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Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the eight Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers 74 hectares (180 acres), and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. Surrounding the hilltop Royal Observatory (opened in 1676) and straddling the Greenwich Prime Meridian, it commands elevated views over the River Thames, the Isle of Dogs and the City of London.
The park is open year-round, and incorporates flower gardens as well as grassy spaces, a children's playground, cafés and other amenities, a bandstand, a boating lake, a pond, wooded areas, and a wildlife habitat called 'The Wilderness'. The park also contains Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains, and is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens; in 2020, it was awarded a National Lottery grant to restore historic features and add new visitor facilities. It hosted Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events during the London 2012 Summer Olympics, and accommodates runners prior to the start of the annual London Marathon.
The estate of some 200 acres (81 ha) was originally owned by Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent, but reverted to the Crown in 1427 and was given by Henry VI to his uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. He built a house by the river, Bella Court, and a small castle, called Greenwich Castle or Duke Humphrey's Tower, on the hill. The former evolved first into the Tudor Palace of Placentia and then into the Queen's House and Greenwich Hospital. Greenwich Castle, by now in disrepair, was chosen for the site of the Royal Observatory by Charles II in 1675, on the advice of Sir Christopher Wren.
As a result of this decision, the Greenwich Prime Meridian crosses Greenwich Park, passing due north and south of the Royal Observatory. A stainless steel strip in the Observatory's courtyard marks the line; it is also marked on the wall of a path just north of the Observatory and there are wall plaques just outside the park, in Chesterfield Walk to the south and Park Vista to the north. In 1884 it was agreed to be the official Prime Meridian of the world, a status it held for a century until it was superseded by the related IERS Reference Meridian, which runs parallel to the Greenwich Meridian some 102 metres to its east.
In the 15th century the park was mostly heathland and probably used for hawking. In the next century, deer were introduced by Henry VIII for hunting, and a small collection of deer was maintained in an area to the south east. James I enclosed the park with a brick wall, 12 feet (3.7 m) high and two miles (3 km) long at a cost of £2000, much of which remains and defines the modern boundary. A small section of the boundary wall in the southwest corner of the park was formerly part of Montagu House, one time residence of Caroline of Brunswick, demolished in 1815, though Queen Caroline's bath (c. 1806) is preserved inside the park. James I also commissioned the first modern ice house in 1619 in the Park.
In the 17th century, the park was landscaped, possibly by André Le Nôtre who is known at least to have designed plans for it. The public were first allowed into the park during the 18th century. Samuel Johnson visited the park in 1763 and commented "Is it not fine?". From 1730 to 1857, around 250,000 Londoners would attend the bi-annual Greenwich fair (held on May Day and Whitsun); Observatory Hill and nearby One Tree Hill were used on public holidays for mass 'tumbling'.
In the 1830s a railway was nearly driven through the middle of the lower park on a viaduct but the scheme was defeated by intense local opposition. However, the London and Greenwich Railway was later extended beneath the ground via a cut-and-cover tunnel link between Greenwich and Maze Hill which opened in 1878 (the tunnel alignment is on the north side of the park's northern boundary wall, running beneath the gardens of the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House).
In 1888 the park got a station of its own when Greenwich Park railway station was opened. The station was not successful, with most passengers preferring the older Greenwich station, and in 1917 Greenwich Park station and the associated line closed.
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Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the eight Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers 74 hectares (180 acres), and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. Surrounding the hilltop Royal Observatory (opened in 1676) and straddling the Greenwich Prime Meridian, it commands elevated views over the River Thames, the Isle of Dogs and the City of London.
The park is open year-round, and incorporates flower gardens as well as grassy spaces, a children's playground, cafés and other amenities, a bandstand, a boating lake, a pond, wooded areas, and a wildlife habitat called 'The Wilderness'. The park also contains Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains, and is listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens; in 2020, it was awarded a National Lottery grant to restore historic features and add new visitor facilities. It hosted Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events during the London 2012 Summer Olympics, and accommodates runners prior to the start of the annual London Marathon.
The estate of some 200 acres (81 ha) was originally owned by Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent, but reverted to the Crown in 1427 and was given by Henry VI to his uncle Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. He built a house by the river, Bella Court, and a small castle, called Greenwich Castle or Duke Humphrey's Tower, on the hill. The former evolved first into the Tudor Palace of Placentia and then into the Queen's House and Greenwich Hospital. Greenwich Castle, by now in disrepair, was chosen for the site of the Royal Observatory by Charles II in 1675, on the advice of Sir Christopher Wren.
As a result of this decision, the Greenwich Prime Meridian crosses Greenwich Park, passing due north and south of the Royal Observatory. A stainless steel strip in the Observatory's courtyard marks the line; it is also marked on the wall of a path just north of the Observatory and there are wall plaques just outside the park, in Chesterfield Walk to the south and Park Vista to the north. In 1884 it was agreed to be the official Prime Meridian of the world, a status it held for a century until it was superseded by the related IERS Reference Meridian, which runs parallel to the Greenwich Meridian some 102 metres to its east.
In the 15th century the park was mostly heathland and probably used for hawking. In the next century, deer were introduced by Henry VIII for hunting, and a small collection of deer was maintained in an area to the south east. James I enclosed the park with a brick wall, 12 feet (3.7 m) high and two miles (3 km) long at a cost of £2000, much of which remains and defines the modern boundary. A small section of the boundary wall in the southwest corner of the park was formerly part of Montagu House, one time residence of Caroline of Brunswick, demolished in 1815, though Queen Caroline's bath (c. 1806) is preserved inside the park. James I also commissioned the first modern ice house in 1619 in the Park.
In the 17th century, the park was landscaped, possibly by André Le Nôtre who is known at least to have designed plans for it. The public were first allowed into the park during the 18th century. Samuel Johnson visited the park in 1763 and commented "Is it not fine?". From 1730 to 1857, around 250,000 Londoners would attend the bi-annual Greenwich fair (held on May Day and Whitsun); Observatory Hill and nearby One Tree Hill were used on public holidays for mass 'tumbling'.
In the 1830s a railway was nearly driven through the middle of the lower park on a viaduct but the scheme was defeated by intense local opposition. However, the London and Greenwich Railway was later extended beneath the ground via a cut-and-cover tunnel link between Greenwich and Maze Hill which opened in 1878 (the tunnel alignment is on the north side of the park's northern boundary wall, running beneath the gardens of the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House).
In 1888 the park got a station of its own when Greenwich Park railway station was opened. The station was not successful, with most passengers preferring the older Greenwich station, and in 1917 Greenwich Park station and the associated line closed.
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