The Greenwich Peninsula and points east (1870)
We are returning to the beauty of the 1870 series from the Ordnance Survey.
Poplar - in the top left of the map - was as built up then as now. The Thames flows the same course. Everything else, 150 or so years ago, is rather different.
In most recent memory, were the thriving docks on the Isle of Dogs. A rather poor population - men, boys and some women - in Poplar, Cubitt Town and Millwall were employed in the various jobs associated with the trade which made the British Empire rich.
On the south bank of the river, Greenwich Marshes dominate all the way east to the built-up area of Woolwich.
The Woolwich Dockyard was an important facility but you'd never know it from this map. It's a secret - a blank space as far as the Ordnance Survey was concerned. It was well into the 1900s before maps were allowed to show it.
Opposite the Greenwich peninsula, on the other bank from the O2, is a sugar refinery.
Remarkably, Tate & Lyle are still in the area even after all this time. Behind the factory is the Victoria Dock, the first of the Royal Docks-to-be, and a notable addition to an area which was largely marshland before this. Custom House to the north of the dock administers the show. It has its own station on the North Woolwich branch line which heads to Silvertown.
Back on the Greenwich Marsh, a chemical works has arrived amidst the meadows. This was the first of much toxic industry to arrive here. This polluted the soil so much that heavy metals had to be removed for years before the development of the inevitable box-shaped apartment blocks of North Greenwich.
By the way, this time next week sees the launch of our 'make me a map' service where you can ask us to create printable historic maps of your own area - centred on your house. More of that later...
