A whole month has passed since I last updated this blog, and most of that time has been spent preparing to move house, actually moving house, and then unpacking boxes at our new home. And we've only moved 500 yards. On the plus side, we're now living in a house with garden rather than a 2-bed top floor flat, which had become a necessary move what with baby on the way, but God's holy trousers! what an effort. Only now, after the memory of all the stresses and exertions has receded, am I starting to think it was a good idea. For a start, sitting in my study right now writing this blog is a clear lifestyle improvement.
Our new home is in Rectory Fields, and so for this blog I did some research into the local area, to look at how this small part of London has evolved over the past 150 years. Rectory Fields is one of 20 conservation areas in Greenwich alone, and one of several thousand in the UK. This puts certain restrictions on changes you're allowed to make to the house, i.e. no PVC windows or Sky minidishes to the front, so once I've won my pitch battle with Ruth to get Sky+ installed, the satellite dish will have to go in the back garden.
Rectory Field's eastern boundary is marked by Blackheath Bluecoat school (a mixed comp with a 23% A*-C GCSE pass rate, whereas nearby Blckheath High School for Girls has a 100% rate - so much for social mobility!) and Rectory Playing Fields, home of Blackheath Rugby Club, the first in the world and established in 1858. This eastern boundary also marks the old dividing line between Woolwich and Greenwich borough, merged since 1965.
Its southern boundary is the Old Dover Road, reputedly built by Agricola in approx 80AD running from London to Dover via Canterbury. The northern boundary is the more prosaic Charlton Road, built in 1765, and the western boundary is the Blackwall Tunnel Approach (A102), set in a deep cutting. Thankfully the traffic noise is barely audible from our home.
In 1838, the area comprised just 3 fields and one house, Poplar Cottage. The fields remain intact as 3 distinct zones in the conservation area, with no East > West or North > South permeability for traffic, except on foot.
In 1848, the British Oak pub was built, beside two semi-detached houses. It's still a great boozer with Tuesday folk nights every week. By 1867, the southern field had been developed into homes, including our address Reynolds Place (formerly known as Russell Place). In Reynolds Place, three small Gothic Revival church schools (for boys, girls & infants) were built at this time and known collectively as St. John’s. One of these is now No.2 Reynolds Place, the others form part of the Boys Brigade hall.
By 1890, the other two fields to the north and west had been developed, with a school and associated chapel known as Sun School in the western area, later becoming Sunfields church, now rebuilt along with new homes.
In terms of public transport, the first regular bus service (Shillibeer) arrived in 1833, running from Woolwich to Oxford Street via Charlton Road. However, this soon faced competition from a steamer service from Woolwich to London set up in 1835, and the arrival of the railways in 1836. Today, thanks to Boris and the proposed new Oyster system, it looks like more Londoners from this area will again use the River Thames as a public transport route to and from town.
Our new home is in Rectory Fields, and so for this blog I did some research into the local area, to look at how this small part of London has evolved over the past 150 years. Rectory Fields is one of 20 conservation areas in Greenwich alone, and one of several thousand in the UK. This puts certain restrictions on changes you're allowed to make to the house, i.e. no PVC windows or Sky minidishes to the front, so once I've won my pitch battle with Ruth to get Sky+ installed, the satellite dish will have to go in the back garden.
Rectory Field's eastern boundary is marked by Blackheath Bluecoat school (a mixed comp with a 23% A*-C GCSE pass rate, whereas nearby Blckheath High School for Girls has a 100% rate - so much for social mobility!) and Rectory Playing Fields, home of Blackheath Rugby Club, the first in the world and established in 1858. This eastern boundary also marks the old dividing line between Woolwich and Greenwich borough, merged since 1965.
Its southern boundary is the Old Dover Road, reputedly built by Agricola in approx 80AD running from London to Dover via Canterbury. The northern boundary is the more prosaic Charlton Road, built in 1765, and the western boundary is the Blackwall Tunnel Approach (A102), set in a deep cutting. Thankfully the traffic noise is barely audible from our home.
In 1838, the area comprised just 3 fields and one house, Poplar Cottage. The fields remain intact as 3 distinct zones in the conservation area, with no East > West or North > South permeability for traffic, except on foot.
In 1848, the British Oak pub was built, beside two semi-detached houses. It's still a great boozer with Tuesday folk nights every week. By 1867, the southern field had been developed into homes, including our address Reynolds Place (formerly known as Russell Place). In Reynolds Place, three small Gothic Revival church schools (for boys, girls & infants) were built at this time and known collectively as St. John’s. One of these is now No.2 Reynolds Place, the others form part of the Boys Brigade hall.
By 1890, the other two fields to the north and west had been developed, with a school and associated chapel known as Sun School in the western area, later becoming Sunfields church, now rebuilt along with new homes.
In terms of public transport, the first regular bus service (Shillibeer) arrived in 1833, running from Woolwich to Oxford Street via Charlton Road. However, this soon faced competition from a steamer service from Woolwich to London set up in 1835, and the arrival of the railways in 1836. Today, thanks to Boris and the proposed new Oyster system, it looks like more Londoners from this area will again use the River Thames as a public transport route to and from town.
Comments