Woolwich ……. “a place for sight-seekers to glory in” …. Mr. Bradshaw visits

Now I am back with my copy of Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London and Its Environs, which was published in 1861.

Mr. Bradshaw will be familiar to many as the man who produced the series of railway timetables and guides which have accompanied Michael Portillo in his delightful Great Railway Journeys.

But he was more than this, and was also a prodigious cartographer and publisher, whose work included an excellent  guide to our canal network.

Sadly, while touring Norway in 1853 he contracted cholera and died in September of that year without returning to England.

All of which means that technically Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London and Its Environs was not Mr. Bradshaw’s, but no matter.

Had I bought my copy in 1861 I might have been intrigued at the promise of Woolwich which from the River offered “long lines of walls, closely pressed tide gates, with the bows of many a noble vessel towering proudly over them from their docks, like sea monsters on their thrones, looking down in scorn on the river waves; the high heaps of timber , with the huge coiled cables, the church tower in the background, the heavy lighters crowded along the shore, and the light racking craft with pennants streaming in the wind …….”

And having waxed lyrical and at much length about the view from the Thames, the guide goes on to reference, The Rotunda, Cannon Foundry, Arsenal and Barracks, before concluding with “the  bankside tavern , halfway between London and Gravesend is a conspicuous object on the Kent coast”.

I have yet to work out which tavern this was, and a second and more extensive entry a few pages on is equally silent as to the name of the place.

That said the second entry deals in more detail with The Rotunda, Cannon Foundry, Arsenal and Barracks, and is well worth a read.

But having started out with such praise for our Woolwich the guide slides away from compliments,  concluding “Though within a short period nearly 2,000 additional houses have been built, the town presents few inducements for a prolonged visit, and has no feature of interest in itself what ever.

The old church looks better at a distance and there are few monuments in the churchyard bearing names familiar  to the eye and ear”.   

And so, having started by describing how Woolwich can be reached by water or by road via Charlton and Shooter’s Hill, it closes with offering “four speedy modes of transit back to town”, which involve various different steamers and trains, leaving the excursionist to consult his own convience for preference of choice”.

Adding that a series of facts which all travellers would want to know, starting with “the Woolwich station, eight miles and twenty-one chains from London is in the close vicinity of the Barracks; the two tunnels between Woolwich and Charlton are respectively, 120 and 100 yards in extent; and the Blackheath tunnel near the Mordern College, is 1,681 yards long”.

Location; Woolwich

Pictures; The Thames and Woolwich Reach, 1885, Interior of the Rotunda, 1915, St Mary’s Parish Church, 1915, courtesy of Kristina Bedford, author of Woolwich Through Time, 2014

* Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London and Its Environs, 1861

Just what did Blackheath have do to get a decent mention in Bradshaw’s Guide to London?

Now if I was a resident in Blackheath in 1861, who had just gone out and bought my copy of Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London and its Environs, I might be miffed that where I lived was accorded just 79 words.*

It is there in the chapter on Greenwich which runs to eight pages and gets less of a look in than Woolwich,  or Eltham.

Not only that, but the entry ignores the fine buildings, the church on the heath or the railway station which in 1861 was just eleven years old.  

 Instead the reader is taken through the “large gateways of open ironwork , largely substituted for a small doorway in the wall at the southern extremity of the park, near the keeper’s new Gothic lodge, we pass on to Blackheath, where Wat Tyler assembled the Kentish rebels in the reign of Richard II., where Jack Cade  and his fellow insurgents are said to have held their midnight meetings in a cavern which still remains , though so chocked up as to be considered nearly in accessible”. 

And that is it.  Even Lee gets a sentence. 

But for those who still wish for more on Blackheath, our guide does offer up, a bit more as it heads along the old Dover Road crossing the Heath, on Shooters Hill taking in ‘a rustic little hostelry on our left distinguished by the peculiar title of the ‘Sun-in-the-Sands’ which was the haunt of quite a few 19th century writers who took advantage of an open balcony from which a pleasant view may be obtained of the surrounding country."

And from there we are directed up to Shooters Hill and told that it "commands an expansive prospect [from which] 'the mighty mass of brick smoke and shipping’ as Byron calls the view of London from this point, is well contrasted with the foliage of the wooded country extending towards the south beyond the vale of Eltham.”

But that is a bit of the guide I have already written about but will return to.

All of which just leaves me to compensate the tardy entry with extracts from the OS map of London for 1862 to 1872, which is a bit more than Mr. Bradshaw  gave us, starting with the heath and ending with a stretch of Shooters Hill and the old Dover Road and the Sun-in-the-Sands. what is now the British Oak.

