| Plumstead Common | |
|---|---|
 Autumnal view (near Plumstead Common Road) | |
 | |
| Type | common land, urban park |
| Location | Plumstead, London |
| Coordinates | 51°28′55″N0°04′41″E / 51.482042°N 0.078020°E |
| Area | 41.7 hectares (103 acres) [1] |
| Public transit access | Plumstead railway station |
Plumstead Common is a common and urban park in Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich (SE18), south-east London. It is part of the South East London Green Chain.
Plumstead Common is bound to the north by Old Mill Road and to the south by Plumstead Common Road. To the east lies Winn or Winn's Common.
The common contains deposits of puddingstone, a conglomerate rock formed during a period of global warming 60 million years ago. The rock is more usually found north of the River Thames in Hertfordshire, see Hertfordshire puddingstone. [2]
Plumstead Common was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 ("Plumstede"). The name refers to a place where plums grow.
In the 19th century more and more common land was sold off to build houses for the growing workforce at Royal Arsenal. The arrival of the railways sped up this process. The people of Plumstead protested that they had the right to graze their livestock on the land of Plumstead Common and to use it for sports and recreation. In June 1876 these protests attracted the Irish activist John De Morgan who on 1 July led protestors up from Woolwich Arsenal to Edwin Hughes (leader of the conservative party) house tearing down illegally erected fences on their way. John De Morgan was arrested and sent to prison for seventeen days. The riots resulted in the 1878 Plumstead Common Act ensuring that one hundred acres of land remained as public open space forever. [3]
Royal Arsenal F.C.'s first home was playing on the common.
Substantial remains of the Old Mill still stand and have been incorporated into the public house of the same name. Nearby is Plumstead Manor School. On the southwest corner of the common stands the former Prince of Wales pub.
Plumstead Common is the venue for the Plumstead Make Merry event, which is the longest-running community festival in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and is run on an voluntary basis by a group of people who are passionate about the local area. Plumstead Common is also the venue for the popular Asian Mela, which has been described as the "Asian Notting Hill Carnival". [4]
Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. 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. 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 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich to the east. The borough is entirely within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent. The local council is Greenwich London Borough Council which meets in Woolwich Town Hall. The council's offices are also based in Woolwich, the main urban centre in the borough.
Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich.
Woolwich is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the semi-slow, commuter service, corollary of the North Kent Line and also in its Dartford Loop services section between London and Dartford, run by Southeastern. Regular services beyond Dartford are to the Medway Towns, which start/finish in the opposite direction at Luton via the City of London, West Hampstead and St Albans. Its other part is the terminus of its own branch of the DLR, run by Transport for London.
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was originally known as the Woolwich Warren, having begun on land previously used as a domestic warren in the grounds of a mid-16th century Tudor house, Tower Place. Much of the initial history of the site is linked with that of the Office of Ordnance, which purchased the Warren in the late 17th century in order to expand an earlier base at Gun Wharf in Woolwich Dockyard.
Plumstead railway station serves the suburb of Plumstead, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, east of Woolwich Arsenal. It is 10 miles 1 chain (16.1 km) measured from London Charing Cross. It is served by Southeastern.
Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is also the name of a street on the east side of the common, as well as an electoral ward of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 17,499.
Woolwich was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1918 and from 1983 to 1997. It centred on Woolwich, now in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London.
Abbey Wood is an area in southeast London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located 10.6 miles (17 km) east of Charing Cross.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has over fifty parks and open spaces within its boundaries. They include:
The Manor Ground located in Plumstead, south east London was a football stadium. This arena was the home of football club Royal Arsenal, which was later named Woolwich Arsenal, and as such came to be known as Arsenal F.C.
Winn's Common is a public open space in Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England.
Woolwich, also known as Woolwich St Mary, was an ancient parish containing the town of Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames and North Woolwich on the north bank. The parish was governed by its vestry from the 16th century to 1852, based in the Church of St Mary until 1842, after which in the purpose-built Woolwich Town Hall. The parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 and was governed by the Woolwich Local Board of Health from 1852. When the parish became part of the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 the local board was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. It was in the county of Kent until it was transferred to London in 1889. In 1900 it was amalgamated with other parishes to form the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and had only nominal existence until it was abolished as a civil parish in 1930. Since 1965 it has been split between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham.
Eltham Common is a park and area of common land in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. Forming an approximate triangle between Well Hall Road and Shooter's Hill, it is part of a larger continuous area of woodland and parkland on the south side of Shooter's Hill: other parts are Jack Wood, Castle Wood, Oxleas Meadows, Falconwood Field, Oxleas Wood and Eltham Park North.
The Barnfield Estate is a housing estate located in Woolwich, Royal Borough of Greenwich, south east London.
Woolwich cemetery is a cemetery in southeast London, situated south-east of Woolwich, in Kings Highway, Plumstead, on land that was formerly part of Plumstead Common. The first cemetery, which is sometimes referred to as the Woolwich Old Cemetery, was opened in 1856 by the Woolwich Burial Board and the 12-acre site was almost full within 30 years; in 1885, a new cemetery was established on adjacent land to the east. The latter site is still in use, and contains graves of those who died in explosions at the Royal Arsenal, plus a World War I memorial with the names of 14 casualties; in total the cemetery has 96 World War I and 81 World War II Commonwealth war graves.
The Royal Arsenal Gatehouse or Beresford Gate is the main gatehouse of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It was built in 1828, enlarged several times and is now a Grade II-listed building. The gate was named after the Anglo-Irish general William Beresford, Master-General of the Ordnance and Governor of the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich.
Beresford Square is a pedestrianised town and market square in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in London, England. It was formed in the early 19th century and was named after the Anglo-Irish general William Beresford, Master-General of the Ordnance and Governor of the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. With its lively street market and lined with shops, pubs and restaurants, Beresford Square has been the heart of Woolwich for over two centuries. Since 2019 the square is part of a conservation area.
Plumstead Cemetery is a cemetery in Plumstead, southeast London. It is situated south-east of Woolwich, to the north of Wickham Lane, west of Lodge Hill, and south of Bostall Wood.
