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More Thamesmead Panoramas – 1994

More Thamesmead Panoramas: This final set of panoramic images came from my final visit to Thamesmead in November 1994.

*Lesnes Abbey, Ruins, Abbey Wood, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-42*

I began and ended the day at Abbey Wood station and I no longer remember the route of the walk that I tookm but I think I began by going to the Lesnes Abbey Ruins. After the Norman conquest in 1066 land here was given to Bishop Odo, the half-brother of William the Conqueror and Bishop of Bayeux (and pictured on that tapestry he probably commissioned as a gift to his brother.)

Odo was the man who ran the country for his brother – until he was tried for fraud and disgraced. Odo was forgiven on William’s deathbed. But Lesnes Abbey was only founded in 1178 by the man then in charge of England for Henry II, Richard de Luci. He retired here then, possibly as a penance for his role earlier inspiring the 1170 murder of Thomas Beckett, and died three months after retiring.

The Abbey was always small and was closed by Cardinal Wolsey in 1525 as it had fewer than seven men living there. Much of the stones were taken away as building material with the abbot’s house becoming a part of a farmhouse. The London County Council bought the site and grounds in 1930 and opened it as a public park.

*Abbey Way, Footpath, Footbridge, Abbey Rd, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-21*

From the ruins I walked to the elevated footpath which leads into Thamesmead South.

*Abbey Way, Footpath, Footbridge, Abbey Rd, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1104-12*

The footbridge goes across Abbey Road and to the north gives a view of the tower blocks of Thamesmead across the horizon.

*Clocktower, Deptford Dockyard, Joyce Dawson Way, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1003-32*

I don’t think I made many other panoramas as I walked towards the river, and this is one I made on an earlier visit. It isn’t a good picture of the clock tower as it doesn’t show the clock!

When Convoys took over the old Royal Naval Dockyard in 1960 to bring newsprint into London they had no interest in its history and despite many objections they demolished the large Great Storehouse and many other old buildings on the site. The clock tower which had been a later addition on the top of this ancient wooden building was saved by urgent pleas and left by the riverside at Convoys Wharf when the building was demolished in 1981.

But it was still just a nuisance to Convoys and they still were threatening to demolish it. The tower was saved by the GLC and taken by boat to Thamesmead and erected here in the middle of a commercial centre.

*Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-22*

At some point in my visit I made another visit to the Tavy Btidge Centre and made a few more panoramas.

Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-11

Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1102-12

*Riverside Path, River Thames, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1103-22*

The River Thames is around a mile and a half away. On a previous visit I had taken another panorama from an almost identical position, but I think this is a rather better composition with the rail lined up carefully with the opposite shore.

These two lines are in the vertical centre of the image and so remain straight. Standing up a little to the right of centre above them is the Barking Creek Barrier.

*Goldfish Are Wankers, Graffiti, Riverside Path, River Thames, Thamesmead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-1103-23*

I couldn’t decide which was the more interesting work of art, the strange yellow sculpture or the graffiti on the wall behind. The wall is the flood barrier to protect Thamesmead, much of which is low-lying.

*Crossness Nature Reserve, Thamesmead East, Bexley, 1994, 94-1101-61*

The Crossness Nature Reserve is to the east of Thamesmead, just past the large Crossness Sewage Treatment Works. When opened in 1865 the the sewage from London south of the Thames was simply pumped into the Thames when the tide was going out, but a large area of land was taken over to treat it before release around 1890.

*Crossness Nature Reserve, Thamesmead East, Bexley, 1994, 94-1103-41*

This is the end of my posts of colour pictures from around Thamesmead in 1994 though there are still a few more in my Flickr colour album for that year – as well as others in the 1994 black and white album.

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Thamesmead & The Thames – 1994

Thamesmead & The Thames: More pictures from my October and November 1994 visits to Thamesmead.

*Tavy Bridge, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-61*

I hope the captions which I wrote at the time are accurate, but I found parts of Thamesmead rather confusing to walk around. There are both streets and raised walkways and various footpaths, and I don’t think the map was always too helpful.

*Tavy Bridge Centre, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-63*

However these shops were certainly at the Tavy Bridge Centre. Thamesmead is built on the flood plain and the whole area had been badly flooded before the new estate was developed. The planners decided to build with garages at street level and the living areas of the housing at first floor and above so as not to be vulnerable to floods.

