London 1981
Peter MARSHALL
North Woolwich,, 1981
29e-15: river, Thames, pavillion, Newham
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I'm not sure what happened to this building, nor exactly where it was or what it was once used for, but it may have become a casualty of the raising of the river wall as a flood prevention measure, work on which was taking place when I took this picture. I think it was on the edge of the Royal Victoria North Woolwich Gardens.
North Woolwich was a part of Woolwich, and the only area to the north of the Thames to be in Kent, becoming a part of the London Borough of Woolwich in 1888 when the new county of London was formed, but was taken into Newham after the formation of Greater London in 1965.
The gardens were opened in 1851 as the Royal Pavilion Pleasure Gardens by the owner of the Royal Pavilion Hotel, a large pub from around 1850 which was closed in in the early 2000s and demolished in 2003. The gardens included a fairground, maze and a bowling green, and "among the popular entertainments were trapeze artists, hot air balloons, fireworks, open-air dancing, and 'monster baby shows'".
It was the last of London's great pleasure gardens and in the 1880s visitor numbers dropped, the gardens made a loss and in 1884 there were plans to build on them. The Bishops of Rochester and St Albans, together with the Lord Lieutenant of Kent set up a petition to the City of London to buy the gardens as "a breathing space for the occupants of these very dreary localities which are without anything of the sort". Public donations including £50 from Queen Victoria together with more from the Charity Commissioners helped raise the money and the gardens were handed over to the London County Council who redesigned and opened them as the Royal Victoria Gardens in 1890. Unfortunately most of the park was flattened by wartime bombing, probably largely aimed at the George V and Royal Albert docks and nearby industrial premises including those of Harland and Wolff. The park passed from the GLC to Newham Council in 1971.
The Woolwich Ferry brought customers across the river to a pier, still there though disused close to the gardens, and the ferry now runs further to the west from concrete terminals opened in 1966 and recently refurbished. There was a train service too, into the rather grand North Woolwich Station a few yards away, and trains ran from Fenchurch St every quarter of an hour until "a quarter to 12 o'clock at night" in 1859. The service under Silverlink on the North London Line from Richmond from 1979 to 2006 was never so frequent. It was replaced by the DLR to a new station a little to the north, King George V, at the end of 2005, which since 2009 has also served Woolwich Arsenal though a new tunnel under the Thames.
North Woolwich was a part of Woolwich, and the only area to the north of the Thames to be in Kent, becoming a part of the London Borough of Woolwich in 1888 when the new county of London was formed, but was taken into Newham after the formation of Greater London in 1965.
The gardens were opened in 1851 as the Royal Pavilion Pleasure Gardens by the owner of the Royal Pavilion Hotel, a large pub from around 1850 which was closed in in the early 2000s and demolished in 2003. The gardens included a fairground, maze and a bowling green, and "among the popular entertainments were trapeze artists, hot air balloons, fireworks, open-air dancing, and 'monster baby shows'".
It was the last of London's great pleasure gardens and in the 1880s visitor numbers dropped, the gardens made a loss and in 1884 there were plans to build on them. The Bishops of Rochester and St Albans, together with the Lord Lieutenant of Kent set up a petition to the City of London to buy the gardens as "a breathing space for the occupants of these very dreary localities which are without anything of the sort". Public donations including £50 from Queen Victoria together with more from the Charity Commissioners helped raise the money and the gardens were handed over to the London County Council who redesigned and opened them as the Royal Victoria Gardens in 1890. Unfortunately most of the park was flattened by wartime bombing, probably largely aimed at the George V and Royal Albert docks and nearby industrial premises including those of Harland and Wolff. The park passed from the GLC to Newham Council in 1971.
The Woolwich Ferry brought customers across the river to a pier, still there though disused close to the gardens, and the ferry now runs further to the west from concrete terminals opened in 1966 and recently refurbished. There was a train service too, into the rather grand North Woolwich Station a few yards away, and trains ran from Fenchurch St every quarter of an hour until "a quarter to 12 o'clock at night" in 1859. The service under Silverlink on the North London Line from Richmond from 1979 to 2006 was never so frequent. It was replaced by the DLR to a new station a little to the north, King George V, at the end of 2005, which since 2009 has also served Woolwich Arsenal though a new tunnel under the Thames.