North Woolwich

Despite lying on the northern, Essex, side of the Thames, the area was within the historic county of Kent. It was part of the parish of Woolwich in the Blackheath hundred, but since 1965 has been in Greater London. Its position within Kent was an arrangement most likely imposed in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England from 1066.

History

Toponymy

The placename North Woolwich was probably taken from North Woolwich railway station which opened in 1847 and closed in 2006; before that, the area was referred to by terms such as "Woolwich in Essex", "Kent in Essex" and "detached Woolwich".

Local government

The area now called North Woolwich was originally in the eastern part of the Manor of Ham, in the Becontree hundred of Essex; a territory that was subsequently divided into the more familiar West and East Ham, sometime in the 12th century. North Woolwich appears to have been separated a century or so before that time, following the Norman conquest.

Having defeated the English, William the Conqueror rewarded his followers and consolidated his rule, by dividing the lands of his new Kingdom between them. Amongst the foremost of these was Hamo, Steward to the king and Sheriff of Kent, who was given manors in Essex, Kent and Surrey.

The Domesday Book of 1086 shows Hamo as holding land on both sides of the river as part of the manor of Woolwich. The widely-held view is that the upheaval of the conquest gave Hamo an opportunity to attach some of his land in Essex to his manor of Woolwich and by extension to his Sheriffdom of Kent. In so doing he became both lord of the manor and Sheriff on both sides of the ferry crossing, an arrangement that allowed him to more effectively tax the revenues of the ferry. This enhanced control of the crossing may also have given him personal military and political advantages.

The parish of Woolwich developed from the manor, and administered North Woolwich until 1889 when it was replaced by the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and made part of the new County of London. The neighbouring areas' local authorities of East Ham, West Ham and Barking, while also heavily urbanised, were excluded from the new London authority to remain in Essex; and so North Woolwich remained an anomaly at county level.

Local administration changed again in 1965, with the creation of the London Borough of Newham as part of a new Greater London area. North Woolwich joined West Ham, East Ham and other areas between the rivers Lea, Thames and Roding to form an authority which effectively reestablished the old area of Ham.

The administrative association with Woolwich ended at that time, and Woolwich itself became part of a new London Borough of Greenwich, whereas North Woolwich became part of the London Borough of Newham.

Urban development

It appears that a hamlet in the area was destroyed by medieval floods and the area remained uninhabited from that time until the 19th century.

The area was formerly the site of industries including the cable works of W. T. Henley (later Associated Electrical Industries) and the Western Electric Company (later Standard Telephones and Cables) on the river to the west of the ferry, and a large Harland & Wolff ship building and repair shop at Gallions Point to the south of the King George V Dock entrance lock (not to be confused with their works at the western end of the dock). Often on the day of launch of a new ship, the company would invite children from the local primary school (Storey Street, now closed) to witness the event.

The population peaked just before the First World War, and reduced substantially in the Second World War when it was heavily bombed.

In the last decade, North Woolwich has seen major redevelopment as part of wider urban regeneration across the Royal Docks, including the ongoing redevelopment of the former North Woolwich railway station site to provide 348 homes, as well as 75 new homes at Woolwich Reach and 163 apartments at Stories Wharf, in the vicinity of the Woolwich ferry terminal.