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Mycenae House is a community centre housed in a former convent building adjacent to the Georgian villa, Woodlands House, in Mycenae Road, in the Westcombe Park area of Greenwich, London. The adjacent Mycenae Gardens are a public open space and are also used for community events.
Woodlands House and surrounding land was acquired by a Catholic novitiate order, the Little Sisters of the Assumption, after the end of the First World War. Proceeds from the sale of part of the land were used to fund construction of a novitiate house, which opened in 1933. [1]
After the Little Sisters of the Assumption moved to Paddington in 1967, the properties and grounds were purchased by London Borough of Greenwich. The novitiate house became a community centre, known then as Kidbrooke House (taking its name from a public building demolished during the construction of a large roundabout—the Sun in the Sands—forming the junction of Shooters Hill Road and the A102 Blackwall Tunnel southern approach road). In 1994, management of the building passed to the Vanbrugh Community Association, and the building was renamed Mycenae House. [1]
During the early 2000s, Greenwich council sought fresh finance to maintain both Woodlands and Mycenae House. Woodlands and a strip of land in the south and southwest corner of the grounds were sold in 2007 on a long lease to the Greenwich Steiner School. Development of a block of flats on the land provided funds for the lease purchase and renovation of Woodlands. [2]
Today, Mycenae House is used for events, including concerts and political hustings, for educational activities (music classes, [3] for example), and as a meeting place for various clubs and societies - for example, the Blackheath Scientific Society, [4] Charlton Chess Club, [5] the Woodcraft Folk, [6] and the Woolwich Photographic Society. [7]
The buildings' gardens, Mycenae Gardens, along with an adjacent space (The Dell), are a public open space, owned and maintained by the Royal Borough of Greenwich. [2] [8]
The Gardens are described as a "secluded gardens consisting of grass areas and small copse of trees," [9] with the open space also used for events by local organisations such as the Westcombe Society [10] and by the Steiner School. [11] They are accessed via the main entrance to the Woodlands and Mycenae House.
The Dell, situated to the north of the Gardens, is accessed directly from Mycenae Road or via a gate on the footpath between Mycenae Road and Beaconsfield Road. There is no direct access between Mycenae Gardens and the Dell. [12] The Dell has a natural character, and is overgrown with brambles, with London Plane trees covered by ivy; it is primarily used by dog walkers. [12]
Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located 1-mile (1.6 km) northeast of Lewisham, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Greenwich and 6.4 miles (10.3 km) southeast of Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is a London borough in southeast Greater London, England. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich and most of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to the east. The local council is Greenwich London Borough Council which meets in Woolwich Town Hall.
Woolwich is a town in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Greenwich is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east-south-east of Charing Cross.
John Julius Angerstein was a London businessman and Lloyd's underwriter, a patron of the fine arts and a collector. It was the prospect that his collection of paintings was about to be sold by his estate in 1824 that suddenly galvanised the King, George IV, and the prime minister, Lord Liverpool, into purchasing his collection for the nation and led to the founding of the British National Gallery in Angerstein's house at 100 Pall Mall.
Westcombe Park is a largely residential area in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is bounded by the main London-Dartford railway line to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach to the east, the Blackheath common to the south and a road, Vanbrugh Hill, to the west.
Charlton is an area of southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east of Greenwich and west of Woolwich, on the south bank of the River Thames, 7.2 miles (11.6 km) southeast of Charing Cross. An ancient parish in the county of Kent, it became part of the metropolitan area of London in 1855 and is home to Charlton Athletic F.C. and Charlton House.
Shooter's Hill is a district in South East London within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It borders the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north of Eltham and south of Woolwich. With a height of 132 metres (433 ft), it is the highest point in the Borough of Greenwich and one of the highest points in Greater London. Shooter's Hill also gives its name to the A road which passes through east to west and is part of the A207 road, the A2 road, and also Watling Street.
Eltham is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is 8.7 miles (14.0 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of Eltham North, South and West have a total population of 35,459. 88,000 people live in Eltham.
Greenwich and Woolwich is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Matthew Pennycook of the Labour Party.
Maze Hill is an area in Greenwich and Blackheath, in south-east London, lying to the east of Greenwich Park, and west of the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath. It is part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and takes its name from the main thoroughfare, Maze Hill. It gives its name to Maze Hill railway station.
Woodlands House is a Grade II* listed Georgian villa, next door to Mycenae House, Mycenae Road, in the Westcombe Park area of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. From 1972 to 2003 the building served as a library and art museum, known as the Woodlands Art Gallery. Today it houses a Steiner School.
Greenwich Heritage Centre was a museum and local history resource centre in Woolwich, south-east London, England. It was established in 2003 by the London Borough of Greenwich and was run from 2014 by the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust until the centre's closure in July 2018. The museum was based in a historic building in Artillery Square, in the Royal Arsenal complex, which was established in the 17th century as a repository and manufactory of heavy guns, ammunition and other military ware.
East Greenwich Pleasaunce is a public park in East Greenwich, in south-east London. It is situated to the north side of the railway line between Maze Hill and Westcombe Park railway stations and south of the A206 Woolwich Road.
Charlton Park is a public park in Charlton, in south-east London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is situated east of Charlton village and Charlton House, and south of Charlton Park Road. Cemetery Lane bordering Charlton cemetery lies to the east, and the park is north of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Avery Hill is an area of South East London mainly within Royal Borough of Greenwich, and with some parts in the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. It is believed that the area is named after an aviary formerly located in the area.
Neil Biron Rhind was an English journalist, writer and an authority on the social and historical development of Blackheath and surrounding areas of south east London.
The Tarn is a 9 acres (3.6 ha) site on Court Road between Mottingham and Eltham, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, southeast London, United Kingdom, consisting of a public garden, a bird sanctuary nature reserve and a lake amongst woodland. The woodland and lake, which was historically known as Starbuck's Pond, were previously the southern part of the Great Park, one of three parks belonging to the estate of Eltham Palace and used as a royal deer hunting park for several centuries up until the English Civil War. As a garden The Tarn opened in 1935, after the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich acquired the site from the adjacent Royal Blackheath Golf Course. The Tarn remains largely unchanged since the 1930s and contains several shelters, benches, a public toilets building and a circular path which crosses a wooden footbridge spanning the lake. There is also an 18th-century ice house in the garden, which is a listed structure.
51°28′47″N0°00′57″E / 51.4797°N 0.0158°E
