Woolwich Town Hall
Woolwich Town Hall is the third seat of local government in Woolwich. It was built in 1903–05 when the second town hall, dating from 1842, had become too small. The first town hall was built only a few years earlier, around 1839, but was almost immediately sold to the Metropolitan Police. Earlier, the local government of Woolwich, then a civil parish in the County of Kent, met in a room next to the poorhouse and in the parish church of St Mary Magdalene. The old town hall was initially shared with Woolwich County Court. In 1855 the Metropolis Management Act provided every parish in the metropolitan area with its own local administration. In 
1889 the parish of Woolwich became part of the newly formed County of London. In 1900 the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was formed from the parishes of Woolwich, Plumstead and Eltham. This prompted the construction of a larger and more representative town hall.
Woolwich
Woolwich market received its charter in 1618 but is certainly older. The market, which had long been established in the High Street in Old Woolwich (at a location called Market Hill), had gradually drifted towards the Royal Arsenal's main gatehouse, more or less at its present location. This was not approved by the authorities and a new market was set up in the Bathway Quarter around 1810. This proved to be a failure and is remembered only in the name of Market Street. Until 1879, the market at Beresford Square remained illegal and was regularly cleared by the police. After it was legalized, it had room for 136 stalls. Italo Svevo described it as "very lively" in 1903. In 1936, a covered market opened in Plumstead Road but never formed a threat to the main market. Beresford Square had the largest public houses (of which Woolwich had many). Powis Street and Hare Street, laid out in the early 19th century, became the main shopping streets. A number of Victorian shop facades, many designed by local architect Henry Hudson Church, have survived.