Editing Greenwich (section)

==History==

===Toponymy===
The place-name 'Greenwich' is first attested in an [[Anglo-Saxon charter]] of 918, where it appears as ''Gronewic''. It is recorded as ''Grenewic'' in 964, and as ''Grenawic'' in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] for 1013. It is ''Grenviz'' in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086, and ''Grenewych'' in the ''[[Taxatio Ecclesiastica]]'' of 1291. The name means 'green ''wic''', indicating that Greenwich was what is known as a [[-wich town]] or [[Emporium (early medieval)|emporium]],  from the Latin '[[vicus]]'.<ref>[[Eilert Ekwall]], ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names'', p.&nbsp;204.</ref>

The settlement later became known as ''East Greenwich'' to distinguish it from ''West Greenwich'' or ''Deptford Strond'', the part of [[Deptford]] adjacent to the [[River Thames]],<ref name=Parish>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=53781|title=Parishes: Greenwich|work=british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> but the use of ''East Greenwich'' to mean the whole of the town of Greenwich died out in the 19th century. However, Greenwich was divided into the registration subdistricts of ''Greenwich East'' and ''Greenwich West'' from the beginning of [[civil registration]] in 1837, the boundary running down what is now [[Greenwich Church Street]] and [[Croom's Hill]], although more modern references to "''East''" and "''West''" Greenwich probably refer to the areas east and west of the [[Old Royal Naval College|Royal Naval College]] and [[National Maritime Museum]] corresponding with the West Greenwich [[Ward (politics)|council ward]]. An article in ''[[The Times]]'' of 13 October 1967 stated:<ref>"Greenwich-the instant village", Brandon Green, ''[[The Times]]'', 13 October 1967; p. 11.</ref>
<blockquote>
''East Greenwich'', gateway to the [[Blackwall Tunnel]], remains solidly [[working class]], the manpower for one eighth of London's [[heavy industry]]. ''West Greenwich'' is a hybrid: the spirit of Nelson, the ''Cutty Sark'', the Maritime Museum, an industrial waterfront and a number of elegant houses, ripe for development.
</blockquote>

====Manor of East Greenwich====
[[Colonial charters in the Thirteen Colonies|Royal charters]] granted to English colonists in North America,<ref>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/statech.asp#pa Colonial Charters, Grants and Related Documents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704164538/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/statech.asp#pa |date=4 July 2011 }}.</ref> as well as in [[History of Bombay under British rule (1661–1947)|Company Bombay]] and [[St Helena]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Stern|first=Philip J.|year=2011|title=The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India|place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195393736|pages=23–24}}</ref> often used the name of the [[Manorialism|manor]] of East Greenwich for describing the tenure (from the Latin verb ''teneo'', hold) as that of free [[socage]].<ref>[http://www.eogen.com/manorofEastGreenwich Manor of East Greenwich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905153324/http://www.eogen.com/manorofEastGreenwich |date=5 September 2015 }}.</ref> [[New England]] charters provided that the grantees should hold their lands "as of his Majesty's manor of East Greenwich". This was in relation to the principle of land tenure under English law, that the ruling monarch (king or queen) was paramount lord of all the soil in the ''terra regis'',<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discover-domesday/great-domesday.htm National Archives, ''Great Domesday''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929010705/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/domesday/discover-domesday/great-domesday.htm |date=29 September 2015 }}.</ref> while all others held their lands, directly or indirectly, under the monarch. Land outside the physical boundaries of England, as in America, was treated as belonging constructively to one of the existing royal manors, and from Tudor times grants frequently used the name of the manor of East Greenwich,<ref>Words used in [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va01.asp ''The First Charter of Virginia; 10 April 1606''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101224739/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va01.asp |date=1 November 2011 }} "...To BE HOLDEN of Us, [King James I] our heirs and Successors, as of our Manor at East-Greenwich, in the County of Kent, in free and common Soccage only, and not in Capite."</ref> but some 17th-century grants named [[Windsor Castle|the castle of Windsor]].<ref>Words used in [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/pa01.asp ''Charter for the Province of Pennsylvania-1681''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428183155/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/pa01.asp |date=28 April 2011 }} "...to bee holden of Us [King Charles II], Our heires and Successors, Kings of England, as of Our Castle of Windsor in Our County of Berks, in free and comon Socage, by fealty only for all Services, and not in Capite or by Knights Service."</ref><ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-13-02-0006 "N.N." ''On the Tenure of the Manor of East Greenwich''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120085548/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-13-02-0006 |date=20 November 2017 }}.</ref><ref>Edward P. Cheyney, ''The Manor of East Greenwich'',  American Historical Review, Volume 11, 1 October 1905.</ref> Places in North America that have taken the name "East Greenwich" include [[East Greenwich Township, New Jersey|a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey]], [[East Greenwich, New York|a hamlet in Washington County, New York]], and [[East Greenwich, Rhode Island|a town in Kent County, Rhode Island]]. [[Greenwich, Connecticut]] was also named after Greenwich.

