North Woolwich

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Location
North Woolwich

OS grid reference:	TQ435795


Administration
London borough:	Newham
County level:	Greater London
Region:	London
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Greater London
Historic county:	Kent (1889)
Services
Police force:	Metropolitan Police
Fire brigade:	London Fire Brigade
Ambulance service:	London Ambulance
Post office and telephone
Post town:	LONDON
Postal district:	E16
Dialling code:	020
Politics
UK Parliament:
London Assembly:	City and East
European Parliament:	London
London \| List of places in London

North Woolwich is a place in the London Borough of Newham. It is located north of Woolwich proper which is on the south bank of the River Thames. The two places are linked by the Woolwich Ferry and the Woolwich foot tunnel.

Historically North Woolwich consisted of two nearby tracts of land, totalling 412 acres (1.7 km²), on the north bank of the River Thames, however the eastern part of this territory is today considered part of Beckton and not associated with North Woolwich.

The now disused North Woolwich railway station, which was closed in preparation for future transport developments which will use sections the line, is situated adjacent to the ferry terminal. An extension of the Docklands Light Railway to the area opened in December 2005; this currently terminates at King George V, a further extension south of the river, to Woolwich Arsenal, will open in 2009.

Administratively, North Woolwich was part of Kent at least since the Norman Conquest when one of William the Conqueror's lords, Hamon, was granted land on both sides of the Thames at this spot, probably to enable him to enjoy the taxes from cross-river traffic. It lay in the parish of Woolwich and later the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, but was absorbed into the London Borough of Newham in 1965 when Woolwich south of the Thames became part of the London Borough of Greenwich. The population peaked just before the First World War, and reduced substantially in the Second World War when it was heavily bombed.