*Tavy Bridge, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-1003-52*

Some of the areas liable to flooding have since been rebuilt with housing at ground level. I assume that the river walls are now thought to be an adequate defence, but would not myself buy a house there.

*Footbridge, Yarnton Way, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-116-41*

Sea levels are slowly rising as the earth gets hotter because of increasing levels of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels means that ice melts. The Thames Barrier still protects most of London, but will need to be replaced. Thamesmead is downstream of the barrier and so will need its own extra protection. At some point with high spring tides and an easterly gale this will be overtopped.

*River Thames, Beckton, Canary Wharf, Thamesmead, Bexley, Greenwich, 1994, 94-115-44*

I walked on to the riverside promenade, Thameside Walk. Looking towards the west both the remains of the Beckton gas works and Canary Wharf were visible though there was considerable haze due to air pollution in London.

*River Thames, Ford, Dagenham, Thamesmead, Bexley, Greenwich, 1994, 94-115-45*

Across the Thames and a little to the east was the vast Ford complex at Dagenham, its logo visible on the water tower at left.

*Promenade, River Thames, Thamesmead, Bexley, 1994, 94-115-35*

The river is stretches away east towards the estuary, turning around towards the south in the distance. At the left of the picture is the Essex bank. The river is a little over 2000 feet wide here.

The panoramic images here were taken on a Russian Horizon swing-lens camera, its 28mm lens giving a horizontal angle of view of around 127 degrees (often stated as 120.) The negatives, on standard 35mm film are 58x24mm, a similar width as a ‘6×6’ medium format camera though only 2/5 the height. It was possible to use the camera handheld, but for these pictures I used a sturdy Manfrotto tripod, usually working from a normal eye height of a little over 5 foot.

More to come from Thamesmead.

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Lewisham, Black Heath and Heathside – 1990

Lewisham, Black Heath and Heathside: Pictures from the final part of my walk on Sunday 18th March 1990. The previous post on this walk was Deptford, Greenwich and The Point – 1990.

House, 17, West Grove, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-56 — *House, 17, West Grove, Blackheath, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-56*

I came down from The Point onto more or less the top of Point Hill, which rises steeply from Greenwich and turned east into West Grove where a few houses including this one overlook the western edge of the Black Heath – and a short distance across the grass the A2. Different maps show this section as the east section of Blackheath Hill or the start of Shooters Hill, though this section is more or less flat. There are a few trees in the grass which is criss-crossed by footpaths.

This Grade II* listed house, Manna Mead at 17 West Grove, was built around 1800. Although a fine building I think it owes its unusual Grade II* listing at least partly because of its position on the edge of Black Heath and its views. It is divided into flats.

*Dartmouth House, Dartmouth Row, Blackheath, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3m-34*

I walked along to the well-known Rangers House on the edge of Greenwich Park and taking a few pictures there and on the way, including the listed Conduit Head for the water supply to the Greenwich Royal Hospital, none of which I have yet digitised. I went across the A2 and down Dartmouth Hill to Dartmouth Row.

Dartmouth House was a very substantial house and the sign outside suggests it was in process of being converted into flats. It was built in 1928-9 as a nurses home for the Miller General Hospital. This had been built in the grounds of the Royal Kent Dispensary in 1883 to celebrate the Dispensary’s 100th anniversary and “as a memorial to the Revd Canon John Cale Miller (1814-1880), the founder of Hospital Sunday”. This was an important national collection day every June, established in 1873 to support the work of voluntary hospitals, vital before the foundation of the NHS. Its inception is more generally attributed to London’s Lord Mayor.

Miller was Vicar of St Alfege, Greenwich and had greatly supported the work of the Dispensary. The hospital was closed in 1974 and the home was redundant. It briefly became a home for single mothers and was being converted into 17 2- and 3-bed flats.

This Dartmouth House is sometimes confused with the Grade II listed Blackheath House of the Earl of Dartmouth which was also in Dartmouth Row, just south of the church.