===Early settlement===
[[File:Burial mounds in Greenwich Park.jpg|thumb|Prehistoric burial mounds in Greenwich Park]]
[[Tumulus|Tumuli]] to the south-west of Flamsteed House,<ref>Flamsteed House – designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675–76, was the home of the first Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, and the heart of Charles II's new Royal Observatory.</ref> in [[Greenwich Park]], are thought to be early [[Bronze Age]] barrows re-used by the Saxons in the 6th century as burial grounds. To the east between the Vanbrugh and Maze Hill Gates is the site of a Roman villa or temple. A small area of red paving [[tesserae]] protected by railings marks the spot. It was excavated in 1902, and 300 coins were found dating from the emperors [[Claudius]] and [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] to the 5th century. This was excavated by the [[Channel 4]] television programme ''[[Time Team]]'' in 1999, broadcast in 2000,<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/greenwich-park/things-to-see-and-do/ancient-greenwich/roman-remains|title=Roman remains|publisher=Royal Parks|access-date=24 July 2015|archive-date=29 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529095025/https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/greenwich-park/things-to-see-and-do/ancient-greenwich/roman-remains|url-status=dead}}</ref> and further investigations were made by the same group in 2003.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/T/timeteam/2003_greenwich.html|title=Greenwich London|journal=Time Team|publisher=Channel 4|date=2 February 2003|access-date=13 June 2011}}</ref>

The [[Roman road]] from London to [[Dover]], [[Watling Street]], crossed the high ground to the south of Greenwich, through Blackheath. This followed the line of an earlier [[Celt]]ic route from [[Canterbury]] to [[St Albans]].<ref>''The Roman Watling Street: from London to High Cross'' O. Roucoux, (Dunstable Museum Trust, 1984) {{ISBN|0-9508406-2-9}}.</ref> As late as [[Henry V of England|Henry V]], Greenwich was only a fishing town, with a safe anchorage in the river.<ref name=Parish/>

===Viking===
During the reign of [[Ethelred the Unready]], the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] fleet anchored in the River Thames off Greenwich for over three years, and the army encamped on the hill above. From here they attacked [[Kent]] and, in the year 1012, took the city of Canterbury, making Archbishop [[Alphege]] their prisoner for seven months in their camp at Greenwich, at that time within the county of Kent. They stoned him to death for his refusal to allow his ransom (3,000 pieces of silver) to be paid; and kept his body, until the blossoming of a stick that had been immersed in his blood. For this miracle his body was released to his followers, he achieved sainthood for his martyrdom and, in the 12th century, the parish church was dedicated to him. The present church on the site west of the town centre is [[St Alfege Church, Greenwich|St Alfege's Church]], designed by [[Nicholas Hawksmoor]] in 1714 and completed in 1718.

