Thames
Barrier to Oxleas Wood
 |
Tennis
Court |
 |
Parkland
/ Gardens |
 |
Publice
playing fields |
 |
Sports
ground |
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Children's
playground |
 |
Angling |
 |
Boating
lake |
 |
Car
Park |
 |
Grassland/Common |
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Railway
Stations |
 |
Some
section of the walk are muddy, steep or uneven. This symbol
provides a indication of the suitability of the paths for
wheelchairs, pushchairs and those with mobility problems.
It shows the parks and open spaces where there are surfaced
footpaths. For more details call the Green Chain Office on
020 8921 5028. |
A.
The Thames Barrier 
 Opened
in 1984, the Thames Barrier was built to save London from disastrous
flooding. 10 separate movable steel gates built side by side across
the river house the hydraulic machinery to raise the gates during
periods of tidal surge. An exhibition and video explaining the barrier’s
construction can be seen at the Visitor Centre.
Click here
for more details.
B.
Maryon Park
The highest
part of the park is Cox’s Mount, once used in the 1850s to
adjust ships’ compasses and earlier by the Romans as a hill
fort.
C.
Gilberts Pit
The sandpits
were used for providing sand for parlour floors before carpets came
into fashion.
 D.
Maryon Wilson Park
The park
forms part of Hanging Wood which originally formed a hideaway for
the highwaymen of Shooters Hill and Blackheath. It now contains
a deer park and animal farm enclosure.
E.
Charlton Park & House
Charlton
is one of the few inner London communities to have retained its
village features. Charlton House is one of the best examples of
Jacobean architecture in the country and the finest in London. It
was built by an unknown architect, possibly John Thorpe, in 1612.
F.
Inigo Jones Road
Inigo Jones
was England’s most celebrated designer in the Italian Renaissance
style. He was not only a painter but an architect, an author, a
theorist and, above all, the first man in the history of arts in
Britain to develop his talent as a draughtsman in order to express
his ideas.
G.
Hornfair
Charlton’s
Horn Fair was not abolished until 1872. Holes’ ‘British
Folk Customs’ says about the fair: “Men also quite frequently
wore women’s clothing and amused themselves by striking women
encountered on the fairground with sprigs of furze”.
H.
Woolwich Common
Originally
a much larger common extending into Charlton, it has slowly been
encroached upon by the army. It is still controlled by the Ministry
of Defence.
I.
Military Academy
The Royal
Military Academy began in the Arsenal in 1721 but was moved to the
East side of the Common in 1808. The Academy taught the principles
of fortification and every branch of military science relating to
it, as well as French and Latin, writing, fencing and drawing. Kitchener,
General Gordon and Orde Wingate attended the Academy.
J.
Reservoir
The reservoir
was built in about 1848 with convict labour. In fact, it was never
really needed as wells could easily be sunk for water locally.
K.
Royal Herbert Hospital
The Royal
Herbert Hospital was designed by the nephew of Florence Nightingale.
Opened in 1865, it was the first British hospital with long corridors
and separate ward partitions. The grade II listed buildings have
now been converted for residential use with the grounds retained
as part of the Green Chain.
L.
Shooters Hill Police Station
As late
as 1805 there were public executions on the site of the present
police station. As Gregory wrote in his ‘Story of Royal Eltham’:
“In the old days there were few spots around the metropolis
which had a worse repute than Shooters Hill for the robberies, outrages
and murders committed by highwaymen on this lonely road and so impotent
were the authorities in this matter that the thieves even organised
tolls, tickets and passes, at a certain price, to ensure a safe
passage across the hill”.
M.
Severndroog Castle
In 1784,
as a memorial to Sir William James of Eltham Park, the castle -
styled summerhouse was built to commemorate his conquest of the
Castle of Severndroog on the coast of Malabar.
Select an
area 1 - 10 for an overview of that section on the Green Chain Walk.
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