GREENWICH, a market-town and parish in the
hundred of BLACKHEATH, lathe of SUTTON at HONE,
county of KENT, 6 miles (E. S. E.) from London, containing
20,712 inhabitants. This place, which derives its
name from the Saxon Grena-wic, green creek, or bay, is
first noticed in the reign of Ethelred, as having been for
three years the station of the Danish fleet, when in
1011 those northern invaders made an irruption into
this part of Kent, and encamping on Blackheath, made
predatory incursions into the surrounding parts of
the country. Having devastated the city of Canterbury,
and brought away Alphege, Archbishop of the
province, they detained him prisoner in their camp for
more than seven months, and at length put him to
death for refusing to exact from his diocese an exorbitant
sum of money, as the price of his ransom; after his
martyrdom, he was canonized; and the church of Greenwich,
which had been the scene of his sufferings, was
dedicated to St. Alphege, in honour of his memory. The
establishment of a royal residence here may be traced
as far back as the reign of Edward I.; and Henry IV.
dates his will, in 1408, from his manor of Greenwich,
which Henry V. granted for life to Thomas Beaufort,
Duke of Exeter, who died here in 1417; it passed
afterwards to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and uncle
of the king, who in 1433 obtained the royal license to
fortify and embattle his manor-house, and to empark
two hundred acres of land adjoining it: he rebuilt the
palace and enclosed the park, within which he erected
a tower, on the spot where the royal observatory now
stands. On its reverting to the crown, after the death
of the duke in 1447, Edward IV. expended considerable
sums in enlarging and beautifying the palace,
which in 1466 he granted with the manor to his queen,
Elizabeth. The marriage of Richard, Duke of York,
with Anne Mowbray, was solemnized here with great
pomp during this reign. Henry VII. resided frequently
at Greenwich, where he founded a convent adjoining the
palace, for a prior and twelve brethren of the order of
St. Francis, which, after its dissolution in the reign of
his successor, was refounded by Mary, and finally suppressed
by Elizabeth, in 1559. This was also the birthplace
of Henry VIII., who was baptized in the parish
church, and during whose, reign it was one of the principal
scenes of that splendour and festivity which distinguished
his court. Here his marriages with Catherine
of Arragon, in 1510, and with Anne of Cleves, in 1540,
were celebrated with great pomp. The princesses Mary
and Elizabeth were born here, and Edward VI, kept
the festival of Christmas 15023 in this palace, where
he died in the month of July following. The assizes
for the county were held here in the first, fourth,
and fifth years of the reign of Elizabeth, and in 1577
the town sent two burgesses to parliament. Elizabeth
made Greenwich her favourite summer residence, and
Mary, daughter of James I., was baptized here with
great solemnity, in 1605.
Previously to the breaking out of the parliamentary
war, Charles I. occasionally resided here; and, in
1642, the tower in the park, then called Greenwich castle,
and which had been used sometimes as a place of residence
for the younger branches of the royal family, frequently
as a place of confinement, and occasionally as a castle, was
thought to be of so much importance, that the parliament
issued immediate orders to secure it for their use.
When the ordinance for the sale of lands belonging to
the crown was passed, in 1649, Greenwich house and
park were reserved and subsequently assigned as a
residence for the Lord Protector; but the exigencies
of the government induced the House of Commons
to pass an act for its sale. Several of the ofiices and
premises adjoining it were sold to different purchasers,
but the palace and the park remaining unsold, in 1654,
they were again, by an ordinance of the house, settled
upon the Protector and his heirs. After the Restoration,
Greenwich again came into the possession of the crown,
and the palace having become greatly decayed, Charles II.
ordered it to be taken down, and commenced the erection
of a magnificent palace of freestone, one wing of which
was completed at an expense of £36,000. Here that
monarch occasionally resided, but no further progress
was rilade in the work, either by himself, or his successor.
Greenwich has been the place of debarkation 01
many illustrious visitors, and of several royal personages;
among the latter may be noticed the Princess Augusta 01
Saxe Gotha, afterwards married to Frederick, Prince ol
Wales, and mother of George III., and the Princess.
Caroline of Brunswick, late consort of George IV. I"6
remains of Admiral Lord Nelson were landed here, after
the memorable battle of Trafalgar, in 1806, and lay .m
state in the hall of the hospital for three days prior
to their removal for interment in the Cathedral Church
of St. Paul.
