Editing Blackheath, London (section)

===Etymology===
;Records and meanings
[[File:Southern Side of the Whitefield Mount, Blackheath Common.jpg|thumb|left|The Whitefield Mount is a mound on Blackheath Common]]
The name is from [[Old English]] spoken words 'blæc' and 'hǣth'. The name is recorded in 1166 as ''Blachehedfeld'' which means "dark,<ref name="Mills">{{Cite book| author=Mills, A.D. | title= Dictionary of London Place Names |publisher=Oxford  |isbn=978-0199566785 | date=11 March 2010 }}</ref> or black heath field" – field denotes an enclosure or clearing. [[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Lewis]]'s topological dictionary opines, considering the adjective developed equally into derived term bleak, that Blackheath "takes its name either from the colour of the soil, or from the bleakness of its situation" before adding, reflecting Victorian appreciation, mention of "numerous [[Victorian house|villas]] with which it now abounds...it is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, commanding diversified and extensive views of the surrounding country, which is richly cultivated, and abounds with fine scenery".<ref name=sl>''A Topographical Dictionary of England'', ed. [[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|S. Lewis]] (London, 1848), pp. 270-275. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp270-275, accessed 11 August 2019.</ref> It was an upland, open space that was the meeting place of the [[hundred (county subdivision)|hundred]] of [[Blackheath, Kent (hundred)|Blackheath]].<ref name="Mills"/>

;Formal name for estates around the heath
By 1848 Blackheath was noted as a place with two [[chapelry|dependent chapels]] under Lewisham [[vestry]] and another, [[St Michael and All Angels, Blackheath|St Michael and All Angels]], erected 1828-1830 designed by [[George Smith (architect)|George Smith]]. The latter made use of £4000 plus land from land developer [[John Cator]],<ref>[https://www.se3.org.uk/history/ se3.org.uk] St Michael and All Angels community website</ref> plus a further £11,000 from elsewhere.<ref name=sl/> The name of Blackheath gained independent official boundaries by the founding of an Anglican parish in 1854 (construction of the parish church, [[All Saints' Blackheath|All Saints]], began in 1857), then others (in 1859, 1883 and 1886) which reflected considerable housing built on nearby land.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10080393  St John's, Blackheath] showing as offshoot E.P. of Greenwich E.P. since 1854 ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]]</ref><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10149990 All Saints, Blackheath] E.P. an offshoot E.P. of Lewisham E.P. since 1859 ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]] and others</ref><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10039253 The Ascension, Blackheath] – an offshoot E.P. of Lewisham E.P. since 1883 ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]] and others.</ref><ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10039265 Blackheath Park] (St Michael and All Angels, formerly St Peter's) – an offshoot E.P. of Charlton E.P., Kidbrooke Liberty and Lee E.P. since 1886 ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]] and others.</ref> In local government, Blackheath never saw independence;<ref name=vision>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20186/units Units covering this area] ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]] and others</ref><ref name="achurchnearyou.com">[http://www.achurchnearyou.com/search/?lat=51.468&lon=0 Parish locator and church information by grid reference], ''A Church Near You'', [[Church of England]], retrieved 2019-08-11</ref> at first split between the Lewisham, Lee, Charlton and Greenwich vestries or civil parish councils and Kidbrooke liberty,<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10041120/boundary Boundaries of Boundary Map of Kidbrooke Pariochial Liberty/Civil Parish] ''Vision of Britain'' (website), © 2009–2017, the [[University of Portsmouth]] and others.</ref> which assembled into [[Greenwich District (Metropolis)|Greenwich]], [[Plumstead District (Metropolis)|Plumstead (in final years called Lee)]] and [[Lewisham District (Metropolis)|Lewisham District]]s then re-assembled with others into Greenwich and Lewisham [[metropolitan borough]]s in 1900.<ref name=vision/>

;Etymological myth
An [[urban myth]] is Blackheath could derive from the [[Great Plague of London|1665 Plague]] or the [[Black Death]] of the mid-14th century. A local burial pit is nonetheless likely during the Black Death, given the established village and safe harbour (hithe) status of [[Greenwich]]. At those times the high death rate meant that a guaranteed churchyard burial became impractical.