Terrible fire at Wood Wharf

Shortly after eleven o'clock Monday se'nnight a fire, which resulted in the destruction of thirteen houses, broke out on the premises of Mr. W. Hunter, of Wood Wharf, 'Greenwich, immediately facing the river. The fire was discovered in the sail-loft, and in an instant the flames, owing to the inflammable nature of the stock, burst forth with great fury.

A mounted messenger was at once dispatched to London for the engines of the Fire Brigade, three of which were soon on the spot, together with those of the town and Greenwich Hospital, and the powerful floating engine from her Majesty's Dockyard at Deptford.

The remains of the fire.  Sorry about the picture quality,
scan of a photocopy of a photocopy

A party of the Donegal Militia, and a large number of police, under the superintendence of Inspectors Monk and Mott, aided in keeping off the crowd and working the engines. Notwithstanding a plentiful supply of water the flames speedily extended to the premises of Mr. Cobbett, boat-builder; Mr. Stapleton, smith; and Mr. T. R. Huntley, coal- merchant, facing the river. The exertions of the firemen were here directed to the saving of three valuable vessels in the yard of Mr. Hunter, the destruction of which must have taken place but for the immense volume of water poured on the flames, the vessels escaping- with light damage.

The flames, however, unfortunately communicated with a line of small houses in the immediate vicinity, seven of which were consumed, and six others on the opposite side of the street were so much damaged that they will have to be razed to the ground.

 

Illustrated London News April 1860

Industry in Prehistoric Deptford

Pre-historic industry in Deptford

(The following are edited extracts from Dr. Christopher Philpot’s paper on Deptford Creek commissioned by the developer, and permission for use of it by GIHS given by the developer. The full text is available if wanted)

 

The Palaeolithic Period

The London region has one of the greatest concentrations of Palaeolithic find sites in Britain. Human groups have been present intermittently in the area since 430,000 years ago, leaving their flint tools along the former course of the Thames.

One flint implement in the Sturge Collection is known to have been found somewhere in Deptford. Two struck flint flakes which may have been Palaeolithic or Mesolithic were found during the demolition of the Green Man public house at Blackheath Hill

               

The Mesolithic Period

Finds from the succeeding Mesolithic period (8,500-4,000 BC) are similar. Mesolithic peoples probably lived along the edges of the gravel terraces and exploited the marshy alluvial zone below for hunting, fishing and gathering.

A number of Mesolithic finds have been recovered by dredging in the bed of the Thames adjacent to Greenwich, comprising stone tranchet axes and picks, and flint blades and flakes.

Further west on the Thames foreshore of the victualling Yard a grey flint axe was found with a blade in 1984.

At Lewisham five flint flakes, an antler pick and a reindeer or red deer horn were found at Elliots' Works in Thurston Road and a tranchet axe at Century Works in Connington Road near the River Ravensbourne on both sides.


The Neolithic Period

Artefacts of the Neolithic period (4,000-2,000 BC) have again mostly been found in the River Thames. They comprised both polished and flaked axes of flint and stone, and a flint sickle. One axe was found within the study area off Norway Wharf. Further west on the foreshore of Deptford Strand a ground stone axe was found in 1989. The greenstone of which it was made originated from the Mounts Bay area of Cornwall, illustrating the length of the trade routes for axes of this period

The Bronze Age

From the Bronze Age (c2, 000-700 BC) finds from the River Thames off Greenwich continue to be important and include a palstave, a socketed axe-head, a spearhead ferrule and a leaf-shaped sword, although the sword may have been a fake³³. Inland other bronzeaxe-heads have been found in Lewisham at Elliots' Works in Thurston Road in and close to the Ravensbourne.

A wooden structure has been found at Bellot Street in Greenwich; it is not certain that this was a trackway, but its location is appropriate as a route from the terrace edge into the marshes of the Greenwich peninsula.

The highest point of the gravel terrace edge within the study area is near Berthon Street, but no evidence of this period was found. The promontory of St Nicholas may have provided a route to the delta marsh, as it did in the medieval period. The possible gravel island on the east side of the Creek mouth was probably too low for Bronze Age occupation.