===Norman===
The [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 records the manor of ''Grenviz'' in the [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of ''Grenviz'' as held by Bishop [[Odo of Bayeux]];<ref>[http://opendomesday.org/place/TQ3877/greenwich/ Open Domesday Online: Greenwich] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210103418/http://opendomesday.org/place/TQ3877/greenwich/ |date=10 February 2017 }}</ref> his lands were seized by the crown in 1082. The name of the hundred was changed to [[Hundred of Blackheath, Kent|Blackheath]] when the site of the hundred court was moved there in the 12th century. There has been a royal palace or hunting lodge here since before 1300, when [[Edward I]] is known to have made offerings at the chapel of the Virgin Mary.<ref name=Green>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=45486 'Greenwich', The Environs of London: volume 4: Counties of Herts, Essex & Kent (1796), pp. 426–93] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607011526/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=45486 |date=7 June 2007 }}, accessed: 26 May 2007.</ref>

===Plantagenet===
Subsequent monarchs were regular visitors, with [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]] making his will here, and [[Henry V, King of England|Henry V]] granting the manor, for life, to [[Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter]], who died at Greenwich in 1426. The palace was created by [[Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester]], Henry V's younger brother and regent to his son [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] in 1447; he enclosed the park and erected a tower ([[Greenwich Castle]]) on the hill now occupied by the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Royal Observatory]]. The Thames-side palace was renamed the [[Palace of Placentia]] or Pleasaunce by Henry VI's consort [[Margaret of Anjou]] after Humphrey's death. The palace was completed and further enlarged by [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]], and in 1466 it was granted to his queen, [[Elizabeth Woodville|Elizabeth]].<ref name=Green/> Edward IV had previously been given permission by the Pope to establish a [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] [[friary]] of [[Order of Friars Minor|Observant Friars]] in Greenwich, this was done in 1485, two years after his death; the first Observant House in England, it was located on land adjacent to the palace.<ref name="HERR">{{cite web |title=Greenwich Greyfriars |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=2999a72a-088a-4c5e-b2d1-18ba214920c4&resourceID=19191 |website=Historic England Research Records |publisher=Heritage Gateway |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref> After rejecting papal authority in 1534, the Franciscan Observants were suppressed; refounded as Franciscan Conventual, the friary was dissolved in 1538, then re-established in 1555 for Observants, before the friars were finally expelled in 1559 and the friary was demolished in 1662.<ref name="HERR"/>

Ultimately it was because the palace and its grounds were a royal possession (with a useful hill) that it was chosen as the site for [[Charles II of England|Charles II's]] Royal Observatory, from which stemmed Greenwich's subsequent global role as originator of the modern [[Prime Meridian]].

=== Tudor ===
The palace was the principal residence of [[Henry VII of England|Henry VII]] whose sons Henry (later [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]) and [[Edmund Tudor, Duke of Somerset|Edmund Tudor]] were born here, and baptised in St Alphege's. Henry favoured Greenwich over nearby [[Eltham Palace]], the former principal royal palace in south London, which was not on the River Thames and so was less accessible. Henry extended Greenwich Palace and it became his principal London seat until [[Whitehall Palace]] was built in the 1530s. Henry VIII married [[Catherine of Aragon]] and [[Anne of Cleves]] at Greenwich, and both of his daughters, [[Mary I of England|Mary]] (18 February 1516) and [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]] (7 September 1533), were born at Greenwich. His son [[Edward VI]] also died there at age 15.

The palace of Placentia, in turn, became Elizabeth's favourite summer residence.<ref name=Green/> Both she and her sister Mary used the palace extensively, and Elizabeth's Council planned the [[Spanish Armada]] campaign there in 1588.

=== Stuart ===
[[File:Adriaen van Stalbemt - A View of Greenwich.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|[[Adriaen van Stalbemt]]'s ''A View of Greenwich'', {{Circa|1632|lk=no}}, showing King Charles I (in the black hat) and his family. Greenwich Palace can be seen in front of the River Thames behind them. [[Royal Collection]], London.]]
[[James VI and I|James I]] carried out the final remodelling work on Greenwich Palace, granting the manor to his wife [[Anne of Denmark|Queen Anne of Denmark]]. In 1616 Anne commissioned [[Inigo Jones]] to design and build the surviving [[Queen's House]] as the final addition to the palace.

