Greenwich Park, the moment a full 53 years ago .......... nu 1 the walk

It will be a full 55 years ago but the memory of that walk through Greenwich Park on a Saturday in September 1971 has never left me.

I was in my second year at Manchester Poly and the pull of Well Hall and the family were still strong and so I found myself back home with three friends.

Lois was from Weston and Mike and John from Leeds and we travelled down from Manchester in John’s van on the Friday night.

Even now I have to say I haven’t forgotten the kindness of David Hatch who agreed to put Lois, Mike and John up on his floor.

It was a brief stay and most of it is a blur except for the walk from the gates on the Blackheath side through the park to Wolf’s statue, the observatory and that view down to the river.

At any time of the year that short stroll is pretty good but in late autumn it is magic.  The leaves are on the turn and the bright sunlight can still surprise you with its degree of warmth and the way it brings out the colours all around you.

The rest of the day and the weekend is lost to me but that hour and a bit were and remain special, more so because I was showing off my home.

All of which just leaves me to reflect on the postcard which was marketed in the USA and carried the imprint of the American YMCA of which there must be a story, but not for now.

Location; Greenwich

Picture; Greenwich Park, 1905 from the series Greenwich, marketed in 1911-12 by Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Greenwich Park, and a moment a full 45 years ago .......... nu 3 the Town Hall

It will be a full 55 years ago but the memory of that walk through Greenwich Park on a Saturday in September 1971 has never left me.

I was in my second year at Manchester Poly and the pull of Well Hall and the family were still strong and so
I found myself back home with three friends.

It was a brief stay and most of it is a blur except for the walk from the gates on the Blackheath side through the park to Wolf’s statue, the Observatory and that view down to the river.

I can't remember but I am sure I would have shown them the Town Hall, the Maritime Museum and of course the foot tunnel but the rest of the day and the weekend are lost to me.

That said because the Kings Arms in Eltham had been my local we would have passed Saturday in there.

All of which just leaves me to reflect on the postcard which was marketed in the USA and carried the imprint of the American YMCA of which there must be a story, but not for now.

Location; Greenwich

Picture; Greenwich Park, 1905 from the series Greenwich, marketed in 1911-12 by Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Off to the “flicks” in the winter of 1913 and a challenge for today

Now on a dismal Saturday afternoon in Eltham during the winter of 1913 I might well have decided to take myself off to the Picturedrome where I could have seen epics like the Battle of Waterloo, stories drawn from great novels like Zola’s Germinal or melodramas loosely based on the Old Testament along with documentaries about nature, disasters at sea and much more.

The Battle of Waterloo, 1913

The obvious choice would have been the Eltham Cinema on the corner of the High Street and Westmount Road, which was run by Mr Robert Frederick Bean and which had only been open for a few months.

But with the help of the tram I might instead of ventured off into Woolwich, Greenwich and even Plumstead.

And as much as the film might have attracted me so might the name of the cinema.

Some had names which reflected this new and exciting form of entertainment ranging from the Kinemacolor Palace to those incorporating the word “electric” of which my favourite was the Bijou Electric Theatre, while others traded on exotic places like the Trocadero, and the Alhambra Pavilion.

Germinal, 1913

Most also incorporated the title “Pictuedrome” and some went through frequent name changes.

But what they all had in common was that magic of sitting in the dark and seeing moving pictures many times life size telling stories of adventure, romance set in faraway places which for most people were just names on a map.

So with that in mind the choice was pretty wide.  I could have wandered over to Plumstead and visited the Imperial on Plumstead Road or taken a chance on the Windsor Electric Theatre on Maxey Road but equally could have been drawn to either the Globe on the Common or the Cinematograph at numbers 144-6 the High Street.

Greenwich offered up another three and Woolwich had six.

Judith, 1913

A century on I rather think it might be fun to go looking for these ten.  Sadly in the case of the Three Crowns, the New Cinema and the Premier Electric Theatre they are just listed as Woolwich, but the remaining seven have full addresses.

In Woolwich there was the Arsenal Kinema, Beresford Square, the Premier Electric Theatre, at 126 Powis Street, and the New Cinema at 93 New Road.

And that just left the Greenwich three, which were the Trafalgar Cinema, 82 Trafalgar Road, Chapman’s Pictures Bridge Street, the Greenwich Hippodrome, Stockwell Street, and the Theatre Royal, on High Street.

The Terrors of the Jungle, 1913

And there is the challenge.  Not that any will still exist, but armed with a modern map, a corresponding map for 1913 and a street directory for the same year it should be possible to do a bit of detective work.

Location; Eltham, Plumstead, Greenwich and Woolwich.







Pictures; stills from films available to watch in 1913, from  The Kinematograph Year Book*

*The Kinematograph Year Book Program Diary and Directory 1914, http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/downloads/kinematograph-year-book-program-diary-and-directory-1914-2014-09-18.pdf

Wishing you well ........... postcards from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham for the summer ..... nu 5 Greenwich Park

A short series with few words looking at the postcards we sent from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham.