*Church of the Ascension, Dartmouth Row, Blackheath, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3m-35*

Dartmouth Chapel was established in 1699 as private chapel for the Earls of Dartmouth so the Vicar of Lewisham could to preach a sermon for the family every Sunday. Traces of the original building may have survived the considerable rebuilding in around 1750 and 1834.

It had served as a temporary parish church for Lewisham in 1774-7 but was consecrated as a separate parish church, the Church of the Ascension in 1883. Much older material was also removed during rebuilding after wartime damage in 1950. The church is Grade II* listed.

View, Council Estate, Morden Lane, 1990, 90-3m-24 — *View, Heathside Council Estate, Morden Lane, Lewisham, 1990,*

These flats on the side of Blackheath Hill were the Heathside Estate – Ferguson House, Melville House, Varden House, Glennie House and Travis House – built in 1948 by the LCC. They have since been demolished and the area redeveloped.

Stairs and View, Council Estate, Morden Lane, 1990, 90-3m-26 — *Stairs and View, Heathside Council Estate, Morden Lane, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3m-26*

Noted for its vibrant community life, this estate on the edge of the London Borough of Lewisham was in a poor state structurally by the 2000s and in 2009 plans were approved for its demolition and replacement by new Heathside and Lethbridge estates.

House, 83, Morden Hill, , 1990, 90-3m-12 — *House, 83, Morden Hill, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3m-12*

A fine example of a 1930s house with its Crittall windows intact. Although many houses like this were built with flat roofs, this had a pitched roof with a large overhang you can see here. The house still looks in good condition now, though the carefully trimmed bushes have gone.

*Railway, Offices, Multi-storey Car Park, Molesworth St, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3n-01*

I began and ended the walk at Lewisham Station and I’m unsure whether I made this image – taken on another camera – at the start or finish of my walk. The picture is made on a footpath that leads over the River Ravensbourne around a quarter of a mile south of the station and was taken from just on the east side of the river looking under the railway line towards Molesworth St. Although central Lewisham has changed drastically in the past decade or so, I think both the buildings in the background remain.

My next photographic walk was in North London two weeks later. Coming here shortly.

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Deptford, Greenwich and The Point – 1990

Deptford, Greenwich and The Point: More pictures from my walk on 18th March 1990. The previous post on this walk was Lewisham and Deptford – 1990.

I walked from Deptford into the area between Deptford and Lewisham, mainly in the London Borough of Greenwich, then up the hills towards Blackheath. As often on my walks there was a good deal of wandering around as I tried to at least look down every street on my way.

*Eagle, 20, Deptford Broadway, Deptford, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-11*

This terrace of buildings from 17-21 Deptford Broadway dates from the late 17th century and is Grade II listed. The Eagle is perched on top of the Transport Cafe which was at some long past time a tavern. The listing says the building is probably from the late 17th century and still has two original staircases.

*Houses, 25, 27, Blackheath Rd, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3g-14*

Two houses which caught my attention for their verandas. Both were built in the 1840s and are larger than you might think as you can just see they have basements. I wondered if the left hand house of the pair was built for a client with a larger family.

Ditch Alley, Blackheath Rd, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3g-15 — *Ditch Alley, Blackheath Rd, Greenwich, 1990*

Ditch Alley runs from Blackheath Road to John Penn St which gets its name from the engineering works of John Penn & Sons which were begun in 1799 and from 1825 produced marine engines here as well as boilers at its riverside site at Palmers Payne Wharf, Deptford.

The alley went through the centre of the site and I think all the buildings in my two pictures date from 1863 or later. Among other claims to engineering fame the company produced the world’s first wind tunnel in 1868. The company declined as shipbuilding declined in London and was wound up in 1914.

*Ditch Alley, John Penn St, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-62*

John Penn Street was originally known as Cold Bath Lane but was renamed John Penn Street in the 1870s. Parts of the works site were later occupied by the Broomfield Bakery which closed in 1992 (and is still missed by some locals – Gregg’s sausage rolls are not the same), and while Lewisham Council dithered over adding some of the remaining buildings to the Statutory List they were demolished. The site is now occupied by Wickes, Pets at Home and a large car park for these stores along with housing. More details on the Greenwich Industrial History site.

