A couple of weeks ago we were talking about a school in Surrey that was briefly owned by Greenwich Council and we were discussing other places the council owned outside the borough. Rob at greenwich.co.uk mentioned a hotel by the seaside and Sven told me about this:

In fact it’s still called the Greenwich Hotel and it’s on Sea road at Westgate on Sea, though I don’t know if where I’ve put the arrow is where the hotel actually is as I haven’t been there (yet – looks like a jolly Phantom Day Out to me…)

I’m guessing this picture was taken in the 1950s or 60s. It’s now a residential home for, I believe, people with special needs. It doesn’t have a website and I can find precious little else out about it (aw, c’mon – you try googling ‘Greenwich’ and ‘Hotel’ and see what you come up with…) so I’ll just have to go and see it for myself. Westgate is, from the maps, just up the road from Margate, so next time I need a Mad-Hatter’s-tearoom-and-creepy-shell-grotto fix I’ll make a detour to view the Greenwich Hotel. It’s certainly the weather for a trip to the seaside. Shame about it being a Monday…

Fantastic. I have looooong wanted to talk about St Anne’s Church in Limehouse, – mainly because, in the churchyard, lies it my favourite piece of Grade II-listed builders’ rubble. It seems to have been shoehorned into every leyline in London and there are all sorts of psycho-geographical theories about it but ultimately it’s no one’s grave, didn’t come from Outer Space and, as far as I know, there’s nothing sinister buried under it. It’s just a roof decoration that never got used.

That doesn’t stop it being a wonderfully creepy thing, even in brilliant sunshine, and c’mon – it’s a pyramid. And it was left by Nicholas Hawksmoor. Yeah, okay, stick it in those ley-lines after all.

But I digress. I couldn’t include St Anne’s because, apart from the obvious Hawskmoor thing, I couldn’t find any link direct enough with Greenwich to justify it. It’s the kind of lovely quirky thing for which I occasionally envy London bloggers who haven’t set themselves such narrow parameters.

I can’t even remember what I was googling yesterday when I came across St Anne’s Wikipedia page and read this:

There is a link to Greenwich time at the top of the tower: a weight falls when a signal comes from Greenwich (line of sight).

Yay! An excuse…

You can just about see the golden ball at the top of the tower in the picture above. Apparently St Anne’s has close connections with the Royal Navy – the rector is Honorary Chaplain to the Navy.  It was granted the right to carry the White Ensign as a landmark (and so the ships’ captains could record any births, marriages or deaths). Most places permitted to fly the White Ensign can only do so on special occasions, but St Anne’s is allowed to carry it at all times.

The clock is the highest church clock in London, built for the shipping on the Thames. It used to chime every quarter of the hour, but is now just hourly. I still can’t tell whether the ball was just a marker for ships, or whether, like the Timeball at Greenwich, it drops. The Wikipedia entry suggests this, but there’s no mention of balls dropping (oh, honestly…) on the official St Anne’s site.

The Wikipedia site mentions ‘line of sight’ – which implies that the curate would have had to climb to the top of the tower with a telescope once a day to watch for the Greenwich signal. A very inaccurate line I’ve drawn on this old map reveals it’s a good job that BBC pips and automatic clocks were invented; it goes straight through Canary Wharf these days:

Okay folks, I have a request to make.

Not for me (for once) but for Matt, who works for (Royal) Greenwich Council and who has been tasked with installing a new water feature at Hornfair Park, at the rose garden above.

He’d really like to re-create the original feature. Normal budget restrictions do apply so he confesses this could be a tall order but what makes it an even taller order is that he has no idea what it actually looked like. Despite searching Heritage archives and park management files he says he’s had no joy in finding a picture that includes the old fountain.

So now he’s asking us if anyone has any photos, or even memories, of what this feature looked like. It was still around in the 80s or 90s, so maybe, just maybe someone has a picture of themselves as a kid playing there with the fountain in the background or can remember being dunked in it or something. I get the feeling Matt would be grateful for any pointers at all as to what he should be putting there and short of looking at other parks of Hornfair’s age, he’s a bit stuck…

Regular readers will remember the strange situation the delightful little film studios just down the road in Rotherhithe found themselves in a few months ago, when the landlord of the 19th Century warehouse containing the studios, costume ateliers and picture library, not to mention Olivier’s little screening room where he shares unusual movies for free to all comers every Tuesday, decided to turn the whole lot into luxury flats and a supermarket.

Olivier took the brave decision to try to buy the building’s freehold so that this thriving local business could survive, and set about raising the money via individual shares through the government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme. Originally he thought that it would just be major investors and City boys buying the shares, but he was both surprised and delighted when he realised that it was local folk and people who actually used the studios – actors, producers, directors – who invested.

He deliberately pitched the shares at low-ish minimum investment so that it was available to as many people as possible, made it easy to invest without brokers and held open days throughout the summer where he took anyone interested round the extraordinary building, showing them what he and his team do – the tiny studios, sound-stages and workshops – and then explained the deal over a cup of tea and cake that he’d made himself.

I was entranced, but I shared Olivier’s worry that the landlord knew damn well that he had Sands over a barrel – that they wanted to buy the freehold and he could charge whatever he liked. They always feared that they’d get enough money then the landlord would demand more – in Olivier’s own words – they lived with ‘the ghost of a price increase’ or that he might just refuse to sell and go for the flats/supermarket option after all. I suspect this may have put off potential investors, though frankly the worst that would have happened is that Olivier would have had to give all the money back.

But I’m delighted to announce that the landlord has accepted the purchase offer. Olivier tells me “we have a contract, we have certainty over the price of the property and therefore the feasibility of the whole scheme.”