Now I don’t think this scene of the park had changed over much between when it was sent to Miss L E Thompson of Shepherds Bush and when I played there a full half century and a bit later.

It is unclear whether “C S” lived in Greenwich.  He sent the card from west London just after midday in the August of 1902 and confined himself to the simple message “Isn’t it nice.”

Location; Greenwich Park

Picture; Greenwich Park circa 1902, Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Sunset, Greenwich, 1904

The third of four picture postcards of Greenwich.

Sunset, Greenwich by Professor Van Hier

Picture, Sunset, Greenwich, in the series, On the Thames, issued by Tuck & Sons, 1904, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/

At Greenwich Hospital in 1902

An occasional series featuring the postcards of Tuck & Sons and images of Greenwich at the very beginning of the 20th century.

Now I have rather neglected Greenwich and yet it was and is one of my favourite places.

I worked for a while at a camping shop on the road into Greenwich and spent three summer vacations working at a food factory on the river just minutes away from the Cutty Sark Park, which in turn was a place I remember fondly.

And of these it will be those warm summer evenings sat on the low wall opposite the pub drinking and chatting with friends and listening to the sound the barges made as they banged together in the wake of a passing ship.

This is the Hospital from a card dated 1902

And it is the detail that draws you in.

So for me as much as I am impressed by the buildings it is the humble working barges that I find fascinating.

Not of course that I am going to to romanticise working on the river.  It was hard dangerous and at times very unpleasant.

Anyone who has been caught in a chill wind blowing off the river in the depths of winter will know what I mean.

Picture; Greenwich Hospital,in the series, London, issued by Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/

Sunrise Greenwich, 1904

The second of four picture postcards of Greenwich.

Sunrise, Greenwich by Professor Van Hier

Picture, Sunrise, Greenwich, in the series, On the Thames, issued by Tuck & Sons, 1904, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/

Greenwich Park, and a moment a full 53 years ago .......... nu 2 from the river

It will be a full 53 years ago but the memory of that walk through Greenwich Park on a Saturday in September 1971 has never left me.

I was in my second year at Manchester Poly and the pull of Well Hall and the family were still strong and so
I found myself back home with three friends.

Lois was from Weston and Mike and John from Leeds and we travelled down from Manchester in John’s van on the Friday night.

Even now I have to say I haven’t forgotten the kindness of David Hatch who agreed to put Lois, Mike and John up on his floor.

It was a brief stay and most of it is a blur except for the walk from the gates on the Blackheath side through the park to Wolf’s statue, the observatory and that view down to the river.

At any time of the year that short stroll is pretty good but in late autumn it is magic.  The leaves are on the turn and the bright sunlight can still surprise you with its degree of warmth and the way it brings out the colours all around you.

Now we never made it across the river but had we I am sure we would have been rewarded with a view like this.


All of which just leaves me to reflect on the postcard which was marketed in the USA and carried the imprint of the American YMCA of which there must be a story, but not for now.

Location; Greenwich

Picture; Greenwich Park, 1905 from the series Greenwich, marketed in 1911-12 by Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Moonlight, Greenwich, 1904

The last of four picture postcards of Greenwich.

Moonlight, Greenwich by Professor Van Hier

Picture, Sunset, Greenwich, in the series, On the Thames, issued by Tuck & Sons, 1904, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/

Wishing you well ........... postcards from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham for the summer ..... nu 4 The Royal Observatory

A short series with few words looking at the postcards we sent from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham.

Now as a kid I often took myself off to  Greenwich Park which for a 10 year old was full of adventures.  For a start there was that long walk up through the big ornate gates from the Heath and watching as that statue of General Wolfe got closer and closer.

And then as you reached its base, there below the summit was the Thames, the naval buildings and the museum.

I have to say the observatory played a minor role in the set of adventures that might take us off to the right hiding behind trees or just rolling down that slope.

Location; the Royal Observatory

Picture; the Royal Observatory  circa 1905, Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Wishing you well ........... postcards from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham for the summer ..... nu 2 Greenwich

A short series with few words looking at the postcards we sent from Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham.

The description on the back describes “the Parish Church of the Royal Borough of Greenwich is a handsome structure dedicated to St Alphege, which was erected in 1710 from designs by Hawksmore.  

It stands in on the site of two former bull rings dedicated to the same Saint, who suffered martyrdom on this spot at the hands of the Danes.  General Wolfe is buried within its walls.”

Location; Greenwich

Picture; Barrack Field Woolwich Common, circa 1905, Tuck and Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, https://tuckdb.org/

Off Greenwich, 1904

This is called Off Greenwich and the original was painted by Professor Van Hier

Location; Greenwich







Picture, Off Greenwich in the series, On the Thames, issued by Tuck & Sons, courtesy of Tuck DB, http://tuckdb.org/