Location Blackheath

Pictures; Blackheath in 1872, from the OS map of London, 1862-1872, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/ 

* Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London and Its Environs, 1861

Walking into Eltham in 1862

The parish church in 1860

 I am back with Bradshaw in 1862  continuing  to explore one of the walks laid out in the Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs.*

The book remains a wonderful snap shot of London in the early 1860s and for the curious 21st century reader here are descriptions on how to cross the city by foot, train and boat as well as what was on offer to the tourist of the period.

“For those who either have seen Woolwich, or prefer postponing their visit thither for a distant excursion, we can especially recommend a deviation from Shooter’s Hill down the inviting green lane that leads to ELTHAM, a pleasant walk of hardly two miles.”

And as you would expect the guide goes into great detail about the Palace, its history and its appearance in 1862 all of which I shall leave you to read yourself.

Partly because the guide does it so well and the publishers may jib at me stealing their book.

Suffice to say it makes fascinating reading and is a good contrast to what can be seen today added to which
I am sure there will be those who fall on the description and speculation about the ancient tunnels.

But for me I shall close with Bradshaw’s instruction to

“go and see Eltham Church; not that it is architecturally remarkable, but in the churchyard will be found a tomb to Doggett the comedian, who bequeathed the coat and badge still rowed for every 1st of August by the ‘jolly young watermen of the Thames.”

One he missed, Well Hall from a photograph taken in 1909

Now this is not as daft as it seems given that this was the old church and vanished not that long after the guide book was finished.

Now I do have to confess to a little disappointment in that this is all we get.

The fine large houses along the High Street and beyond do not get a look in, nor does that fine old pile at Well Hall which had been built in the early 18th century and would last into the 20th.

So having done the Palace and the parish Church our guide was content to announce that it was now time to “get back to Greenwich and go home by railway,” which does however open up the prospect of more walks courtesy of the guide to Woolwich Greenwich and Blackheath.

But these are for another time.

Pictures;  Eltham Church, 1860, & Well Hall 1909,  from The story of Royal Eltham,  R.R.C. Gregory, 1909 and published on The story of Royal Eltham, by Roy Ayers, http://www.gregory.elthamhistory.org.uk/bookpages/i001.htm,

* Bradshaw’s Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs, 1861, republished in 2012 by Conway 

"down an inviting green lane [that] leads to Eltham, a pleasant walk of hardly two miles" in the company of Bradshaw's guide of 1862

Now I never tire of guide books and so here we are with Bradshaw’s Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs which was published in 1862 and includes a walk to Eltham.*

South of Woolwich from Bradshaw's Inland Navigation, 1830

Many people will be familiar with his railway timetables which he began issuing from 1839 just nine years after the first passenger railway began transporting people and goods from Liverpool to Manchester.

Few however know that he also produced three maps of The Inland Navigation of England and Wales which detailed the canal network and are still a wonderful source of information.

He was born in 1801 in Pendleton and was apprenticed to an engraver.  In 1821 he set up an engraving business in Manchester and produced a series of popular maps of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

But with the coming of the railways George Bradshaw saw an opportunity not to be missed.  The network had grown with a speed and the original 30 or so miles of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 had become over 8,000 miles just 25 years later connecting most of our cities and towns.

Mr Bradshaw died in 1852 but the company continued and with an eye to the moment produced the Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs to coincide with the second Great International Exhibition.

The book is divided into five parts, which are then further divided into a series of daily walking routes including detailed descriptions of what you might see along the way.

So for the curious 21st century reader here are descriptions on how to cross London by foot, train and boat as well as what the city and surrounding areas had to offer in 1862.

And I couldn’t resist following his adventure out from Blackheath to Shooter’s Hill and on “down an inviting green lane [that] leads to Eltham, a pleasant walk of hardly two miles.”

So here we are on his guided walk along the old Dover Road crossing the Heath, on Shooters Hill taking in ‘a rustic little hostelry on our left distinguished by the peculiar title of the ‘Sun-in-the-Sand’which was the haunt of quite a few 19th century writers who took advantage of an open balcony from which a pleasant view may be obtained of the surrounding country."

And from there we are directed up to Shooters Hill and told that it "commands an expansive prospect [from which] 'the mighty mass of brick smoke and shipping’ as Byron calls the view of London from this point, is well contrasted with the foliage of the wooded country extending towards the south beyond the vale of Eltham.”

Sevendroog Castle, 1909

And this is a fitting point to pause on the adventure which I will return to tomorrow and instead announce that the restored Sevendroog Castle’s opening day is scheduled to be on the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May.

Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs, is available on Kindle and in hard copy from Conway Publishers.  Now I should know, I downloaded my electronic copy yesterday and ordered up a hard copy today.