 

The Iron Age

Few finds which can be ascribed to the Iron Age have been recovered in the Deptford area. At the excavation at the Dover Castle public house on Deptford Broadway a fragment of saddle quern and a flint blade were found in a small pit and a small scatter of coarse hand-made pottery was found across the site.

It is possible that the Roman occupation of the Broadway area had a late Iron Age predecessor. Where the sand and gravel terrace edge meets the riverside east of Woolwich a late Iron Age occupation site has been discovered. Dating from the early first century BC and bounded by two lines of perimeter ditches, it was probably an oppidum, a defended proto-urban settlement acting as the centre of a considerable territory. Occupation here continued into the late Roman period.

At Charlton usage of the late Iron Age defended enclosure at Hanging Shaw Wood also continued into the Roman period.

Prehistoric Finds of Unspecified Periods

Prehistoric flints have been noted as found on the land of F. Mitton, nurseryman of Greenwich, in 1949. Flint flakes and burnt flint of an indeterminate period were found residually in later contexts at the excavation at the Dover Castle public house. Residual worked flints and burnt flint which might be of Neolithic or Bronze Age date have been found in an evaluation in Lewisham. A retouched flint was found on the Thames foreshore upstream of Deptford Creek.

At Blackheath Hill was Blackheath Cavern, otherwise known as Jack Cade's Cavern, which may have been a prehistoric flint mine or possibly a natural feature. It collapsed in the 1880s and was last examined in 1946. However, it may well have been a medieval chalk quarry associated with the lime-burning industry

The Roman Period

The Roman conquest of the first century AD superimposed new patterns on the local landscape. The main Roman road from Dover to the new city of Londinium, later called Watling Street, ran on a straight course through Bexleyheath, Welling and Shooters Hill to a point to the east of Greenwich Park, apparently aligned on a river crossing at Westminster. From Greenwich its course is unclear. If the straight course had continued it would have crossed Greenwich Park diagonally down a steep hill to cross the Ravensbourne near the mouth of Deptford Creek. This is the course favoured by Montmorency, followed by Leftwich and Brown.

The water level at the Creek mouth was lower in the Roman period than at present. Portions of gravel road metalling were found in 1965 and 1971 in pipe trenches in Greenwich Park, which may have been parts of the Roman road. When Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, enclosed the Park in 1434, he was given royal licence to close a road 136 perches long from the royal highway to the River Thames, which may have been the remnant of the Roman road. However, the orientation of the road was not specified. A possible trace of this Roman and medieval road in the form of a low scarp running from east to west has recentl₅ been recorded in the south-east part of the Park

Most writers have accepted that it is more probable that the course of Watling Street deviated to the south of Greenwich to avoid the marshy lands around the mouth of the Creek, crossing the Ravensbourne at Deptford Bridge and continuing along the line of Deptford Broadway, New Cross Road and Old Kent Road to Londinium. Road metalling has been found beneath the Old Kent Road in Southwark. It is unknown if the Ravensbourne was crossed by a bridge or a ford at either point in Deptford.

It was probably alongside the second of the above routes that a Roman settlement was established at Deptford Broadway. In 1866 massive Roman brick foundations and a tessellated pavement were found at a depth of 30 feet (9.14m) during the digging of sewer trenches at the junction of Deptford High Street and the Broadway. The stated depth is not credible, but the story has been reinforced by more recent discoveries in the excavation at the Dover Castle public house. Here were found field boundary ditches running both north-south and east-west, and four pits. Residual Roman window and vessel glass was also recovered.

A reassessment of the finds has revealed a substantial assemblage of Roman pottery of the second, third and fourth centuries. This included fine wares imported from north-east Gaul, coarse ware cooking pots from the Thames area and Highgate Wood, a nearly whole London area grey ware flagon of the mid second century, and the base of a Nene Valley colour-coated bottle of the late fourth century. It indicates dense occupation over a long period.

The nature and extent of this occupation are as yet unclear; presumably there was a roadside settlement based around the river crossing.