Parry's Dispensing Chemist, Lewisham Rd, Lewisham, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-64 — *Parry’s Dispensing Chemist, Lewisham Rd, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-64*

By 2009 Parry’s Dispensing Chemist’s premises at 6-8 Lewisham Road were occupied by Juliet Q Unisex Hair Beauty Salon but this closed shortly after and I think the ground floor has since remained unoccupied. But although Mr Yip may well have left us, the shop next door at No 4 is still a Chinese Take Away.

*Dutton Street, Maidenstone Hill, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-66*

Although Google Maps calls this Maidenstone Hill, the name on the houses clearly reads Dutton Street, while a newer sign on the other side of the road favours Google’s choice. This is certainly a hilly part of London and I made my way to the top of the hill.

*View, The Point, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-51*

The Point has been noted for centuries as a viewpoint over London with wide views to the north and the west, and remains as a small area of public open space. Although now in Greenwich it was formerly in the Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, and was named The Blackheath Point.

On a clear day there is a protected view of St Paul’s Cathedral, but although I had good weather, the city was covered in the usual murk of pollution, atmospheric but hiding it. I think to get a clear view you would need to be up here after a thunderstorm had scrubbed the London air.

*Point Hill, Westgrove Lane, from, The Point, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-53*

The land drops away steeply here to a road full of houses for the fashionable and wealthy in the Victorian era – and still now for the rich. These houses are quite a contrast to the working class homes in my Dutton Street picture above.

*View, The Point, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3m-55*

Looking roughly north there are more plebeian residencies close to The Point and in the middle distance a number of large council blocks from the 1930s or 1950s. Beyond them is housing on the Isle of Dogs and the growing development of Docklands, as yet without its towers, though the cranes are busy.

I was coming close to the end of my walk but I took a few more pictures before leaving for home which I’ll post shortly in the final selection from this walk.

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Lewisham and Deptford – 1990

More From Lewisham: More pictures from my walk on 18th March 1990. The previous post on this walk was St Johns Lewisham – 1990.

*Denture Repairs, Loampit Hill, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-45*

False teeth were still very common when I was growing up. Many if not most adults still went to bed with their teeth in a glass of water beside them on the bedside table like my parents. One of their wedding presents in 1932 from a wealthy relative had been for both of them to be given a ‘full set’, while others were often given the same as a coming of age present for their 21st birthday.

As many of us are still aware, tooth pain can be excruciating and few working-class people could afford proper dentistry. People extracted their own teeth or those of their friends with pliers, or tied strong thread around them and fixed it to a door handle asking for someone to slam the door. With current problems in getting NHS treatment there are again now people resorting to painful and dangerous DIY treatments.

*Denture Repairs, Loampit Hill, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-32*

Things had improved a little after the war, particularly with the school dental service, and I went regularly to the clinic on Bath Road until I was 16 and no longer qualified for their services. It was around ten years before my teeth saw a dentist again and by then the rot had truly set in. But back then it was simple to find a NHS dentist and become a regular patient.

Dentistry never really became a proper part of the NHS and NHS dentistry is now in dire straits, though there have been great advances in dental treatment – and so little need for shops such as this. I’m fortunate still to have a NHS dentist with regular check-ups and still enough of my own teeth to just about eat. And although the NHS charges increase regularly it remains cheap compare to private practice. But sorting it out should be another item on Andy Burnham’s list.

*R Holt, Crash Centre, Thurston Rd, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-33*

Car crashes are still common and there are still garages offering crash repairs, though I think rather more cars now get written off after crashes, partly because of changes in the way cars are built but also because of stricter safety laws. MOT testing was introduced in the 1960s but the tests are now much more detailed and rigorous.

Behind the yard is a row of trees at the edge of the site and a railway viaduct on the line to Lewisham station. This yard is long gone and the street is lined with tall flats.

*R Holt, Crash Centre, Viaduct, Thurston Rd, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-34*

The crashed cars on the lorry close to my camera make those by the fence look like toy models. I think many these cars would have been cannibalised for parts and then sold as scrap as they look beyond repair, even by specialists such as R Holt. The picture also gives a better view of the railway viaduct.

*Crescent House, Bliss Crescent, Lewisham, Greenwich, 1990, 90-3g-22*

A bridge over the River Ravensbourne leads to the flats of Crescent House, a large 1950s council development. A few years later the DLR extension to Lewisham from Island Gardens was built through here, opening in 1999. The Elverson Road DLR station is a short walk away.