Now that shows interest in Mr Bradshaw











Pictures; south of Woolwich from Bradshaw’s  Inland Navigation of England and Wales, 1830, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/ and Sevendroog Castle from The story of Royal Eltham,  R.R.C. Gregory, 1909 and published on The story of Royal Eltham, by Roy Ayers, http://www.gregory.elthamhistory.org.uk/bookpages/i001.htm

* Bradshaw’s Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs, 1861, republished in 2012 

**The City, the East, the West, the North, the South

Passing the parish church one Sunday in November and remembering Bradshaw's guide

Now I like Ryan’s picture of Eltham Church which got me thinking about how a modern guide book would describe it.

Back in 1861 Bradshaw’s Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs reported that visitors should
“go and see Eltham Church; not that it is architecturally remarkable, but in the churchyard will be found a tomb to Doggett the comedian, who bequeathed the coat and badge still rowed for every 1st of August by the ‘jolly young watermen of the Thames.”*

Sadly for anyone using that edition and happening on the church a decade and a bit later they would have been disappointed because it no longer existed having been replaced by the one we know today.

Work on the present church began in 1871 and was finished eight years later  just  3 metres north of the old site and occupying a larger area.

At which point I do have to be careful because those with a much greater knowledge than I will point out that the unfinished building was consecrated in 1875.

The spire was added in 1879 when funds became available and s service of thanksgiving for the completion of the building was conducted by Rev. Walter J Sowerby on 24th June 1880 which is the  feast day of St John the Baptist.**

So there you have it ................ three possible dates for the historian with an eye for detail to go for.

In the meantime I will go looking for a later edition to Bradshaw’s guide book to see if they updated the entry and leave you with this earlier photograph of the parish church from the 1860s.

Back then the clock ticked the hours away and it is nice to know that after some time the clock in Ryan's photograph is again offering up the correct time.



Pictures;  Eltham Church, 2015 from the collection of Ryan Ginn and back in  1860,  from The story of Royal Eltham,  R.R.C. Gregory, 1909 and published on The story of Royal Eltham, by Roy Ayers, http://www.gregory.elthamhistory.org.uk/bookpages/i001.htm,

* Bradshaw’s Illustrated Handbook to London and its Environs, 1861, republished in 2012 by Conway

**Eltham Parish Church,  http://elthamchurch.org.uk/wp/?page_id=2

When Mr. Bradshaw ignored All Saints Church on Blackheath

You would have to be pretty mean spirited to ignore that church on the heath.

It stands on the southern edge of Blackheath, was described by Pevsner as looking like a model, surrounded on all sides by grass* and has links to Sir Arthur Sullivan and Gustav Holst.

Not that Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London And Its Environs even bothered to comment on the building. **

For those who don’t know, Mr. Bradshaw compiled railway timetables and guides to Britain and beyond, the first of which came out just eight years after the first passenger railway company had started conveying people and goods from Manchester to Liverpool.  And before that he had published his “Maps of Inland Navigation” which described the canals of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

And despite dying in 1852 Bradshaw’s Guides continued to be an essential part of many traveller’s possessions well into the 20th century.

I have dug out my London Guide book for 1862 and as you do turned to the five chapters devoted to south of the river, and in particular that one on Greenwich.**

Many of my childhood haunts are here, from Eltham where I grew up to Greenwich, Woolwich and Shooter’s Hill, including a reference to the Sun in the Sands.

But Blackheath is relegated to one sentence which leaves out the fine buildings, the church on the heath or the railway station which in 1861 was just eleven years old.  

Instead, the reader is taken out of Greenwich Park and presented with just “we pass on to Blackheath, where Wat Tyler assembled the Kentish rebels in the reign of Richard II, where Jack Cade and his fellow insurgents are said to have held their midnight meetings in a cavern which still remains, though so chocked up as to be considered nearly in accessible”. 

Perhaps Bradshaw’s researchers reckoned that All Saints Church was still too new to be worthy of a mention.  After all it had been opened just four years before the London guidebook became available, and construction work continued until 1867.

Still these pictures by Chrissy go a long way to correct Bradshaw’s omission.  They were posted last week on her excellent Facebook site devoted to photography. ****.

Location; Blackheath

Pictures; All Saints Church, Blackheath, London, 2023, from the collection of Chrissy Rose.

 *"Puginian … already old fashioned, ........ Remarkable for the way in which it is placed right into the heath. Surrounded on all sides by grass, it stands as if it were a model." Pevsner, Nikolaus 1983. The Buildings of England: London 2: South. pp. 412–413.

** Bradshaw’s Illustrated Hand Book to London And Its Environs even bothered to comment on the building, 1862

***Bradshaw’s Guides, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Bradshaw%27s%20Guides

**** The Photographic Gazette, https://www.facebook.com/groups/973270840174059