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20
GENERAL INFORMATION AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Re-organisation of local government in London was effected by
the London Government Act, 1963, and Greater London now
consists of 32 London Boroughs with the City and the Temples.
Twelve of these are designated Inner London Boroughs, of which
Greenwich is one, and on 1st April, 1965, under the title of the London
Borough of Greenwich, the previous Metropolitan Boroughs of
Greenwich and Woolwich were united. Amalgamation of these two
areas (with the exclusion of North Woolwich) has resulted in the
formation of a Borough which is second to none in historical background
and diverse interests.
As a riparian authority, the Council now has jurisdiction over
a river frontage of almost nine miles extending eastwards from just
short of the Surrey Commercial Docks and Limehouse Reach,
through the Greenwich, Blackwall, Bugsby, Woolwich and Gallion's
Reaches almost to Crossness on the Erith Marshes in Barking Reach.
Averaging approximately ¼ mile in width, the River Thames forms
the northern boundary of the new Borough which ranges southwards
for about 5 miles from this base line in a triangular shape
closely resembling that of a map of India. The resultant area is 18.32
square miles.
With the exception of the Kidbrooke/Shooters Hill region
which is mainly clay, the sub-soil of the greater portion of the
Borough consists of gravel and sand and, throughout the whole of
the area, the altitude varies from a few feet below high-water mark
on the Marshes up to 416 feet above sea level on Shooters Hill. It is
a steady climb at every point from the low lying land adjacent to the
Thames to the raised plateau of Blackheath where extensive views of
London and the river obtainable from this escarpment are incomparable.
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 in determining
the types of industries located within its boundary with their consequent
effects upon the social conditions of its community. Its
particularly favourable siting on the banks of the Thames, its
unique place in English history and its close connection with Royalty
through the ages gives Greenwich an air and a fascination difficult
to resist.
In the days of Caesar, Greenwich, which in Latin was described
as Grenovicum viridis sinus a viridariis and in Saxon, Grenawic, i.e.,
the flourishing village in the pleasant green hollow, was in the
Roman province of Britannia Primo and all evidence points to the