Tuesday, after months of negotiations, the Council’s Planning Board will determine whether or not to approve Knight Dragon’s revisions to the 2004 Greenwich Peninsula masterplan. The proposals are wide-ranging but the core issues at stake are an increase in the total number of permitted “units” across the site from 10,010 to 15,720 (a 57 per cent increase) and a corresponding drop in the overall proportion of affordable homes from 38 per cent to 25 per cent (22.7 in this application to be added to those already in the pipeline).

When set against the principles underpinning the original Peninsula vision and the collective expectations of the community, Knight Dragon’s offer falls disappointingly short – a view I expressed candidly to their representatives when they presented their final proposals to me last week.

That is not to say that the proposals do not contain much that is to be commended. The plans for a new transport hub (and cycle superhub) at North Greenwich, new and enhanced open spaces, better community facilities, a riverside running track and improvements to the Thames footpath and cyclepath will improve the quality of life for those living in the area. [Read more...]