Between the park and the river is thaj; magnificent
structure appropriated as an asylum for -the decayed
veterans and disabled seamen of the British navy, and for
the maintenance and support of the widows and children
of such as have fallen in the service of their country.
This noble institution was established in the early part of
the reign of William and Mary, and, upon the suggestion of
Sir Christopher Wren, the unfinished palace of Charles II.,
afterwards enlarged under his gratuitous superintendence
with additional buildings, was, by royal grant, appropriated
to this patriotic purpose, in 1695. The king
appointed nearly two hundred commissioners, including
the principal officers of the state, the archbishops,
bishops, judges, the lord mayor and aldermen of .the
city of London, the master, warden, assistants, and
elder brethren of the Trinity House, to frame statutes
and ordinances for the right management of the royal
hospital, and, by letters patent, granted the annual sum
of £2000 for completing the works, and carrying the
plan into effect. By a commission issued in the reign
of Queen Anne, seven of these commissioners were constituted
a general court, of which the Lord High Admiral,
the Lord Treasurer, or any two members of the privy
council, should form a quorum. The governor and treasurer
were appointed by the crown, aU the other officers
of the establishment by the Lord High Admiral, on the
recommendation of the general court; twenty-five of
the commissioners were appointed to form a standing
committee, and the internal regulation of the hospital
was vested in the governor and a council of officers, appointed
by the Lord High Admiral. Similar commissions
were issued by succeeding sovereigns, on their accession
to the throne, and his late Majesty, George III.,
by charter, incorporated the commissioners, in- whom
also were vested, by act of parliament, all the estates
held in trust for the benefit of the institution. By an
act passed in the 10th of his present majesty, George IV.,
"to provide for the better management of the affairs of
Greenwich Hospital," it is now placed under the autho-
rity, control, and direction, of the Lord High Admiral,
or the commissioners to whom that office is usually entrusted.
The present establishment consists of a governor,
lieutenant-governor, five captains, eight lieutenants, two
chaplains, physician, assistant physician, surgeon, and
three assistant surgeons, dispenser, and two assistants,
secretary, cashier, steward, clerk of the cheque, clerk of
the works, and other officers. On the opening of the
hospital, in 1705, fifty-two pensioners were admitted: in
the three following years the number increased to three
hundred, and progressively increasing with the augmentation
of the funds, it had in 1738 amounted to one thousand.
Since-that period the buildings have been considerably
enlarged, and there are at present two thousand
seven hundred and ten pensioners, who, in addition
to their lodging, clothing, and maintenance, receive a
weekly allowance of pocket money. Exclusively of the
pensioners, there are three matrons, and one hundred
and sixty-two nurses, widows of seamen, who, besides
their maintenance and clothing, receive a salary of £11
per annum, for attending the pensioners when- sick, and
keeping their apartments and linen in order: the number,
of persons resident within the walls of this splendid
establishment, including inferior officers and servants,
is not less than three thousand five hundred.
The hospital originally was open only to seamen in the
king's service, but, in 1710, the privileges were, by an
act passed in the reign of Queen Anne, extended to disabled
mariners in the merchants service; mariners, as
seamen, are entitled to the benefits of the hospital, and
foreigners, having served two years in the British navy,
are entitled to the same advantages as natives. By act
of parliament in 1763, fourteen hundred out-pensioners,
each of whom receive £7 per annum, were admitted on
the foundation, but they have lately been transferred to
the navy board. The ample funds by which this noble
institution is supported have arisen from numerous
sources, among which were a grant of £2000 per annum
by King William; a subscription of £8000 raised at
the commencement of the work, by the original commissioners;
a grant of £19,000, the amount of various
fines paid by merchants for smuggling; the forfeited
effects of Kid, a pirate, amounting to £6472. 1.,
granted by Queen Anne, in 1705; the moiety of an
estate bequeathed by Robert Osbaldeston, Esq., in 1707,
amounting to £20,000, with the profits of his unexpired
grant of the North and South Foreland light-houses,
since renewed to the hospital; an estate devised by
Mr. William Clapham, of Eltham; the forfeited estates
of the Earl of Derwentwater; a benefaction in malttickets
of £1000. 9. 8., by some person unknown;
a legacy of £3381. 15. by John de la Fontaine, Esq.;
a bequest of £2000 by Mr. Evelyn, and fines for
fishing with unlawful nets and for other offences on
the river Thames. With these several sums and others
not detailed, an investment has been made, producing
£70,000 per annum, to which may be added £ 30,000
