Historical Tales

Short of using your own boat or swimming, there are three ways: the DLR, the Woolwich Free Ferry, or the Woolwich Foot Tunnel. To commemorate the 100th birthday of the latter, a small group of London Historians walked the tunnel yesterday. An unhappy birthday as it happens, because this and its counterpart in Greenwich are mired in controversy.  Since 2010 they have had £11 million from Greenwich council fire-hosed on refurbishments that should have been completed last year. Instead, in the case of Woolwich, the ground level buildings on both banks are both shrouded in scaffolding, surrounded by blue hoarding, and the lifts don’t work. The fiasco has been covered over the period by this angry blogger.

Despite all of this, we enjoyed ourselves, underground and over water. I shall stay brief because the wonderful Caroline’s Miscellany has already posted and so has The Londoneer. Here are some pictures.

This smart sign has very recently replaced one written in felt-tip pen, possibly as a result of mockery from local blogger 853.

Folorn: North side entry building, 1912, scaffolded, hoarded-up, broken.

The James Newman, one of three vessels on the Woolwich Free Ferry, introduced in 1889 by Joseph Bazalgette; taken from the Ernest Bevan. The crew simply call them One, Two and Three.

Happy Historians

North Woolwich mainline station (1858). Lovely station architecture, unfortunately long-closed, boarded up, abandoned.