*Carrington House, Brookmill Rd, Deptford, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-24*

Built for the London County Council in 1903, Carrington House was a lodging house which replaced several small doss houses on the site. It was based on the Rowton Houses founded by Lord Rowton to provide cheap lodging for working men and named after Lord Carrington, chairman of the LCC’s Housing of the Working Classes Committee.

*Carrington House, Brookmill Rd, Deptford, Lewisham, 1990, 90-3g-26*

It provided cubicles for 800 men to sleep in and communal facilities including washrooms, dining, reading and smoking rooms. During the Great War it housed refugees, afterwards returning as a lodging house, continuing in this at least until the late 1970s and possibly still when I took these pictures.

In 1995 it was converted into social housing flats and renamed Mereton Mansions. The railings are said to be made from wartime stretcher frames.

More to come from Deptford.

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Leyton and a Puzzle – 1994

Leyton and a Puzzle: Pictures from walks around parts of Leyton in August or September 1994 and a puzzle from south of the river.

*New Spitalfields Market, Sherin Rd, Leyton, Waltham Forest, 1994, 94-901-53*

Traffic congestion, lack of space and outdated buildings led the City of London Corporation to relocate its wholesale fruit and vegetable market out of Spitalfields to a purpose-built 31 acre site in Leyton which opened in 1991.

*New Spitalfields Market, Sherin Rd, Leyton, Waltham Forest, 1994, 94-901-54*

Stratford Market, which had been founded in 1879 by the Great Eastern Railway as a competitor to Spitalfields also moved to the new site. According to Wikipedia, New Spitalfields Market “is Europe’s leading horticultural market specialising in exotic fruit and vegetables – and the largest revenue earning wholesale market in the UK.”

*New Spitalfields Market, Sherin Rd, Leyton, Waltham Forest, 1994, 94-901-43*

There were plans for this, Billingsgate Fish Market (in the West India Docks) and Smithfield Market to move to a new consolidated site in Dagenham Dock and planning permission was given in 2021, but in November 2024 the City decided this was no longer economically viable. New Spitalfields will remain in use while there are now plans to relocate the two other markets to Albert Island at the east end of the Royal Docks.

*Leyton, Waltham Forest, 1994, 94-901-45*

The market is on the east side of Hackney Marshes a short distance from the River Lea and I walked east along Ruckholt Road into Leyton. I think this building was probably in a side turning just off this road and I think has probably been demolished. But I was only interested in the colours an shapes.

*A E Cornell, Furniture, 363, High Rd, Leyton, Waltham Forest, 1994, 94-901-46*

This shop is now occupied by Woodland Estate Agents who opened here in 2005 and the building looks rather less run-down. Of course I was attracted by the Union Flags in the windows and door as well as the Churchillian poster with its pointing finger, though I’m unclear what we should DESERVE. Perhaps someone will have memories of this shop.

*Chinese Takeaway, Fish & Chips, London, 1994, 94-901-32*

I think this was also in Leyton as another almost identical image is on the next frame of film to the picture of A E Cornell’s furniture shop. The Chinese Takeaway seems to have been at 17D and had a name ending in GARDEN. But of course my interest was mainly in the peeling mural of two rather strange-looking jockeys and horses on the side of the neighbouring bookies.

*Frederick Place, Bloomfield Rd, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-901-24*

And finally a little puzzle from the same film but taken south of the river on Bloomfield Road in Plumstead. The L and the S are clear and there are hints of two other letters, perhaps an I and a T. There could have been other letters, out of frame to the left. The building has been demolished and replaced by new housing, though some parts of the unusual paving remain. I can’t remember now if I knew what the site was, but have a vague feeling it may have been a garage and there is still a garage at the back of the new houses.

Please comment if you know more about this or any other of the pictures. More colour from 1994 to come.

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Woolwich Riverside and Royal Artillery

Woolwich Riverside and Royal Artillery: More pictures from my walk around Woolwich in August 1994

*Waste Land, Woolwich Church St, Woolwich Ferry, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-42*

This area, previously occupied by engineering works, has now been redeveloped with a luxury development of tall housing blocks on Mast Quay, “A magnificent crafted living space with panoramic views of the River Thames.”

