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14
in 1738, in a road book of the British Isles, this description was
given: "Greenwich on the Thames, 4 miles east of London Bridge,
a very delightful place." It can still lay claim to that title.
The Borough is well catered for in the way of parks and
open spaces, the largest being Greenwich Park with its historical
associations and surroundings covering an area of 185 acres.
Blackheath, one of London's most famous open spaces, forms the
southern boundary, 89 acres of which are within the Borough,
providing unsurpassed facilities for games, sports and amusements.
Excellent recreation grounds serve the Charlton area for in
addition to the Maryon and Charlton Parks, there is the L.C.C.
Play Centre and Lido with its well-equipped open-air swimming
bath, tennis courts and bowling greens.
In all, public open spaces amount to 11 per cent of the total
area of the Borough, equivalent to approximately five acres per
1,000 of its population.
Areas located near the River Thames are, generally speaking,
industrial but more densely populated than the upper parts of the
Borough. In recent years, however, the commencement of a gradual
movement of people away from the river-side has been witnessed,
and the Kidbrooke area, which pre-war had always been described
as the "rural" part of the Borough, is almost entirely built over.
Housing has always been given a high degree of priority by
the Borough Council from shortly after the first World War when,
under the Housing and Town Planning Act, 1919, a number of
large houses in the Blackheath area were acquired and converted
into flats, to the present time when the Council have control of
approximately one sixth of the total dwellings in the Borough. The
earliest Council-built permanent dwellings were located in the
Charlton area but today their flats and houses are situated in all
parts of the Borough. In fact considerable alteration has taken
place during the post-war period by the erection of modern houses
and blocks of flats and the Borough Council, still pressing ahead
with its new housing schemes, has behind it a record of sound
achievement.
In addition, a number of sizeable estates have been built by
the London County Council at Blackheath and Kidbrooke and in
East and West Greenwich.