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waxwork shows, there were menageries, prize fighters, thimbleriggers,
equestrians, rope performers, quack doctors, dancing
booths, and the inevitable quota of pickpockets. Through telescopes
on the Observatory and One Tree Hills, gibbets with
skeletons attached could be viewed on the river banks for a few
pence. The fair drew enormous crowds and thousands of persons,
many of whom came by water in every conceivable craft, congregated
in the park for rough merrymaking. There were swings and
roundabouts, and it is reliably reported that the latter was first
introduced to the British public at Greenwich from France in 1835.
Stalls were arranged by the roadside from St. Mary's Gate to
Blackheath and refreshments included shell fish of all kinds,
effervescing drinks, eels in all its stages of cooking (pickled, stewed
and in pies), plum pudding, gingerbread, cold fried fish all liberally
peppered with dust were being rapidly disposed of by their vendors.
In the evenings, the taverns were filled to overflowing and the
merrymaking continued well into the night. As a direct result of
the increase in the riotous nature of the entertainment, the fair
was relegated to the road from Deptford Creek via St. Alfege's
Church to the Park Gates and, finally, the local inhabitants
succeeded in having it closed down in about 1860. One suspects
that Nathaniel Hawthorne, the celebrated American writer who
resided in Pond Road for a time, although somewhat critical of the
fair, was one of many who regretted its passing. Nevertheless, the
fair, a mere shadow of its former glory, is still held on Blackheath
at time of Public Holidays.
In more recent time, before the quality of the river deteriorated
as a result of the population explosion of London in the latter
half of the nineteenth century, Greenwich was renowned for its
whitebait dinners and suppers. Gladstone, Prime Minister and
member of parliament for this constituency in 1868, with his
ministers, regularly dined here on whitebait caught in the Thames,
off Greenwich, and the "Ship", "Trafalgar" and "Crown and
Sceptre" Hotels were famous not only for these occasions but for
the literary luncheons which were frequented by such celebrities
as Charles Dickens. Lately, with a resurgence of interest in
Greenwich and its history, there has been some move to revive these
admirable riverside gatherings.
At the opening of the present century Greenwich was mainly
a shipbuilding and engineering centre giving employment to
thousands. In those days the term "shipbuilding" related chiefly
to sailing vessels and the century was only a few years on its way
when the challenge of the steamship had a profound effect on the
life of this Borough. It was usual for fishing fleets to come into
Greenwich for revictualling and for their overhauls, but general