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Very early in the 18th century Daniel Defoe described Greenwich
as "the most delightful spot of ground in Great Britain"
and 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.
Considering that the Borough is a constituent part of the
country's greatest conurbation, it is well served with parks and
open spaces. These are evenly distributed throughout its area
and form 12.8% of its total acreage, equivalent to 6½ acres per
1,000 of its population. Shooters Hill, which encompasses Oxleas
and Shepherdleas Woods, Castlewood, Jackwood and Eltham
Common in total amounting to some 312 acres, gives a continuous
expanse of woodland as attractive and extensive as Hampstead
Heath. Greenwich Park, designed by Le Notre of Versailles
fame, with its historical associations and surroundings, covers an
area of 185 acres of rich fauna and flora. On its southern boundary
is Blackheath, one of London's most famous open spaces,
89 acres of which are within the Borough providing unsurpassed
facilities for games, sports and amusements. Excellent recreation
grounds serve the Charlton area for, as well as the Maryon and
Charlton Parks, there is the Greater London Council's Play Centre
and Lido with its well-equipped open-air swimming bath, tennis
courts and bowling greens. In addition to 65 acres at Sutcliffe
Park allocated for a variety of sports, and a beautiful natural lake
at the Tarn, Eltham, the Council has control of attractive formal
gardens and grounds at Well Hall Pleasaunce. Among other
delightful attributes, Avery Hill grounds and nurseries serve as
the headquarters of the Education Authority's Nature Study
Scheme supplying "botany boxes" to the local schools. West of
the Royal Military Academy is Woolwich Common which has
been the site for military displays since the latter half of the 18th
century, a practice which is continued today with the Royal
Regiment of Artillery's annual Tattoo.
Areas in close proximity to the River Thames are, generally
speaking, industrial but, as the result of a pattern of living inherited
from the Industrial Revolution era, these districts tend to be more
densely populated than other parts of the Borough. However, the
scene has been changing and, in recent years, there has been a
movement of people away from the riverside to Eltham and
Kidbrooke, regions which earlier in the century had been considered
'rural'. These areas are now almost entirely built over.
Prior to 1919, housing was considered hardly a local government
responsibility and, in 1915, 1,000 houses and a large number
of timber bungalows were erected in the Borough by the Government
for its munitions and other workers. Subsequent to this,