*Entrance, Woolwich Foot Tunnel, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-13*

As well as getting a free ferry, Woolwich also got a foot tunnel under the River Thames, opened by the London County Council in 1912. The tunnel is just over 500 meters long and remains delightfully cool on hot summer days.

Many cyclists also use the tunnel despite bylwws prohibiting cyclists. Electronic signs were installed in 2016 which used a computerised system to measure traffic and messaged ‘No cycling allowed‘ in red at busy times but ‘Please consider pedestrians‘ in green when the tunnel was fairly empty. Greenwich council was in favour of changing the bylaws to legalise this, but Tower Hamlets refused and the system was discontinued. Many cyclists still ride.

The tunnel provides a useful route across the river, particularly when the ferry is out of action, but most times I’ve used it one of both of the lifts at each end have not been working. I’ve never counted the steps but there are rather a lot of them, particularly when going up.

*River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-21*

Downstream from the ferry in what in 1994 was I think an open area, once the site of Woolwich Power Station, demolished in 1978-9 though the coaling jetty in this picture is still there. There is still a riverside walk but most of the site is now occupied by tall blocks of flats.

*River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-22*

A bridge here links the former coaling jetty with the riverside path.

From Riverside Path, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-33 — *Steps from Riverside Path, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-33*

This area is now covered by tall flats, though there is a small segment of parkland with fountains.

*Mural, Thames Barrier, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-812-65*

I cannot remember exactly where I found this mural of the Thames Barrier in Woolwich and I think it was soon demolished.

Royal Artillery Memorial, St George's Garrison Church, Grand Depot Road, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-812-52 — *Royal Artillery Memorial, St George’s Garrison Church, Grand Depot Road, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-812-52*

Built for the garrison in 1862-3 it was hit by a V1 flying bomb in 1944 and the church was largely destroyed by fire. In 1970 more of the building was demolished but a canopy roof added to protect the apse and its polychromatic Victorian brick and decorations, with a memorial garden added in the former nave. It was listed in 1973. In 2011 it was transferred out of military ownership and since then there has been some restoration work, partly lottery funded.

*Cannon, Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-808-32*

The barracks was the home of the Royal Artillery from 1776 until 2007. Its 1,000 foot long Georgian frontage is said to be the longest in Europe if not the world. Since 2007 most of it has been rebuilt behind this, and in 2016 the Ministry of Defence announced plans for all army units to move out by 2028.

The cannon is the “17.75-ton Bhurtpore gun, captured by Field Marshall the Viscount Combermere after the 1826 siege of Bhurtpore” and brought here in 1828. When the Royal Artillery moved out they took this and four other cannons with them, doubtless a vital part of our country’s defence.

The Woolwich Ferry

The Woolwich Ferry: Continuing my walk in Plumstead and Woolwich in August 1994 I came to the Woolwich Ferry and couldn’t resist taking a ride across the river on it. And since I wanted to continue my walk in Woolwich, rather than in North Woolwich, I stayed on the ferry to come back.

*Woolwich Ferry, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-808-41*

There had almost certainly been a ferry across the Thames at Woolwich at least since the Norman Conquest, though the first written reference by name only came when it was sold together with a house by William de Wicton to William atte Halle for £10. In the early years of the 19th century there were three Woolwich Ferry Acts (1811, 1815 and 1816) establishing a commercial ferry.

These were passed in particular for the movement of troops and supplies from Woolwich Arsenal across the river. From 1846 there was also a rail connection from North Woolwich to Stratford and eventually there were three steam ferries on the route

*Woolwich Ferry, Ambulance Station, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-11*

After the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was created in 1855 it had taken over toll bridges in West London and made them free to use. People to the east of London in Greenwich and Woolwich argued that they should also be able to cross the river without paying. Eventually in 1884 the MWB agreed and tasked Sir Joseph Bazalgette to oversee the provision of approaches, bridges and pontoons for the ferry. These were built by the still familiar name of Messrs Mowlem in 1887-9. (The company is no longer; having got into financial difficulties it was acquired by its rival Carillion in 2005.)

