Editing Woolwich (section)

=== Urban development ===
==== Population ====
[[File:Printed Map Descriptive of London Poverty. Sheet 13(?) covering Woolwich (22643234567) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Poverty map]] of Woolwich, 1889. The areas in black designate the "lowest class, vicious, semi-criminals". Bright red is "middle class, well-to-do".]]
Around 1500, at the beginning of the military and naval expansion, Woolwich had only a few hundred inhabitants. In 1665, when [[Samuel Pepys]] stayed here to escape the [[Great Plague of London|Great Plague]], the population was estimated at 1,200 or more, of which about 300 worked in the dockyard. Around 1720, the town's population had risen to 6,500, reaching almost 10,000 in 1801. During the booming wartime decade that followed, population reached a peak of 17,000. After a period of stagnation, building activity picked up in the 1830s. Woolwich' built-up area expanded southward with workers' houses mostly close to the river and officers' houses around [[Woolwich Common]] and further up the hill. In 1841 Woolwich had a population of 27,785; in 1861 this had risen to 41,695. At this point there were 4,596 houses in the parish, with little space left for building; further development took place in [[Plumstead]], [[Charlton, London|Charlton]] and [[North Woolwich]], later also in [[Eltham]]. After a dip in the late 19th century, in 1901 the population of the parish of Woolwich stood at the same level as 40 years earlier: 41,625. Victorian Woolwich was a rich social mix with skilled engineers along with unskilled labourers (including women and children) working at the Arsenal and other factories, large numbers of soldiers (making up 10–15% of the population) and a small bourgeoisie consisting of military officers and the commercial and professional elite. Some areas of the town were notoriously overcrowded; the so-called [[Old Woolwich#19th century: Victorian slum|Dusthole]] near the river was considered one of London's worst [[slum]]s.<ref name=SG9-17>Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 9–17.</ref>

==== Infrastructure ====
Until the arrival of the railways, the Thames was the principal artery connecting Woolwich to London. In 1834 the Woolwich Steam Packet Company greatly improved river traffic and in 1889 the [[Woolwich Ferry|Woolwich Free Ferry]] made it easier to live in [[North Woolwich]] and work in the Arsenal, or to live in Woolwich and work in the [[London Docklands|Docklands]]. The [[North Kent Line]] from London via [[Greenwich]] and Woolwich to [[Gillingham, Kent|Gillingham]] opened in 1849. The station building was rebuilt in 1906 and again in 1992–93.<ref>Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 18–22.</ref> Woolwich was also on the route of two [[Trams in London|London trams]] of the first generation (1881–1952).<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/6/newsid_2963000/2963092.stm BBC on this day: 6 July] accessed 23 April 2007</ref>

The post-war period brought massive changes to the town's fabric and infrastructure. Roads were widened and entire neighbourhoods pulled down to make room for modern housing, some of it in tower blocks. The widening of Woolwich High Street and Beresford Street left little of the [[Old Woolwich|old town]]. Woolwich was home to the experimental [[Auto Stacker]] car park. Built on the site of the Empire Theatre, it was officially opened in May 1961 by [[Princess Margaret]]. It never actually worked and was demolished in 1962. A [[multi-storey car park]] was built along Monk Street in 1971.

==== Education ====
[[File:2016 Woolwich, Calderwood St, Polytechnic 02.jpg|thumb|Woolwich Polytechnic, 1891]]
[[University of Greenwich|Woolwich Polytechnic]] was founded in 1891. As well as providing a higher education facility, it also provided secondary school facilities, including the still-extant (but now relocated) [[Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys]].<ref name="AIM25-schools">{{cite web|title=Woolwich Polytechnic Day Schools|url=http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=6088&inst_id=61|website=AIM25|access-date=24 April 2017|archive-date=24 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424175615/http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=6088&inst_id=61|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 20th century the Polytechnic grew steadily, taking up almost an entire block in the [[Bathway Quarter]] and later spreading to other areas. In 1970 it merged with other local colleges and became Thames Polytechnic. In 1992 it was granted [[New Universities|university status]] and a year later was renamed the [[University of Greenwich]]. In 2001, the university relocated to the [[Old Royal Naval College]] in [[Greenwich]], leaving only a small administrative presence in Woolwich.<ref>Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 269–275</ref>

