Old Woolwich

Old Woolwich or Woolwich Central Riverside is an area along the Thames in Woolwich, South East London. It is the oldest inhabited part of Woolwich, going back to an Anglo-Saxon riverside settlement. When the demographic centre of Woolwich shifted south in the 1800s, the area became a Victorian slum. Most of Old Woolwich was cleared in the 20th and 21st century to make room for industrial, infrastructural and other large-scale developments. Although virtually blasted, the area has retained some interesting architecture, including the Georgian parish church, the Edwardian foot tunnel rotunda and two magnificent cinemas of the 1930s.

The area designated as Woolwich Central Riverside is situated along the south bank of the river Thames in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is bounded to the north by the Thames and to the south by Woolwich Church Street, Woolwich High Street and Beresford Street (all part of the A206 road), although some historic alleys and yards on the south side of these streets are included in this survey. To the west it is bounded by Woolwich Dockyard, and to the east by the Royal Arsenal. Old Woolwich is located north of the present-day commercial heart of Woolwich, which is centred around Beresford Square and Powis Street.

Woolwich Central Riverside has been inhabited at least since the 1st century BCE. Remains of Iron Age, probably Celtic fortifications were found at the current Waterfront development site between Beresford Street and the Thames. This was reused as a castrum or castellum in the late-Roman period. According to the Survey of London, "this defensive earthwork encircled the landward sides of a riverside settlement, the only one of its kind so far located in the London area, that may have been a significant port, anterior to London".

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