*Woolwich Ferry, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-12*

The London County Council was established on 21st March 1889, two days before the Free Ferry was due to open and so it was Lord Roseberry, the LCC’s first chairman who led the huge procession and festivities to the new ferry terminal in Woolwich and announced to a crowd of thousands “The free ferry is open to the public.“

There was only one paddle steamer working the ferry that weekend and it must have got very crowded. As well as those in Woolwich , “the Great Eastern Railway Company carried 25,000 people to its North Woolwich terminus, most of whom were intent on riding the ferry.”

*Woolwich Ferry, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-13*

The initial fleet of two paddle steamers soon became three and were replaced by newer paddle steamers in the 1920s. It was these that inspired the story and wonderful illustrations by Charles Keeping in his 1968 children’s classic ‘Alfie and the Ferryboat (1968), very much enjoyed a few years later by myself and my two boys. So of course we had to come to Woolwich and I took my first crossing with them in the early 1980s.

But by the time that book was published the paddle steamers had gone, replaced from 1963 by the diesel-powered double ended James Newman, John Burns and Ernest Bevin which enabled vehicles to drive up newly built causeways with hinged bridges and drive directly onto the ferries, greatly speeding up the loading. As they were double-ended vehicles could also drive off forwards on the other side and the ships did not need to reverse. They were steered from a central bridge over their roadways.

The ferries in my pictures continued in service until 2018, when the ferry closed down for four months waiting the arrive of replacements. These have had various problems with London May Sadiq Khan apologising and saying the new vessels “aren’t good enough.”

*Woolwich Ferry, Ambulance Station, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-22*

I had just missed the ferry and spent it walking around the area and taking pictures.

*Woolwich Ferry, Ambulance Station, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-807-33*

All of the pictures before this one have been of a vessel not in use, moored at Woolwich but in this picture you can see one ferry at the North Woolwich terminal and another approaching Woolwich, and I hurried up the approach to catch it. In my next post from 1994 I will include some pictures I made on the ferry.

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Plumstead Panoramas – 1994

Plumstead Panoramas: More colour panoramas from my walk in Plumstead in August 1994.

*Lakedale Rd, Tewson Rd, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-806-62*

Plumstead is a hilly place, rising quite steeply from the River Thames as I remember from my first visit to the area when still in short trousers, trudging up a long hill holding my mother’s hand to visit some distant relatives, whose names I no longer remember, nor exactly where they lived. Their back garden went up steeply behind the terrace house.

I don’t think it was this road was the one I walked up back then, but it was still hilly and you can see the houses going down on both sides and I think in the distance to trees and buildings on the other side of the river.

*Park, Plumstead Common, Plumstead, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-61*

The previous picture was taken just a few yards from Winn’s Common, one of several areas also including Bleak Hill and The Slade which make up Plumstead Common. I think this is close to Lakedale Road and shows the foundations of a building with beyond it the rose garden in the next picture.

*Park, Plumstead Common, Plumstead, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-808-13*

I made several other pictures on Plumstead Common, though I can’t remember exactly where on the common this was and can find no traces now of this sunken garden with walkways which must once have been covered by plants and flowers but seem to have left in a semi-derelict state, though there are still some rose bushes.

*Plumstead Common, Plumstead, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-808-23*

Here I deliberately tilted the panoramic camera to give a curved horizon rather than try to level it with a spirit level as I usually did, partly to include the lower edge of the bushes and small trees, but also to create a kind of enclosed space.

Across the common is a pub, the Woodman, one of the 5 Plumstead Common Idlers, ‘the Woodman who never felled a tree’ at 35 The Slade.

“The Star which doesn’t shine in the sky,
the Woodman who doesn’t cut down trees,
the Ship that cannot sail the seas,
the Mill which doesn’t grind corn,
and Who’d a Thought it!”

*Radnor Crescent, Plumstead, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1994, 94-809-62*

Radnor Crescent is some distance to the east on the edge of Winn’s Common and I’m not sure exactly which direction I was looking to make this picture, perhaps looking towreds Shooters Hill.

From here I walked to Woolwich and the Woolwich Ferry. More pictures from Woolwich in a later post.

