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13
GENERAL INFORMATION AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
The division in 1855 of the Parliamentary Borough of Green—
wich as constituted under the Reform Act of 1832 gave rise to the
district now known as the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich.
This comprises the ancient parishes of St. Nicholas, Deptford
(formerly West Greenwich), Greenwich (formerly East Greenwich)
and Charlton with the Liberty of Kidbrooke and, as from Novem—
ber 1900, in accordance with the Local Government Act, 1899, it
became one of the twenty-eight municipalities of the County of
London.
The river Ravensbourne (Deptford Creek) separates St.
Nicholas from Greenwich, whilst the Royal Naval College and
Greenwich Park divide most of the older part of Greenwich
from East Greenwich, the more modern part of the borough. The
latter includes a large area of marsh land which, although quite
unsuitable for the erection of dwelling-houses, is appropriate for
industrial development.
The sub-soil of the greater portion of the Borough consists of
gravel and sand, the exception being in the Kidbrooke area which
is mainly clay and, throughout the whole of the borough, the altitude
varies from a few feet below high-water mark on the Marshes up to
249 ft. above sea level on the Shooter's Hill Road by the Borough
boundary.
Topography was undoubtedly the basic reason for the
importance of Greenwich. At the raised plateau of Blackheath,
the great Roman road from Dover almost touched at a tangent the
loop of the Thames formed by the Blackwair and Limehouse
Reaches. Strategic significance was given to the land between
Blackheath and the river by the fact that the two main arteries
from the Continent, viz. the road and the river, through which trade
or trouble could reach the capital, all but met at this point and,
moreover, the peculiar bend in the river gave shelter to unloading
shipping. This strip of land, invaluable for defence purposes, was
the future site of Greenwich.
Greenwich, which in Latin was described as Grenovicum viridis
sinus a viridariis and in Saxon Grenawic, i.e. the Green Town or
dwelling upon the bank of the river, lies mainly on a natural slope
from the Thames to Blackheath thereby affording extensive views
of London and the River and it is to this fact, coupled with its
historical connection with Royalty, that it owes its fascination.
Few residential districts near the city of London are so full
of historical associations as Greenwich whose streets are among
the most interesting of any in the Capital and whose wealth of
surviving buildings is unrivalled. History has played a large part