View report page

16
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
Gallions' 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, giving a population density of
19.29 persons per acre.
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 give 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