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Belvedere Riverside & Plumstead – 1994

Belvedere Riverside & Plumstead: Some more pictures including some panoramas from my Thames riverside walk on Monday 1st August 1994, and a few from Plumstead a few days later.

*Ford Ferry, Pier, River Thames, Belvedere, Bexley, 1994, 94-805-22*

Ford at Dagenham was just on the opposite bank of the Thames, with a Ford ship moored in front of it and some ominous black smoke rising.

But although the Ford was only around 600 metres away, the fastest route for workers driving from here to the factory was around 15 miles. Taking the Woolwich ferry would take a couple of miles off this, but be slower.

*Ford Ferry, Pier, River Thames, Belvedere, Bexley, 1994, 94-802-11*

Many of Ford’s workers did live south of the river, either in Thamesmead or further away, and Ford provided a large suppposedly secure car park here from which they could walk down the pier to the Ford Ferry to take them across the river.

Ford had come to Dagenham in 1929 and opened the factory in 1931. They set up the private ferry for workers living in Kent in 1933. In its heyday it made 50 crossings a day taking as many as 1,500 workers to and from the plant, but after vehicle production ended with the plant turning to making engines it was only taking around 240 across and Ford discontinued it in 2003. Eventually they were forced to pay around half a million in compensation and to provide a bus service instead.

Much earlier there had been a Pilgrims ferry from Rainham to Erith, for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, said to have begun in 1199 and to have continued in use until the mid 1950s.

*Riverside Path, River Thames, Belvedere, Bexley, 1994, 94-802-12*

Around here I turned back towards Erith, taking some more pictures on my way (some of which were included in my previous post.)

*Riverside Path, River Thames, Belvedere, Bexley, 1994, 94-802-13*

I can’t now remember exactly where on the path this was, but I think I walked all the way back to Erith and to the station there.

Penny's Cafe, Motor Auctions, Erith, Bexley, 1994, 94-803-32 — *Penny’s Cafe, Motor Auctions, Manor Road, Erith, Bexley, 1994, 94-803-32*

Finally from that day in Erith, one I took earlier around the start of my walk but failed to post previously. Manor Road leads out east from Erith and was then an industrial area.

This Café (and Motor Auctions) had also clearly once been a factory and still catered for workers in nearby factories. Facebook posts say it had been an engineering factory called Ivor & Jettage, that the café was full of boxing photos and that its yard, used for motor auctions and later car boot sales on Sundays, was in 2024 a scaffolding yard. But I have been unable to confirm this.

*Nathan Way, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-806-52*

A few days after my Erith walk I was back not far away in Plumstead, and made just a handful of colour images including these three.

This picture was made from The Ridgeway a foot and cycle path on top of the Southern Outfall Sewer from Plumstead to Crossness. Nathan Way runs for around 600 metres just to the north of this and most industrial sites along here were demolished by 2015 and are being replaced by a huge estate of blocks of flats, Lombard Square, with 1,913 new homes. The first were finished in 2025.

*Nathan Way, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-805-24*

Another image from The Greenway not far from where I made the panorama above. From 1888-90 here or close by Royal Arsenal football team played here at what became the Manor Ground. They moved next to Woolwich, becoming Woolwich Arsenal but soon found the rent there too high and moved back. They played their last game here in 1913 before moving to Highbury in North London – and of course losing the Woolwich.

Some industry remains at the east end of this stretch of Nathan Way but I’m not sure this includes any in my picture.

*Panoramic, Double Glazing, Nathan Way, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-806-31*

Nathan Way is a long road leading from Plumsteaad to Thamesmead and I think this may have been on the corner with Kellner Road.. But the name repeated on the lorry and the large modern shed behind as well as on what was perhas a small shed in the foreground was unmissable. I just had to make a Panorama.

Tony's Snack Bar, Nathan Way, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-805-26 — *Tony’s Snack Bar, Nathan Way, Plumstead, Greenwich, 1994, 94-805-26*

I think the building at left it 115 Nathan Way, now occupied by Hydraquip Hose & Hydraulics, while behind are the roofs of Belmarsh Prison. But the picture is about the mobile snack bar here and the neat empty row of six white chairs for its then non-existent customers.

My walk continued on into Thamesmead but although I took quite a few black and white pictures I can’t at the moment find any more colour – and perhaps I took none.

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