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firmed by King Edgar in 964 and again by Edward the Confessor
in 1040.
At the time of the Doomsday survey, Greenwich proper (as
distinguished from the Hundred of Greenwich) was 2 sulings, a
measurement of land peculiar to Kent, being about 400 acres in
extent, one third of which was domain land, the remainder being
held by 24 villeins. The area had a sufficiency of beech and oak
trees to support 10 pigs and there were 4 water mills worked by the
Thames or the Ravensbourne.
Under the title of HULVIZ (hill reach), Doomsday Book
records, inter alia, "a wretched tract of country" occupied by eleven
bordars or cottagers who, altogether, paid 41 pence annually. This
area, subsequently to become known as Woolwich, was, in Edward
the Confessor's time, held by one William Falconer "to be hawked"
and it may well be that Harold, portrayed on the Bayeux tapestry
with a hawk on his wrist, diverted himself in such a fashion on
occasions in this neighbourhood since he held one of the two
Manors of Greenwich. At the time of the Doomsday survey
these two Manors had been welded into one and were under the
control of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, half brother to William the
conqueror.
Surviving the Romans departure and the coming of the Jutes
in the mid 5th century, village life was concerned predominantly
with those men whose business was with the sea and ships with the
profession of waterman as its most important occupation. Indeed,
it is hard to visualize that, even up to one hundred years ago, the
river rang with the shipbuilders' hammers and fishing fleets were
sailing regularly from Greenwich, a busy little attractive Thamesside
town, to the North Sea, Iceland and Greenland, thus emphasising
the economic as well as the historic influences which its excellent
roadstead has had on the life of the inhabitants in the area. Such
was the importance of this portion of the river that during the reign
of King Ethelred (1011 A.D.) the whole Danish Fleet lay off
Greenwich for three or four years whilst the army was for the most
part encamped on Blackheath. This army ravaged the country
and sacked the city of Canterbury, from whence they brought
Archbishop Alfege to his martyrdom on 19th April, 1012.
Although efforts to obtain a Royal Charter have proved
unsuccessful, Greenwich is unquestionably royal by association.
Early English kings normally had no settled domicile. They
travelled the country with their retinues and resided at various
castles and palaces within their kingdom, dispensing justice and
entertaining lavishly until they had exhausted the vicinity of its
food and victuals. It seems clear, however, that the early
Norman kings preferred Winchester but, at the time of St. Alfege's