Greenwich is located on the river Thames and was originally in the county of Kent. The name comes from OE and may have meant green harbour or port. It was popular with Henry VIII .

1011 Danish fleet at Greenwich
1013 Danes killed Archbishop of Canterbury
1417 Greenwich Manor passed to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
1427 Greenwich Palace built by Humphrey
1433 200 acres of Greenwich was enclosed for Palace
1477 Greenwich Palace renamed Placentia

1491 Henry (VIII) born at Greenwich
1516 Mary (I) born at Greenwich
1530 Greenwich Manor became crown property
1533 Elizabeth (I) born at Greenwich
1553 Edward VI died at Greenwich
1585 The composer Thomas Tallis died in his house in Greenwich. He was buried in the chancel of St Alfeges

1605 Park given to Anne of Denmark by James I
1616 Inigo Jones commissioned to build Queen's House
1619 Greenwich Park enclosed with a brick wall
1637 Queen's House ready for occupation
1660 New palace to be built in Greenwich to replace old palace Placentia
1669 King Charles' building finished
1673 Pepys in Greenwich
1675 Royal Observatory built by Sir Christopher Wren
1690 First ranger of Greenwich Park appointed
1694 Queen Mary founded the Royal Naval Hospital by Royal Charter



Christopher Wren designed Royal Naval Hospital with Hawksmoor as assistant
Old palace demolished by Wren
House built for Earl of Chesterfield, later to become Ranger's House
1705 King William's building in Royal Naval Hospital completed
1710 Roof of old St Alfege church collapsed/

1718 New St Alfege church (Hawksmoor) consecrated
1726 Vanbrugh Castle built
Painted Hall in Royal Naval Hospital finished (began in 1708)
King William's building in Royal Naval Hospital finished (began in 1705)
1728 Queen Annes building in Royal Naval Hospital completed
1737 Samuel Johnson moved to Church Street
1740 View from Greenwich Park



1806 Nelson’s funeral at Greenwich



Nelson lay in state at Painted Hall in Royal Naval Hospital
1807-16 Queen's House extended with east and west wings connected by colonnades
View of Greenwich from the Thames



1809 Jubilee Almshouses built

Regency Greenwich

1822 Easter in Greenwoch Park



1831 Covered market & College Approach built
Population of Greenwich was 25,000
1835 Steamboat service between Greenwich and London established
1837 Trafalgar Tavern built

1839 Greenwich linked by rail to London
1855 Rose & Crown Music Hall built on Croom Hill
1869 Royal Naval Hospital closed
1870 Greenwich Fair closed down
1871 Rose & Crown Music Hall renamed as Crowder’s Music Hall
1873 Royal Naval Hospital became Royal Naval College with a Free Hospital retained
1878 Railway tunnel to Charlton completed, also Greenwich Station
1879 Pepys Building opened
1884 Meridian Line established at Greenwich
1897 Blackwall Tunnel completed
1898 Crowder’s Music Hall refurbished as Parthenon Theatre of Varieties

1902 Greenwich Foot Tunnel opened
1910 Greenwich Power Station, Old Woolwich Road
1912 Trafalgar Cinema (later Odeon Greenwich) opened at 82 Trafalgar Road
1918 Population of Greenwich was 100,000

PreWar Greenwich

1937 Queen's House part of National Maritime Museum
Granada Greenwich opened

Post War Greenwich

1949 Ariel view of Greenwich



1954 Cutty Sark (built 1869) moved to dry dock in Greenwich
1957 Royal Observatory moved to Sussex, old buildings part of National Maritime Museum
1960 Odeon Greenwich closed (now Arches Leisure Centre)
1968 Gypsy Moth moved to dry dock in Greenwich
Granada Greenwich closed demolished in 1998)
1969 New Greenwich Theatre built
1976 Greenwich District Hospital completed
1989 Greenwich Cinema built (now Picturehouse) on Greenwich High Road
1998 Royal Naval College left Greenwich. Greenwich College leased buildings
1999 Greenwich and Cutty Sark Maritime Light Railway Stations opened

Royal Greenwich - Olive & Nigel Hamilton (1969)
A History of Greenwich - Beryl Platts (1973)
Historic Greenwich (London Borough of Greenwich 1988)
The Story of Greenwich - Clive Aslet (Fourth Estate 1999)

Greenwich Local History Centre
Woodlands, Mycanae Road, SE3 (020) 8858 4631