A Fire in Charlton
A Fire in CharltonAt a quarter to ten on Friday night a fire was discovered have broken out in the hemp loft of Mrs. Eliza Ayles. ships' chandler and rope manufacturer, Charlton Wharf.The mains from...
View ArticleLetters received for the GIHS Newsletter in April 1998
A selection of letters received for the GIHS Newsletter in April 1998(Some of these have been edited to remove irrelevances and make them comprehensible to an audience 20 years later!)From Ted BarrSand...
View ArticleLetters from the GIHS Newsletter June 1998
Letters from the GIHS Newsletter June 1998 This is a selection –some of which have been heavily edited to make them comprehensible 20 years later!From Alan PalfreyI would like to flag up my interest in...
View ArticleMemories of a Royal Ordinance Factory Apprentice – Part 1.
Memories of a Royal Ordinance Factory Apprentice – Part 1.By John DayPre-war there were three grades of apprentices in the Royal Arsenal: Trade apprentices who, as the name suggests were training in...
View ArticleMusings on Industry in the area of Blackheath Road
Musings on Industry in the area of Blackheath Road By Richard CheffinsRichard began this article with comments on a letter from John Day on steam gun experiments by Mr. Perkins in the lime kilns at...
View ArticleMemories of a ROF apprentice. Part 2
Memories of a ROF apprentice. Part 2By John DayWhile I was in the New Fuze Factory I also worked on a milling machine. Right in the deep end for John, I made a set of helical milling cutters for use in...
View ArticleSetting up Siemens Industrial Museum in Woolwich Part one
Setting up Siemens Industrial Museum in Woolwich Part one By Iain LovellThis account describes the setting up of an industrial museum at the AEI (formerly Siemens Brothers works in Woolwich) in the...
View ArticleEarly Indications of Shipbuilding in the Greenwich Area
Early Indications of Shipbuilding in the Greenwich Area By John FoxWT Vincent in his book ‘The records of the Woolwich District’written in the 1890s, when writing about Abbey Wood, tells us that “With...
View ArticleLetters received in late 1998 and reprinted in the GIHS newsletter
Letters received in late 1998 and reprinted in the GIHS newsletterFrom John West I noted an item asking about Perkins’steam gun in an earlier issue. Jacob Perkins (1766- 1849) engineer, inventor and...
View ArticleRichard Wheen – Deptford soap manufacturer.
Richard Wheen – Deptford soap manufacturer. By Neil RhindRichard Wheen (1808-1885) soap manufacturer of Deptford lived at Colonnade House, 7 South Row Blackheath 1853 -1863Wheen was probably one of the...
View ArticleMundy cutlers
Mundy Cutlers Research by John WestWe had been asked about a knife which appeared to have been made by ‘Mundy Cutlers’ and apparently made in Greenwich. I have spent some time at Woodlands, and half an...
View ArticleA Railway Service on the Dome site
A Railway Service on the Dome site Review of ‘East Greenwich gasworks’by Malcolm MillichipMost local people know that the site of the gasworks that is now to house the Millennium Dome once had a very...
View ArticleMemories of a Royal Ordinance Factory apprentice . Part three
Memories of a Royal Ordinance Factory apprentice Part three By John DayAfter the gauge shop I went to the Electrical Section. in a way it was fortuitous that I went off sick for a fortnight over the...
View ArticleDeptford Creek 16th and 17th centuries
THE STORY OF DEPTFORD CREEK - THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIESby CHRISTOPHER PHILPOTTSIn the sixteenth century the requirements of the royal palace at Greenwich continued to be dominant in the pastoral...
View ArticleGreenwich Park Railway Line - letter from 1999
Letter reproduced from GIHS Newsletter May 1999From Alan PalfreyIThe Greenwich Park Railway Line ran from the site of the Ibis Hotel in Greenwich, down to Blackheath Hill and then on to join the line...
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Memories of a ROF apprentice - Crossness Pier
Memories of a ROF apprentice - Crossness PierJohn Day'Crossness Pier was the pier from which explosives were shipped, it was serviced by two Transporter type cranes that took their power through cables...
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Setting up the Siemens Museum - the Faraday
Setting up the Siemens MuseumIain LovellThe SS Faraday was the first ship in the world to be designed specifically for cable laying. It had unusual features, including a rudder at each end for...
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Silvertown Explosion - Brunner Mond
Brunner Mond 1895Silvertown Explosion - Brunner MondAt the outbreak of the Great War the desire of the British Government to assist the French led to the decision that as much of our production of...
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Greenwich Shipbuilding
GREENWICH SHIPBUILDINGIn 1982 Peter Trigg gave a talk to a local society on the subject of local industry. The following article is taken from some of his notes on Shipbuilding.....Ships were built on...
View ArticleCrossess Sewage Sludge Incinerator
THAMES WATER’S CROSSNESS SEWAGE SLUDGE INCINERATOR - In June 1999 the Newcomen Society organised a visit to the new Sewage Sludge Incinerator at Crossness. Bruce Blissett went along: ..For many...
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