per annum arising from the above mentioned forfeited estates,
which are situated in the counties of Cumberland
and Durham, and contain valuable mines of lead and other
ores; £20,000 per annum from a contribution of sixpence
per month from every seaman in the merchants'
service, the profits of the market of Greenwich, given by
Henry, Earl Romney, in 1700; a per centage on freights,
and other sums, forming in the aggregate an income of
nearly £ 130,000 per annum. The hospital is situated on
a terrace fronting the Thames, eight hundred and seventyfive
feet in .length, and terminated at each extremity by
an alcove: in the centre is a landing-place from the river,
from which the view of this sumptuous pile is strikingly
beautiful andmagnificent, extending through alengthened
perspective of elegant building enriched by the stately
domes of the hall and chapel, from each of which is
continued a noble colonnade of the Doric order, three
hundred and forty-seven feet in length, and terminating
with the palace of Henrietta Maria, consort of Charles II.,
now the naval asylum, above which is seen the royal
observatory on an eminence in the park. On the west side
of the principal quadrangle, which is two hundred and
seventy-three feet wide, and in the centre of which is a
statue of George II. by Rysbrack, sculptured out of a single
block of marble taken from the French by Admiral
Sir George Rook, is that part of the hospital called
King Charles's building. In the centre of the front
towards the river is a handsome portal, leading into
an inner quadrangle, separating the wing of that monarch's
unfinished palace from a range of building
formerly of brick, but which, having fallen into decay,
was rebuilt of Portland stone in 1814, in a style of
more appropriate grandeur. On each side of the
portal, which is ornamented with pilasters of the Corinthian
order, surmounted by an entablature of festoons
and flowers, are four lofty Corinthian columns
supporting an entablature and pediment; in the tympanum
of that on the eastern side of the portal are the
figures of Mars and Fame, finely sculptured. The east
front of this range, facing the principal quadrangle, has in
the centre a tetrastyle portico of the Corinthian order,
with an entablature and pediment, leading also into the
inner quadrangle, and at each extremity, four pilasters of
the same order, with an entablature surmounted by an
attic and handsome balustrade. The west front is decorated
with six lofty Corinthian columns in the centre, and
on each side enriched with pilasters of the same order;
this range contains the apartments of the governor and
lieutenant-governor, thegovernor'shall.council-chamber,
and other offices, with wards for four hundred and seventysix
pensioners. On the east side of the principal quadrangle
is that part of the hospital called Queen Anne's
building, corresponding, in every respect, with the ex-,
ception of some of its minuter details, with that of King
Charles, and with it forming the entire front towards the
river: this range, in addition to apartments for officers
of the establishment, contains wards for four hundred and
forty-two pensioners. To the south of these buildings
are those of King William on the west, and Queen Mary
on the east, erected by Sir Christopher Wren, to which
there is an ascent from the principal quadrangle by a
double flight of six steps, forming a terrace on the southern
side, from which is a fine view of the river. In the
former of these ranges is the painted hall, and in the
latter the chapel of the hospital, of which the finely proportioned
domes, by a projection of these ranges contracting
the area of the quadrangle, are brought into a prominent
point of view, in which they display with full effect
the symmetry of their form and the gracefulness of their
elevation. The tambour of these domes is surrounded
by duplicated columns of the composite order, with projecting
groups at the quoins, and the cupola is terminated
by a turret surmounted by gilt vanes. The entrance
to the hall is through a vestibule, in which are various
emblematical paintings and portraits of several
of the British admirals and benefactors to the hospital:
the internal view of the dome, which is finely embellished
with paintings, and from which hang many of the
colours taken from the enemy, is strikingly beautiful.
A large flight of steps leads from the vestibule, through a
lofty and magnificent portal, into the grand saloon, one
hundred and six feet in length, fifty-six in width, and
fifty feet high, lighted on one side by a double range of
windows, of which the jambs are empanelled and decorated
with roses, and corresponding with these, on the
opposite side, are recesses in which are emblematical
figures painted in chiaro-oscuro. A range of lofty Corinthian
pilasters, supporting a rich entablature, surrounds
the saloon, the ceiling of which is exquisitely painted by
Sir James Thornhill, in compartments; in the centre are
the figures of King William and Queen Mary seated on a
throne, attended by the cardinal virtues, and surrounded
with emblematical representations of the seasons, the
signs of the zodiac, and numerous allegorical devices
from mythology and history.
