Woolwich
The civil parish of Woolwich, roughly the area of the present-day wards Woolwich Riverside and Woolwich Common, was formerly known as Woolwich Saint Mary. Until 1842, when the Old Town Hall was built, the vestry met in a room in the parish church of St Mary Magdalene. Woolwich became part of the London metropolitan area in the mid-19th century, although was officially still in Kent at the time. In 1889, with the formation of London County Council, Woolwich became officially part of London. In 1900 the parishes of Woolwich, Eltham and Plumstead formed the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. In 1906 the new Woolwich Town Hall was inaugurated. In April 1965, following implementation of the London Government Act 1963, Woolwich was merged into the London Borough of Greenwich, since 2012 the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The administrative buildings of the borough are in Woolwich.
Woolwich, Ontario
The land which now makes up Woolwich Township, with the Grand River on the East, and the Conestogo River on the West, originally belonged to the Huron Nation followed by the Mohawk Nation. The first settlers arrived in the late 18th century. In 1798, William Wallace was one of the first settlers after he was deeded 86,078 acres (348 km2) of land on the Grand River for a cost of $16,364. Originally Block three of Indian Lands, this area now comprises a large part of Woolwich Township. The parcel of land called "Woolwich" was probably named (in 1816) after a town in Kent, England. The early settlers were primarily from England or Ireland until about 1830; they settled to the east of the Grand River. Afterwards, German Mennonite families from Pennsylvania and from Waterloo Township settled west of the river.