By analogy with the development of other settlement sites along the margins of the lower Thames, it is not unlikely that there was river port in the Deptford/Greenwich area. As the water level in the Thames was approximately 4m lower in the Roman period than at present, it was possible that the shore at the mouth of Deptford Creek could have been used as such a port. A Roman coin was found during excavations at the Power station in 1947, and more coins have been found along the Thames foreshore towards Deptford Strand.

Woolwich Market - notes from Diana Rimel

                         

Woolwich Market – taken from notes by Diana Rimel

 

It was first granted an ancient charter in James I reign, 1619. The Charter was granted to a) Sir William Barne, then Lord Mayor of London and b) Hugh Lyddiard, Clerk of the Cheque at Woolwich dockyard. Both were important men and trustworthy.

 

They and their heirs had the right to hold and keep one Market Day on Fridays each week, and to collect the tolls and dues from the market holders, while it was on the site in the High Street, then called the Market Head, buildings erected about 1750.

 

There have been five markets in all, which Woolwich historian, Vincent identified from Barker's plan made in 1748.

 

1) The first called Market House stood at the end of Ropeyard Rails, which became St Saviours Schools, later in Woolwich High Street. In 1849 it was occupied by the parish cage, the old market house having been pulled down in 1749.

 

2) Roff's wharf was next - a quadrangle with narrow entrances from the High Street and New Street (1835) with a square market house and shops all round, erected in 1748 with its market house disappearing in 1774.

3) Another market was tried out in 1807, under a new Act, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, because the old market place had fallen into disuse. (The buildings attached to the market included a number of public houses; the Crown and Cushion, the Waterman's Arms, the King's Head; four shops and 14 private houses belonging to Lady Wilson. Roff's Wharf House and shops stood on the north side of Market Head) The Market Act proved inoperative, because the new Market was in competition with the Market Head in the High Street. The site of the new market, now the Town Hall and police station was ignored by the public. The area round the Town Hall had streets with names connected with the Market.

 

4) The Wilson family improved Market Hill and Market Head, ultimately clearing all the old buildings around about 1830. This became the 4th market.

 

 

After the Crimean War (1854-5) the population shifted eastwards, dealers followed, leading an unsettled life about the streets, at constant war with the authorities. Beresford Square therefore began lawlessly - against the wishes of Town and Parish. The ancient market place became deserted.

 

Public opinion eventually forced the authorities to put in sanitation and to recognise the new market. Sir Spencer Maryon Wilson sold all his land rights in the market to the local board in 1887 for £500. The new market was given its Regulations in September 1888, and a plantation of shrubs and trees was cleared to make the market as it is today. There were strong regulations about conduct, cleanliness and operation, 24 bye laws were drawn up in January 1888 and the market opened 1 September 1888.

 

Beresford Square had 27 small houses on it in 1810.  The Square was formed to improve the entrance to the Arsenal at the expense of the Government. It was named after the Marquis of Beresford, Master General when the Arsenal entrance was formed in 1828-30. The tolls varied from 6d upwards. In the first year they realized £620 or nearly £12 a week.

 

The first toll collector was Enoch: Hunt appointed from 49 applications. The regulations were accepted as a wholesome improvement upon the previous disorder. Julian Watson's book shows old Market place - Market Head, Beresford Square).  All went well for the first day and income from the tolls was £9 12s 3d. Market dealers paid 3d a foot for the day. There were early complaints about high charges. One dealer's goods were seized for non-payment.

 

Betting and gambling was allowed and horse racing tickets sold.

 

Some of the well-known late 19th early 20th century market dealers.

Harry Spithouse had a chip stall. Very clean, high class, chips fried in pure lard. His wife was popular for the amounts she gave

.

John Lawrence and the corn cure. Demonstration to the audience by showing his own perfect bare feet. He also jumped up and down on a bed of nails.

 

Glass cutting expert.

 

Fred Webb was a knife and scissors sharpener and had a table full of knives and shears.

 

 

The Purse King also sold handbags.

 

Sid and his china - he juggled with dinner plates. He dropped price from £1 to 7s 6d for a dinner set.

 

Headache cure man; a shabby man sold joss sticks; a fortune teller had a bird that picked up your fortune card with its beak; there was a ballad seller; also a lively fellow with curtains, linen and household materials.