A series of portraits of the most distinguished admi
rals, and paintings of their principal naval engagements,
decorate the walls, and over the great arch at the upper
end of the hall are the British arms, supported by Mars
and Minerva. From the saloon a flight of steps leads
into the upper hall, in which the funeral car of Lord
Nelson is deposited: the ceiling is decorated with paintings
of Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark
with various emblematical figures; in the angles are the
arms of England, Scotland, France,-and Ireland, between
which are represented the four quarters of the world,
with their several emblems and productions. On the left
of the entrance is a painting of the landing of the Prince
of Orange, afterwards William III., and over the mantlepiece,
the landing at Greenwich of George L, of whom
and of his family are portraits at the upper end of the
hall. To the south of the painted hall is a continuation
of King William's buildings, of which the east front is of
Portland stone, decorated in the centre with a pediment,
in the tympanum of which is an emblematical representation
of the death of Admiral Lord Nelson in alto relievo,
and having a colonnade of the Doric order, three hundred
and forty-seven feet in length, consisting of double columns,
twenty feet high, with a return of seventy feet in
length at the extremity of the range. In the centre of
the east front is a handsome Doric portico leading into
the quadrangle which separates the western side, erected
by Sir John Vanbrugh; this part, which is of brick, is
ornamented in the centre with four massive Doric
columns, nearly six feet in diameter, with an entablature
and triglyphs of Portland stone: this range of
building, in addition to apartments for officers, contains
wards for the accommodation of five hundred and fiftynine
pensioners. Opposite to the entrance into the
painted hall is the chapel of the hospital, of which the
interior and roof were destroyed by fire in 1779, and restored
in the most elegant style of Grecian architecture,
from a design by the late Mr. James Stuart, publisher
of the Antiquities of Athens. In the vestibule are
statues of Faith, Hope, Meekness, and Charity, after
designs by West: a flight of fourteen steps leads through
folding doors of mahogany exquisitely carved, with an
architrave, frieze, and cornice, of statuary marble, beautifully
enriched, into the chapel, which is one hundred
and eleven feet in length and fifty-two in breadth, with
a lofty arched ceiling divided into compartments, and
elegantly ornamented with foliage and other designs.
The chapel is lighted by two ranges of windows, between
which are galleries for the governor, lieutenant-governor,
and principal officers, and in the lower part are seats
for one thousand pensioners, exclusively of the nurses,
inferior officers, and attendants. Within the entrance
is a portico of four fluted columns of the Ionic order,
each formed of one entire block of veined marble,
fifteen feet high, which support the organ gallery; on
each side of the portal are Corinthian pillars of scagliola,
with bases and capitals of statuary marble, of which the
shafts are twenty-eight feet high, and on each side ot
the altar are corresponding columns which support the
roof. The altar-piece is embellished with a painting ot
the shipwreck of St. Paul, by West, in a richly gilt frame,
twenty-five feet high and fourteen feet wide, above which
are angels in statuary marble, sculptured by Bacon, and
in the segment, between the cornice and the ceiling, is
a painting in chiaro-oscuro of the Ascension, designed
by West, and executed by Rebecca, terminating a series
of subjects from the life of our Saviour, which is carried
round the upper part of the chapel. To the south ot
the chapel is a continuation of Queen Mary's building,
of Portland stone, similar in design, and, though less
elaborately ornamented, corresponding in style with
that of King William, and having in the front a Doric
colonnade of equal length, with a return of seventy feet
in length at the southern extremity. This range of
building, which, like all the rest, forms a detached quadrangle,
contains wards for the accommodation of one
thousand one hundred and seventy pensioners. The extremities
of these two last ranges form the grand south
front of the hospital, between which is a singularly
grand and beautiful perspective view of the river and
of the country on the opposite bank. The west entrance
to the hospital is formed by massive rusticated
stone piers, supporting a terrestrial and celestial
globe, each six feet in diameter, on which are traced
the great circles of the sphere, rectified for the
latitude of Greenwich. Without the walls, on the
west, is the infirmary, a handsome m6dern quadrangular
building of brick, one hundred and ninetythree
feet in length and one hundred and seventy-five
in breadth, containing apartments for a physician, surgeon,
and apothecary, with their assistants, a surgery,
dispensary, and a small chapel, and wards divided into
well ventilated rooms, holding four each, for the reception
of two hundred and fifty-six patients. Adjoining
the infirmary is a building for the accommodation of one
hundred and seventeen helpless pensioners and their
nurses, with hot and cold baths, and a room containing
a good medical library. The east entrance is through
iron gates handsomely decorated, opposite to which is
a range of brick building comprising the commissioners'
board-room and the requisite offices for the secretary,
cashier, steward, clerk of the cheque, and other civil
officers of the establishment.
