Reviews and snippets October 1998

The first speaker of the official launch of the new Greenwich Industrial History Society was Councillor Bob Harris, Deputy Leader, London Borough of Greenwich.  Bob spoke about the vision for industrial heritage in the borough.  Great changes were taking place and the time for a Society like this had now come. He gave some details of future plans in the borough - items of these will be run in this newsletter in due course.

Denis Smith. Chair of GLIAS, President of the Newcomen Society gave the concluding address at the meeting.  He congratulated the society on its first meeting which reminded him very much of the early days of GLIAS. He drew attention to the many achievements in Greenwich and reminded us of the early industrial engineering innovations for which Greenwich people had been responsible.  He noted many references to seventeenth century industry in John Evelyn's diary - had anyone analysed the diary with this in mind. For instance almost the first use of the word ‘Coke’ related to Greenwich.  He met on to talk the achievements of the Royal Observatory and Royal Military Academy.  It was clearly a scandal that the ‘end result’ of the manufacturing processes at the Arsenal i.e. the guns themselves, were all that were mentioned.  In the late 18th century Woolwich and the military complex was a great forcing ground of scientific expertise and some recognition of that should be made.

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Greenwich by Barbara Ludlow This is in what used to be the ‘Old Photograph’ series which has now been renamed ‘The Archive Photographs’series by Tempus publications

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Cinema Theatres Association are advertising a new publication - The Granada Theatres by Alan Eyles, including information about on Woolwich Granada – a Cathedral of the Movies

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Remember Greenwich by Iris Bryce. Joint winner of the National Life Story Award. Iris Bryce’s book portraying her childhood in Greenwich has been praised by many notable authors including Penelope Lively and Melvin Bragg.”Iris Bryce has had distinctive experiences of her own which she chronicles beautifully. She also has the rare gift, however of discerning common experience in a highly distinctive way. The book is a valuable contribution to both literature and social history it is deserves to be widely read.

The River Thames Society have sent us a copy of their latest Thames Guardian which contains an article on the Great Steam Ferry at Greenwich by Clive Chambers.  The article gives some of the background to ferries between Millwall and Greenwich and goes on to describe the steam ferry in some detail. He describes his own attempts to ‘dive down one of the shafts’ and an interview with ‘an old dockworker’ who said that a diver had been killed trying to make repairs.

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Greenwich Peninsula Walk.  The Greenwich Society has produced a trail round the Greenwich Peninsula written by Diana Rimel and illustrated by Peter Kent. The Walk was followed on Open House day with touts led by Diana Rimel, Mary Mills and Barbara Ludlow. It is understood that part of the walk at the end of Riverway will close before Christmas - so get in quick.

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Lewisham Local History Society Newsletter. has revealed that the Master Shipwright’s house at Deptford Dockyard 1705 has been acquired by William Richards and Chris Mazieka who intend to restore it as a private residence