[[Charles I of England|Charles I]] granted the manor to his wife [[Queen Henrietta Maria]], for whom Inigo Jones completed the Queen's House. During the [[English Civil War]], the palace was used as a biscuit factory and prisoner-of-war camp. Then, in the [[English Interregnum|Interregnum]], the palace and park were seized to become a 'mansion' for the [[Lord Protector]].

By the time of the [[Restoration (1660)|Restoration]], the Palace of Placentia had fallen into disuse and was pulled down. New buildings began to be established as a grand palace for Charles II, but only the King Charles block was completed. Charles II also redesigned and replanted Greenwich Park and founded and built the Royal Observatory.

Prince James (later King [[James II of England|James II & VII]]), as [[Duke of York]] and [[Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom|Lord High Admiral]] until 1673, was often at Greenwich with his brother Charles and, according to [[Samuel Pepys]], he proposed the idea of creating a Royal Naval Hospital. This was eventually established at Greenwich by his daughter [[Mary II of England|Mary II]], who in 1692–1693 commissioned [[Christopher Wren]] to design the Royal Hospital for Seamen (now the Old Royal Naval College). The work was begun under her widower [[William III of England|William III]] in 1696 and completed by [[Hawksmoor]]. [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and [[Prince George of Denmark]] continued to patronise the project.

=== Hanoverian ===

[[George I of Great Britain|George I]] landed at Greenwich from Hanover on his accession in 1714. His successor [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] granted the Royal Hospital for Seamen the forfeited estates of the [[Jacobite rising of 1715|Jacobite]] [[James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater|Earl of Derwentwater]], which allowed the building to be completed by 1751.

In 1805, [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]] granted the Queen's House to the [[Royal Naval Asylum]] (an orphanage school), which amalgamated in 1821–1825 with the Greenwich Hospital School. Extended with the buildings that now house the National Maritime Museum, it was renamed the [[Royal Hospital School]] by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1892.

[[George IV]] donated nearly 40 paintings to the hospital in 1824, at a stroke creating a gallery in the [[Painted Hall]]. These now form the Greenwich Hospital Collection at the National Maritime Museum. Subsequently, [[William IV of the United Kingdom|William IV]] and [[Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen|Queen Adelaide]] were both regular donors and visitors to the gallery.

===Victorian and Edwardian ===
[[File:Descriptive_map_of_London_poverty,_1889_Wellcome_L0027751.jpg|thumb|In the 1880s, if this place is so cut into three: east, central and west zones of about 30,000 inhabitants each, the central one had less than 10% recognisable poverty, the minimum of London's map above, but the others (east and west) more than 40%.]]
Queen Victoria rarely visited Greenwich, but in 1845 her husband [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] personally bought [[Admiral Nelson|Nelson's]] [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]] coat for the Naval Gallery.

In 1838 the [[London and Greenwich Railway]] (L&GR) completed the first steam railway in London. It started at London Bridge and had its terminus at London Street (now Greenwich High Road). It was also the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first elevated railway, having 878 arches over its almost four mile stretch. South of the railway's viaduct over [[Deptford Creek]] is [[Deptford pumping station|a Victorian pumping station]] constructed in 1864 as part of [[Joseph Bazalgette]]'s [[London sewerage system]] (the Southern Outfall Sewer flows under Greenwich town centre).

