NORTH WOOLWICH

North Woolwich, Kent, a modern village in Woolwich parish, but on the left bank of the Thames, opposite Woolwich, and the terminus of the Victoria Docks and North Woolwich branch of the Great Eastern Railway, over which the North London Railway also runs trains. Population 1455. Inn: Royal Hotel.

Though a detached portion of Kent, North Woolwich is locally within the county of Essex. The village is of quite recent growth. A very few years ago there were only a few cottages and the Old Barge House, whence the ferry boats crossed to Woolwich. The formation of the railway and pier, and the establishment of a regular steam-ferry to Woolwich, the construction of the Victoria Docks, and the opening of extensive manufacturing establishments in the immediate vicinity, caused the influx of a large number of working men, and of necessity the building of houses for their accommodation; and whilst the greater number settled in the district known as London over the Border, on the London side of the Victoria Docks, a little town sprang up at North Woolwich. A portion of the great Beckton Works of the Gaslight and Coke Company is in North Woolwich, and there are extensive Electric Telegraph and Submarine Cable, American Leather, Creosote, and other works.

North Woolwich is a part of the ecclesiastical district of St. Mary, Victoria Docks, for which a spacious Gothic church has been erected. The North Woolwich Gardens, attached to the Royal Hotel, are a popular place of summer resort.

[Handbook to The Environs of London : James Thorne 1876]

Church Records:

• St. John the Evangelist
  Baptisms1876-1924,
  Marriages1877-1929 & 1940-1978 : ERO
  Baptisms1941- date,
  Marriages1978- date : Not deposited
• Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Albert Rd
  Baptisms 1871-1954 : NEW

North Woolwich, originally part of the County of Kent, was served by :

• St. Mary Magdelene, Church Street, Woolwich, Kent.
  Baptisms 1670-1937,
  Marriages 1670-1941,
  Burials 1670-1889 : LMA