Woolwich was the location of the first free [[kindergarten]] in the UK. The Woolwich Mission Kindergarten opened in 1900, and began in a room provided by a Christian socialist vicar of Holy Trinity church in New Charlton, the Rev. Walter Wragge. It was founded by his sister, Adelaide Wragge, the [[Friedrich Fröbel|Fröbel]]-influenced principal of Blackheath Kindergarten Training College.<ref>Brehony, Kevin J., (2000) "The kindergarten in England 1851–1918". In: Wollons, Roberta (2000). Kindergartens and cultures: the global diffusion of an idea. New Haven. Yale University Press. p. 72</ref>

==== Leisure ====
[[File:Service of Lieutenant R F T Foljoube With 120th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, 1910-1915 HU87114.jpg|thumb|Officers of the [[Royal Artillery]] playing polo on bicycles, {{Circa|1910|lk=no}}]]
In the 18th century, [[Woolwich Cricket Club]], later Royal Artillery Cricket Club, were well-known [[cricket]] clubs. Cricket and other sports were mainly played by military officers and students at the [[Royal Military Academy, Woolwich|Royal Military Academy]]. [[Arsenal F.C.]] was founded in 1886 by workers at the [[Royal Arsenal]]. Initially known as ''Dial Square'', then ''Royal Arsenal'' and then ''Woolwich Arsenal'', they soon drew large crowds to their ground in [[Plumstead]]. In 1913 they moved to [[Arsenal Stadium]] in [[Highbury]], North London. [[Royal Ordnance Factories F.C.]] was founded in response to Woolwich Arsenal joining the League but only lasted a few years.

Woolwich had several [[Theater (structure)|theatres]] and [[Movie theater|cinemas]]. The Theatre Royal in Beresford Street, later renamed Empire Theatre or Woolwich Empire, was the biggest. Dating from the 1830s, it was enlarged in the 1880s and 1890s, seating about 2,000. It both served as a variety theater and cinema, ending up as a strip-joint. It was demolished in 1960. Shortly after 1900, three new theaters opened with a combined capacity of 4,430. The Century cinema, which faced Beresford Square, was previously known as Premier Cinema and Royal Arsenal Cinema. It was built in 1913 with 669 seats, closed in 1961 and demolished for redevelopment in the late 1960s. The Grand Theatre in Wellington Street opened in 1900 as a variety theatre with a capacity of 1,680. It became the Woolwich Hippodrome in 1908 and a full-time cinema in 1923. Rebuilt in 1955 as the Regal Cinema, it closed in 1982, was then used as a nightclub and demolished in 2015. The [[Granada Cinema, Woolwich|Granada cinema]] and the [[New Wine Church|Odeon, later Coronet]], both seating around 2,500, are imposing buildings from the 1930s that have both been converted into [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostal]] churches.<ref>Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 15, 80, 228, 275–276.</ref>

==== Local government ====
[[File:Woolwich, St Mary's Gardens around 1840, postcard 1905.jpg|thumb|[[St Mary Magdalene Woolwich|St Mary Magdalene]] {{Circa|1840|lk=no}}]]
The [[Woolwich (parish)|civil parish of Woolwich]], roughly the area of the present-day [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|wards]] Woolwich Riverside and Woolwich Common, was formerly known as [[Woolwich (parish)|Woolwich Saint Mary]]. Until 1842, when the [[Woolwich Town Hall#History|Old Town Hall]] was built, the [[vestry]] met in a room in the parish church of [[St Mary Magdalene Woolwich|St Mary Magdalene]]. Woolwich became part of the London metropolitan area in the mid-19th century, although was officially still in [[Kent]] at the time. In 1889, with the formation of [[London County Council]], Woolwich became officially part of London. In 1900 the [[civil parish|parishes]] of Woolwich, [[Eltham]] and [[Plumstead]] formed the [[Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich]]. In 1906 the new [[Woolwich Town Hall]] was inaugurated. In April 1965, following implementation of the [[London Government Act 1963]], Woolwich was merged into the [[London Borough of Greenwich]], since 2012 the [[Royal Borough of Greenwich]]. The administrative buildings of the borough are in Woolwich, at the former [[Woolwich Town Hall]].