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28
Sceptre" Hotels were famous not only for these occasions but for
the literary luncheons which were frequented by such celebrities
as Thomas Hood, Captain Marryat, George Cruickshank, Douglas
Jerrold and Charles Dickens. Lately, with a resurgence of events
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 the Greenwich and
Woolwich areas, which were predominantly shipbuilding and
engineering centres, were already feeling the effects of the changeover
from sail to steam. Acceptance of the steamship had led
to the building of bigger ships and, as a consequence, this trade
passed to other and more suitable areas of the country with the
result that many local industries were seriously affected. Sailmakers
and repairers were no longer required; men engaged in
the refitting, etc., of the sailing vessels lost their employment and
concerns which catered for the revictualling of such vessels saw
their trade wither away. Firms were compelled to close down
owing to competition and the heavy rates and taxes imposed and
such movements of industry only tended to aggravate the unemployment
problem in the area and there was great hardship
among the workers. In this respect, the people in the neighbourhood
of Woolwich were a little more fortunate in that some
compensation was provided by the increasing demand for labour
at the Royal Arsenal and the expansion of electrical engineering
at a riverside factory.
During the 1914-18 war, a number of industries returned to
the area although the post-war period saw the closing of the
Foreign Animals' wharf (locally known as the Deptford Cattle
Market), the site being acquired by the Government for a Supply
Reserve Depot. Still later a further compensating movement
began and some of the larger buildings and dwellings were
utilised as new factories and commercial undertakings.
As a result of the recent War, housing problems have been
accentuated, but in certain instances some benefits have been
derived from the fact that many properties which have been
demolished by enemy action would, by now, have been unsightly
and particularly difficult problems for the Health Department.
With the advance of time many old buildings and houses
were demolished and improvements effected. The breaking up of
large estates, especially in the Westcombe Park area, has led, in
the case of the houses concerned, to many new units of accommodation
in the shape of flats and, in the case of the extensive
grounds, to spacious areas for the erection of houses of the villa
type.