Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service, Historic England

MLO104183

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Description:  Shrewsbury Park is on land that was once part of the large estate in the manor of Plumstead owned by the Earls of Shrewsbury at Shooters Hill with outstanding views over London, Kent and Essex. The woodland in the public park may be a survival from medieval times prior to development of the land for farming; the park also includes traces of old field boundaries, and a number of the present-day roadways were once ancient routes or paths. Land in the area was owned in the mid-18th century by the Lidgbird family, who had made their money from brick clay and pottery. The Plumstead Tithe Award of 1842 records Mary Lidgbird as owner of Shrewsbury House and other land parcels including gardens, lawn and shrubbery, Lodge and garden as well as pastures, meadows and woods, then occupied by a Captain Hornby. Shrewsbury House was built in the 18th century as a large country villa, set in substantial grounds, and was described in 1776 as 'small, but elegant' by Hastead. In 1799 – circa 1801 it became the home of the young Princess Charlotte (1796-1817), only child of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, and Caroline of Brunswick. Estranged from the early days of the marriage, Caroline moved out of the Prince's residence at Carlton House in 1797 and leased a house in Blackheath, George later leasing Shrewsbury Lodge during the summers for his daughter enabling her to see her mother. The Shrewsbury estate remained in private ownership into the early 20th century, although it was in use as a boarding school in 1851 and later became a children's convalescent home for a time. In 1908 the LCC leased part of the grounds for its Open Air School to provide for 'delicate children' who had problems with health such as heart, breathing and mal nourishment. Based on a model in Charlottenburg, Berlin, the LCC had initially opened a trial school in 1907 in Bostall Woods (q.v.) before moving to the grounds of Shrewsbury House. There were 75 pupils in 1908 selected by the schools medical service, and a number of open-sided structures, known as 'Doecker Sheds', were built for classrooms and other purposes. According to 'The Graphic Magazine', August 1913, it appears that the school also had pottery kilns in what is now the wooded area of the public park. The school was initially run in the summer but from 1913 it operated all year round, later moving to Charlton Park in 1929 when its lease came to an end. In 1916 Shrewsbury House and grounds had been purchased by former mayor, Fred Halse, who demolished the old mansion and built his new Shrewsbury House in 1923 to the south of the original villa. Halse was Deputy Lieutenant of Kent County from 1926-34 and a keen supporter of the movement to preserve public open space, such as the southern slopes of Shooters Hill, from housing development. The precedent for the public park that is now Shrewsbury Park arose in the early 20th century when the newly formed LCC, a frontrunner in the provision of public open space, acquired an initial 9 acres of land at the summit of Shooters Hill, which was laid out as Eaglesfield Park (q.v.). Shrewsbury Park came into being in 1928/9 when the LCC purchased the northern part of the Shrewsbury estate. The LCC had already purchased other land for open space in the area, including Castle Wood in 1921, and Jackwood in 1923, now part of Shooters Hill Woodlands (q.v.). In 1933 Shrewsbury House and an acre of its surrounding garden were purchased by Woolwich Borough Council for £9,000 with the intention of providing a library and museum. The latter use was never realised but it remains as a library and community centre surrounded by modest grounds containing Holm oak, Cedar and laurel; a rock garden is thought to include masonry from the original mansion demolished in 1923. The remaining areas of the former Shrewsbury estate were developed for housing by John Laing & Son, whose Shrewsbury Park Estate was built on Garden City principles in 1934-36. Its parkland surroundings, which included Shooters Hill Golf Course south of the public park, were seen as an important asset to sales, and the new estate was described in the sales brochure as 'unsurpassed for Healthiness and Beauty of position'. This and other Laing estates of the 1930s were built with careful attention paid to the landscape setting, with retention of existing trees, planting of street trees and shrubs, as well as provision of garden trees; garden boundaries were usually formed of privet hedging or wooden fencing rather than walls. Shrewsbury Park had toilets, a café and drinking fountain but these have since been removed. At the east of the woodland there was a mock-Tudor pavilion and changing room, and football pitches were laid out. During WWII Shrewsbury Park was the site for a Barrage Balloon as part of the Air Ministry's Field Scheme Nosecap for the defence of London, and in the Battle of Britain in 1940 it was manned by 901 County of London Barrage Balloon Squadron. The location was where the car park is now. To the north of the woodland the land adjacent to Dot Hill Road was earmarked for housing before WWII, and during the war was used for allotments as part of the 'Dig for Victory' scheme, returned to grassland after the war and later brought into Shrewsbury Park. Other disused allotments are also now within the park although some allotments remain in the north. Shrewsbury Park contains a scattering of oak, beech, hornbeam, birch and Scots pine, carved out of pre-existing woodland, and includes an area of old woodland. Just outside the park at the junction of Brinklow Crescent and Plum Lane is the Shrewsbury Tumulus, the only survivor of a number of pre-Roman burial grounds discovered on the Shrewsbury estate during building works. Another in Shrewsbury Park was later levelled. The Shrewsbury Tumulus is a grassy mound surrounded by railings, which is known for its spring bulbs. Sources consulted: Sue Swales, Meg Game, Ian Yarham, 'Nature Conservation in Greenwich', Ecology Handbook 10 (London Ecology Unit), 1989; Ben Weinreb & Christopher Hibbert, 'The London Encyclopaedia' (Macmillan, revised ed. 1993); Darrell Spurgeon, 'Discover Greenwich and Charlton', 1991; Darrell Spurgeon 'Discover Eltham and its Environs', Greenwich Guide-Books, 2000; LB Greenwich 'Shrewsbury Park Draft Management Plan' 2008 see Appendix I Historical Assessment; LB Greenwich, 'Shrewsbury Park Estate Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Management Strategy (draft) (1)

Area: 8.136 Hectares
Website source: London Parks and Gardens Trust Site Database, http://www.londongardensonline.org.uk. London Parks and Gardens Trust (2007)

Country:  England

County:  GREATER LONDON AUTHORITY

District:  GREENWICH

Parish:  GREENWICH

Grid Reference:   TQ442772

Map Reference:  [EPSG:27700] 544286, 177298

Period/Subject:  1851 - 1901 - BOARDING SCHOOL, 1851 - 1901 - CONVALESCENT HOME, 1908 - 1923 - OPEN AIR SCHOOL, 1923 - 2050 - ROCK GARDEN, 1933 - 2050 - LIBRARY

Identifiers: 
[ADS] Depositor Id: MLO104183
[ADS] Import RCN: GLHER1511-MLO104183

People Involved: 
[Publisher] Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service, Historic England