In 1853 the local Scottish Presbyterian community built a church, St Mark's, nearby which was extended twice in the 1860s during the ministry of [[Adolph Saphir]], eventually accommodating 1,000 worshippers.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Saphir, Adolph |volume= 50 |last= Carlyle |first= E. I. |author-link= E. I. Carlyle |page=299 |short= 1}}</ref>

In 1864 opposite the railway terminus, theatrical entrepreneur [[Sefton Henry Parry|Sefton Parry]] built the thousand-seater [[Greenwich Theatre|New Greenwich Theatre]].<ref>''The Era'', 29 May 1864, p. 10, New Greenwich Theatre.</ref> [[William Morton (theatre manager)|William Morton]] was one of its more successful managers. The theatre was demolished in 1937 to make way for a [[Greenwich Town Hall, London|new Town Hall]], now a listed building under new ownership and renamed Meridian House.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=The Borough Hall and Meridian House (former Greenwich Town Hall)|num=1213855|access-date=24 April 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Our Ladye Star of the Sea, Greenwich.jpg|thumb|Our Ladye Star of the Sea]]
Greenwich Station is at the northern apex of the Ashburnham Triangle, a residential estate developed by the Ashburnham family, mainly between 1830 and 1870, on land previously developed as market gardens. It is now a designated conservation area.<ref>Report on Ashburnham triangle by Conservation Team, Development Town Planning First Floor, Peggy Middleton House 50 Woolwich New Road, London SE18 6HQ.</ref> The present Greenwich Theatre, further to the east, on Croom's Hill, was constructed inside the shell of a Victorian music hall. Beginning life in 1855 as an annexe to the Rose and Crown, the music hall was rebuilt in 1871 by Charles Crowder and subsequently operated under many names. Further south on Croom's Hill, the Roman Catholic church of [[Our Ladye Star of the Sea]] was opened in 1851.<ref name="TStock">{{cite web |title=Greenwich – Our Ladye Star of the Sea |url=https://taking-stock.org.uk/building/greenwich-our-lady-star-of-the-sea/ |website=Taking Stock: Catholic Churches of England and Wales |access-date=13 March 2023}}</ref>

The meridian was established in 1851.

=== Modern and the present ===
[[George V]] and his wife [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] both supported the creation of the National Maritime Museum, and Mary presented the museum with many items.

Prince Albert, Duke of York (later [[George VI]]), laid the foundation stone of the new Royal Hospital School when it moved out to [[Holbrook, Suffolk|Holbrook]], Suffolk. In 1937 his first public act as king, three weeks before his coronation, was to open the National Maritime Museum in the buildings vacated by the school. The king was accompanied by his mother Queen Mary, his wife [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] and [[Elizabeth II|Princess Elizabeth]].

Princess Elizabeth and her consort [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]], who had been ennobled [[Duke of Edinburgh]] and [[Baron Greenwich]] on marriage in 1947, made their first public and official visit to Greenwich in 1948 to receive the Freedom of the Borough for Philip. In the same year, he became a trustee of the National Maritime Museum. Prince Philip was a trustee for 52 years until 2000, when he became its first [[patron]]. The Duke of Edinburgh was also a patron of the ''[[Cutty Sark]]'' (which was opened by the Queen in 1957) from 1952.

During the [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Silver Jubilee of 1977]], the Queen embarked at Greenwich for the Jubilee River Pageant. In 1987, she was aboard the [[P&O]] ship ''[[MS_Pacific|Pacific Princess]]'' when it moored alongside the Old Royal Naval College for the company's 150th-anniversary celebrations.

To mark the [[Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II]], on 3 February 2012 the [[Royal Borough of Greenwich|Borough of Greenwich]] became the fourth London Borough to have Royal Borough status, the others being [[Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames|Kingston upon Thames]], [[Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea|Kensington & Chelsea]] and [[Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead|Windsor & Maidenhead]].<ref>See also [[List of UK place names with royal patronage#Royal Borough|Royal Borough]].</ref> The status was granted in recognition of the borough's historic links with the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarchy]], the location of the Prime Meridian and its being a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref name="royal">{{cite web |url=http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/LeisureCulture/RoyalGreenwich/RoyalGreenwich.htm |title=Greenwich to become Royal Borough |date=5 January 2010 |access-date=5 January 2010 |publisher=Greenwich London Borough Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108082815/http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/LeisureCulture/RoyalGreenwich/RoyalGreenwich.htm |archive-date=8 January 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>