To the south of the hospital is the Naval asylum, or
school, for the clothing, maintenance, and education of
the children of seamen. This extensive and truly liberal
institution had its origin in the establishment of the royal
hospital, in which a small number of the pensioners sons
was educated, and the original school was, in 1821, incorporated
with the Royal Naval asylum, which had
been removed from Paddington to Greenwich in 1801.
The establishment comprises an upper and a lower
school: the former consists of one hundred sons of
commissioned and ward-room warrant officers of the
Royal Navy, and marines, presented by the Board of
Admiralty collectively, and of three hundred sons of
officers of the same or inferior rank, nominated in
rotation by the lords and the first secretary of the
admiralty, and by the commissioners, governor, and
lieutenant-governor of the hospital, individually. The
scholars are admitted between the ages of eleven and
twelve, and are instructed in writing, arithmetic, the mathematics,
navigation, and the drawing of charts on geometrical
principles, by masters appointed for the purpose,
the chaplain is officially head master of all the schools,
and especially charged with the religious instruction of
the children, and the general superintendence of the
other branches of their education. Each boy has a
bible and prayer-book given to him on admission,
and during his continuance is supplied with all necessary
books and instruments, which he is allowed to take
away with him on leaving school, when he is bound apprentice
to the sea service for seven years. The lower
school consists of four hundred boys and two hundred
girls, children of inferior warrant and non-commissioned
officers and seamen j they are admitted, from nine till
twelve years of age, on petition to the governor of the
hospital, according to their father's claim for service,
which claims are examined monthly, and decided upon
by a committee of selection: the boys are instructed
in reading, writing, and arithmetic, till they are fourteen
years of age, and are then apprenticed to the
sea service j the girls, till of the same age, are taught
reading, writing, and needle-work, and on their leaving
school are placed out to trades or as household
servants. The schools are supported from the
general funds of the hospital, towards which are added
the various sums received by the guides appointed to
show the hospital to strangers, which, from its external
magnificence and internal decoration, attracts numerous
visitors. The present school-rooms were erected from
a design by Mr. Alexander, and consist of two spacious
wings, each one hundred and forty-six feet in length
and forty-two in breadth, connected with the central
building by a colonnade of the Tuscan order, one hundred
and eighty feet long and twenty wide, affording
a sheltered area for recreation in wet weather. The
central building, formerly the palace of Henrietta Maria,
consort of Charles II., erected in 1635, and considerably
enlarged for its present purpose, contains apartments
for the superintending captain, the chaplain
and head master, the assistant masters, the schoolmistresses,
matron, nurses, and others connected with the
schools, and the school-rooms, refectory, and dormitory
for the girls. In the western wing are the chapel
and the upper school-room, one hundred feet long and
thirty-nine wide, with a lateral recess twenty-two
feet square, over which are two spacious dormitories,
containing each two hundred hammocks, suspended
in two tiers on each side. To the west of this wing is
the gymnasium, with complete apparatus for the practice
of those athletic exercises so essential in a nautical
education, as tending to impart strength and agility to
the body, and courage and intrepidity to the mind:
in part of the ground appropriated to this purpose is
a circle of lofty masts and slighter poles alternately
inserted at the top into a circular beam, and in the
centre a high pole with a horizontal windlas, affording
a complete course of gymnastics peculiarly adapted to
naval purposes. The east wing comprises the lower
school-room, of equal dimensions with the upper, two
similar dormitories, each containing two hundred hammocks,
and a refectory one hundred and forty-three feet
long and thirty-nine wide, in which eight hundred scholars
dine together at four tables, and a room for washing, in
which are arranged in a circle one hundred separate
cisterns, and other apparatus for one hundred boysto
wash at once from a running stream; connected with
this part of the buildings are wash-houses, laundries,
kitchen, brewhouse, bakehouse, and other requisite offices.
