Woolwich (parish)
Woolwich, also known as Woolwich St Mary, was an ancient parish containing the town of Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames and North Woolwich on the north bank. The parish was governed by its vestry from the 16th century to 1852, based in the Church of St Mary until 1842, after which in the purpose-built Woolwich Town Hall. The parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 and was governed by the Woolwich Local Board of Health from 1852. When the parish became part of the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 the local board was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. It was in the county of Kent until it was transferred to London in 1889. In 1900 it was amalgamated with other parishes to form the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and had only nominal existence until it was abolished as a civil parish in 1930. Since 1965 it has been split between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham.
Woolwich
For centuries the area between the Thames and the present-day A206 road has been dominated by docks, warehouses and factories, starting with the Royal Dockyard early in the 16th century, later eclipsed by the Royal Arsenal in scale and grandeur. In the 18th century the Royal Regiment of Artillery and the Corps of Royal Engineers were established in Woolwich, followed by the Royal Military Academy. Other military institutions completed the picture of the garrison town that Woolwich had become in the early 19th century. The town has a distinctive housing history and in the Bathway Quarter it has an equally distinctive civic centre. Although repeatedly rebuilt, its architectural heritage reflects its unusual and important history.