 

There was an artist in clay who invited people to suggest a modelling subject e. g. Edward VII; Kitchener; Will Crooks; George Robey and Shakespeare. He always ended up doing Shakespeare as it was the only one he could do properly!

 

An East Indian had tiny samples of exotic perfume that attracted the girls. And there was a man with a patent darner whose brother sold needle threads.

 

An unshaven fellow had grease remover, and a man showed creases in his trousers made by wire stretchers costing 6d each.

 

There was also a pie shop with live eels, meat pies, potatoes and gravy.

 

Wombwell's Menagerie pitched in it in the 19^th century until 1854

 

The Lino King brought his yardstick down athwart a roll of cloth. Mac the toffee man had a stall covered with the latest football results. Another sweet stall sold Doncaster toffee, actually made in Bermondsey! and another more legitimately saying where the toffee was actually made.

 

Near the butcher's stall was a turbaned Indian garlanded with scarves and shawls. Similarly the pipe smoking bootlace seller, another with needles, thread and elastic and an old lag begging.

 

Near the toll hut stood Mr Gibson, Razor King of Woolwich, selling razors, shaving materials with scissors and nail cutters.  Whistling Rufus was his assistant.

 

Flash Harry the Mock Auctioneer was the cleverest psychologist. He sold everything and threw odd gifts, cakes of soap, pencils, etc. into the crowd.

 

There too was Maud Skinner, "they've arrested her again, she's drunk." She was the local prostitute.

 

The present stallholders keep some traditions going. When Diana made these notes there were still about eight families holding stalls in the market who could trace family links back to the turn of the century and even before.

 

Grace Ellis’s husband's grandmother Polly Ford and her husband Joe had to wait overnight for a pitch on the square before the 1888 charter legalised the market. Grace herself handed her stall over to her daughter.

 

Also the Manchester family

 

The Rolfes have been there since early in the 20^th century, running the fruit stall on the ".high' pavement. Johnny Rolfe remembered started at 4 am and staying open till 11 pm to catch workers coming out of the Arsenal. The market was 100 years old in 1988.

 

In 1874 a crowd of some 20,000 heard Gladstone make a speech in the Market from a coach hauled into the Square, before the General Election; some 20,000 two years later, heard a rabble- rousing speech by John de Morgan, who was leading the Plumstead Common campaign.

 

 

A paved crossing was laid from the Elephant and Castle pub across the Square to the Mortar Tavern to placate the traders in 1884, when the Board admitted it could not shift them from there. The Board did try to buy the Ordnance Arms to increase the market's size but the Burrage Estate, the freeholders, asked too high a price.

Explosions at Woolwich Arsenal

I have just acquired a cheerful little booklet - Explosions at Woolwich Arsenal - written by Clive Jarvis in 1982 ('Not for sale' it says on the back)

Generally it is all pretty terrible, and a whole history of Woolwich we have more or less forgotten. 

It starts with 18th June 1903.  Work had started at 7 am rather than 8 am because it was the day that the big guns would be tested.  At 8.10 there was a terrible explosion with bodies and body parts flying through the air. Woolwich people were used to explosions and took a bit of time for a crowd to gather at the gates - but there was no news until the Kentish Independent came out the next day.   16 men were dead or missing and 14 injured.  The accident has occurred during the packing of Lyddite - and as ever the evidence as to what had happened was blown away with the explosion
.
The next listed by Mr. Jarvis was on 11th February 1907 at 3.20 in the morning - and people woke up, got up, and took to the streets.  The explosion was inn the Chemical Research Department magazine on Plumstead marshes and near the river - leaving a hole 15 metres deep. Is there any evidence of this hole today?? Nobody was anywhere near although there was a lot of damage to buildings, to the Arsenal gas holder, railway carriages at Plumstead Station, Lakedale Road shops - and for miles around.   The nearest creature to the explosion was a cat in a shed next to the site of the explosion - it was 'safe but not completely happy'. 

 

 

I haven't been able to scan the cartoon style drawing which shows broken windows and dismay as far away as Braintree and Southend - but the above diagram does show the extent of damage, albeit it is a  bit unclear