The grounds surrounding the buildings are pleasantly
laid out; and on the lawn in front of the central
building is a piece of heavy ordnance mounted. To
!the west of the naval asylum, in a detached situation,
is the infirmary belonging to the institution, a neat
building of brick, arranged with due regard to the
accommodation of patients, who are visited during their
illness by the matron of the school, and attended by the
nurses. Near the water side is an extensive iron wharf,
where several smiths are employed in preparing a supply
of such articles as may be wanted for immediate use.
The town is pleasantly situated at the base, and on
the western declivity, of the commencement of a range
of heights which forms the southern boundary of the
vale of the Thames. The streets in the lower part, towards
the river, are narrow and the houses mean and irregularly
built; but in the higher situations, especially
on the west side of the park, towards Blackheath, many
respectable houses have been erected} a spacious and
handsome street, leading directly from the church
towards the hospital, and forming the principal thoroughfare
to Woolwich, has been already formed,
and further improvements are likely to result from
the erection of a new market-house, which is at present
in contemplation. The town is partially paved,
lighted with gas, and supplied with water from the Kent
water works at Deptford; a smalltheatre is opened occasionally
during the winter, and a literary and scientific
institution has been recently established. The park,
comprising nearly two hundred acres, was walled round
by James I., and planted and laid out in the reign of
Charles II.: the scenery is diversified with extensive
lawns and stately avenues of fine old elms and chesnut
trees; the views from many of the higher grounds
are extensive and magnificent, especially from the observatory,
and an abrupt eminence called One Tree Hill,
embracing the hospital, the winding Thames crowded
with shipping, a distant view of the metropolis, and
a rich variety of splendid and interesting objects.
The royal observatory was erected, in 1675, on the site,
and partly with the materials, of the ancient tower,
built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, which, with
every requisite aid, was granted for that purpose by
Charles II.: it was completed under the superintendence
of Mr. Flamsteed, who, on the recommendation of Sir
Jonas Moor, was appointed Astronomer Royal, and took
possession of it in the following year. Since the time
of Flamsteed, from whom it obtained the appellation of
Flamsteed House, the institution has continued to improve,
and is at present replete with astronomical instruments
of every description, and of the most accurate
construction; among these are, the instrument used by
Dr. Bradley to detect the aberration of the fixed stars;
a revolving circle by Troughton, of-exquisite mechanism;
and the original chronometer, by Harrison, for which
parliament awarded him a considerable premium. The
observatory, which is under the superintendence of an
astronomer royal, appointed by the King, and six assistants,
is annually visited by a deputation from the
Royal Society, under whose inspection the observations
made by the Astronomer Royal are annually published,
pursuant to an order of his late Majesty: the longitudinal
distances in England are invariably calculated
from the meridian of Greenwich. The market days are
Wednesday and Saturday; fairs are held annually, commencing
on the Mondays at Easter and Whitsuntide,
which are numerously attended. The town is within
the jurisdiction of the county magistrates, who hold a
petty session every Tuesday, and of whom one or two are
in daily attendance. A court of requests is held every
Tuesday, under an act passed in the 47th of George III.,
for the recovery of debts under £ 5, the jurisdiction of
" which extends over the parishes of Greenwich, Deptford,
Lewisham, Woolwich, Eltham, Chiselhurst, Charlton,
Lea, Bromley, Beckenham, Bexley, Foot's Cray, St.
Mary Cray, Orpington, Erith, and Plumstead, in the
county of Kent; and the parishes of Croydon, Carshalton,
Mitcham, Beddington, Morden, Sutton, and Cheam,
in the county of Surrey.
The living is a vicarage, in the archdeaconry and
diocese of Rochester, rated in the king's books at £21,
and in the patronage of the Crown. The ancient church,
dedicated to St. Alphege, having become dilapidated, the
present structure was built by act of parliament passed
hi the 9th of Queen Anne, for the erection of fifty
churches within the city of London and its suburbs; it
is a handsome edifice in the Grecian style of architecture,
with a square tower, above which is a cupola supported
on pillars of the Corinthian order, and surmounted
by a small spire. The interior is ornamented with a
painting on panel, representing a monumental effigy of
Queen Elizabeth, a painting of Charles I. at his devotions,
and with portraits of Queen Anne and George I.
A church, dedicated to St. Mary, was erected by means
of a grant from the parliamentary commissioners, in
1824, at an expense of £11,000, and contains one thousand
seven hundred and thirteen sittings, of which six
hundred and forty-five are free; it is a neat edifice of
Suffolk white brick, in the Grecian style of architecture,
with a square tower of stone, and a portico of the Ionic
order. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents,
and Wesleyan Methodists, also a Roman
Catholic chapel. The Grey-coat school was founded in
1643, by John Roan, Esq., who endowed it with lands
and houses in the parish, producing about £700 per
annum, for clothing and educating poor children; one
hundred boys are clothed and instructed in reading,
writing, and arithmetic, and twenty supernumerary boys
are instructed but not clothed; the management is vested
in the vicar, churchwardens, and overseers of the parish.
The Green-coat school was founded in 1672, by SirWilliam
Boreman, who endowed it with lands, tenements, and
fee farm rents, producing about £700 per annum, for
the maintenance, clothing, and instruction of twenty
poor boys of the parish; the management is vested in
the Master and Wardens of the Drapers Company, who
have appropriated to it the sum of £300 given to that
company for charitable uses: the endowment has
been subsequently augmented with a bequest of £5000
by William Clovell, Esq., who was educated in the
school: a new school-house was erected in 1788. The
Blue-coat charity school, for the maintenance, clothing,
and education of girls, was established in 1770, and is
supported by the interest on various legacies, by an estate
producing £212 per annum, bequeathed by Mrs.
Elizabeth Day, and by subscription . there are twenty
girls in the school: the average expenditure is £550
per annum. Queen Elizabeth's college was founded
in 1576, by William Lainbarde, Esq., author of the
" Perambulations of Kent," who endowed it for twenty
aged persons, of whom, one each is to be appointed by
the Master of the Rolls and the Master and Wardens
of the Drapers Company, in whom the management
is jointly vested; six from the parish of Greenwich,
appointed by the vicar and parish officers j one
from Deptford; three from Lewisham; one troni
Lee; three from Eltham; one from Charlton
Kedbrook; and one from Woolwich: the original en-
dowment has oeen augmented by subsequent benefactions;
the inmates receive a weekly allowance of money,
and an annual supply of coal. The founder, with the
consent of the Bishop of Rochester, composed a form
of morning and evening prayers to be used in the college,
and made void his endowment should its use be prohibited
-by the laws of the realm. Norfolk college was
founded in 1613, and dedicated to the HolyTrinity,
by Henry, Earl of Northampton, who endowed it with
lands and estates producing about £1500 per .annum,
for the support of a warden and twenty pensioners, of
whom twelve are to be of this parish, and eight of the
parish of Shottesham in the county of Norfolk; the
management was vested by the founder in the Master
and Wardens of the Mercers Company: the building
forms a neat quadrangle of brick at the east end of the
town, near the river, and comprises a chapel, in which
are a fine window of painted glass, and a handsome
monument to the memory of the founder, removed with
his remains from the chapel at Dovor castle, where he
was interred. Eight almshouses were built in 1809, by
subscriptions amounting to £ 1153, and called the Jubilee
almshouses, in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary
of the accession of George III. to the throne: to
these were added four more, by subscription among the
Greenwich volunteer corps of infantry, in commemoration
of the centenary anniversary of the accession of <
the house of Hanover. In 1784, several barrows were
opened in the park, and various military weapons were
discovered. Among the eminent men who have been
interred in this parish are, William Lambarde, the
Kentish antiquary, who died at West Combe, in 1601;
Thomas Philpot, who published a survey of Kent from
papers collected by his father, and died in 1628; Major
General James Wolfe, who fell gloriously in the arms
of victory at Quebec, and was buried in the old
church of St.Alphege, in 1759; and Lavinia, Duchess
of Bolton, who died in 1760. The learned Dr.
Squire, Bishop of St. David's, was instituted to the
vicarage of this parish in 1751. Of the eminent astronomers
who have succeeded Flamsteed at the Royal
Observatory, may be noticed Dr. Halley, who died in
1742; Dr. Bradley, who died in 1762; and the late
Dr. Maskelyne, who died in 1811.