Now all they have to do is raise the rest of the cash they need before the completion date – 2nd April, 2012. Of course that will mean that City people will be interested as it will be somewhere they can offload tax liability before the end of the financial year, but Olivier is still keen to get ordinary people who have a love of film, but not multi-millions to spend because this is a labour of love, not a dull make-cash-quick-and-sod-anyone-else deal.

Ever-tireless, Olivier and his gang are once again inviting potential investors to visit the studio and ask all the questions they need to about the EIS scheme and the Sands Films business. Those informal events are great for the him too: giving him the chance to meet with investors and understand them better.

This is a genuine, local business, employing local people, often across generations and it is IMHO A Good Thing.

If you’ve never seen the inside of this extraordinary place, I suggest you hop on a 177, visit a fabulous historic warehouse full of amazing things, meet Olivier, drink tea, eat his home-made pear and almond cake, watch a film that has strong associations with the studio and think about this deal. It’s obligation-free – but if you’re not charmed by the passion of – and the work done by – Olivier and his team, I’ll be surprised.

He’ll be opening his doors every Saturday from 17th Jan – if memory serves, at 4.00pm (though I’m sure he’ll put me right if I’m wrong.) And though I shouldn’t say it, even if you’re not planning to invest you really should go along anyway and see this building /business. It is unique.

Sorry, folks, as you may have noticed from lack of posts last week I’ve been a bit distracted. I hope to resume service as soon as possible. I AM aware of all the things that need to go into the Parish News – some of which were for this weekend – sorry to anyone whose event has been and gone. I’ll try to update asap, but things may take a while to readjust.

In the meanwhile lots of people have been asking about what to do about the Rotunda’s predicament and I thought I’d let you know what two people have already done – and give you another address.

Capability Bowes has written to, among others, the Georgian Group. They have replied, saying they’ll look into it – but the more emails/good old fashioned letters they receive, the more priority it will get. He has also written to the Folly Fellowship (which has a fantastic collection of photos on its website).

Paul has taken a different tack and written to Save Britain’s Heritage Buildings at Risk Casework Officer, Rhiannon Tracy, who has said she’ll be looking into it too.

But ultimately this is MOD property and people have been asking me for the address to whom they should write to bring this matter to the attention of people there. Well – Secretary of State for Defense is at

Ministerial Correspondence Unit
Level 5 Zone A
Main Building
Horse Guards Avenue
SW1A 2HB.

I would suggest you could write to Nick Raynsford who’d have to pass it onto Liam Fox, but he’s probably already got his eye on bulldozing the lot and sticking a tower block on it. No – actually, that’s unfair. He probably would be into saving it as it needs a load of remedial building work. So yeah – write to him, too…

If anyone wants to get together and co-ordinate attacks, I’ll be happy to pass on details to each other – just tell me if you’re happy to have your details shared with others.

After last week’s little frisson of excitement that in the reworking of the army barracks at Woolwich for the soon-to-be-arriving King’s Troop Royal Artillery the beautiful but sadly falling -apart Georgian Rotunda would be renovated and loved again I’m afraid that I have some rather sad news for you.

After our discussion last week, Paul actually wrote to the architects, Scott Brownrigg, to see whether this extraordinary Georgian confection was included in their designs or just a pretty backdrop for them (well done Paul – thanks…). He pointed out that it was an asset that would make everything not only look better, but was desirable to keep in at least reasonable shape.

He received a reply from them a day or so ago:

“Dear Sir
Thanks for your email, I am afraid that your assumption is correct the Rotunda is not part of the King’s troop relocation scheme.

All we know is that the building is still under military ownership.”

Well, at least we know where it all stands. I know that money is tight just now, but this is a sublime, unique building by a famous architect. Surely it deserves a better fate than this?

I still feel that it would make a good events venue that, once it was brought back to a reasonable state, would pay for itself in hire fees, much as the Cutty Sark is hoping to do next year.

Its one crime is that it’s not in a posh area. If this was Godalming or Henley, the Rotunda would never have suffered a fate like this. It would have been lovingly restored, dressed in white ribbons and pink roses every weekend for fluffy brides and squiffy bridesmaides, been the setting for several international smash-hit Richard Curtis rom-coms and occasionally been the backdrop for well-heeled amateur theatrical productions of Shakespeare’s comedies. As it is, it’s gated off, surrounded by the detritus of military hardware and falling to bits.

There is an unpalatable but radical idea that I don’t actually condone but this morning I feel like paying devil’s advocate. Hang on, I’m going to don my tin helmet and dig myself a trench…

The Rotunda wasn’t always here. It started out in King George’s back garden in the centre of town.

I would hate to see it moved from its present position, but I would hate more to see it crumble and collapse completely. Would moving it to save it be such a terrible idea?

Right.  I’m just going to take cover before the firing begins.

Dunno what made me do it, really. I guess nosiness, and the vague fear that Greenwich might have something to worry about from a vast mall ten minutes down the tube. And what the hell made me choose Saturday to explore Stratford’s new Westfield shopping centre beggars belief. I can only put it down to heatstroke.

It’s easy to get to, I’ll give it that. I had had some idea that it would be a trudge from the station, but one of the exits from Stratford tube leads straight into this melee of retail opportunity and human mass. I have never seen quite so many people milling through a mall, and it’s not even finished yet (though of course the empty stores have been done out very artistically so they don’t look too boarded up.)

There were queues outside some of the shops that are open, and everywhere else it seemed that the entire population of Britain had decided to wander up and down faceless aisles trying to find the way out.

I guess the best way to describe it is that it’s like Bluewater without the charm (and yes I do know what I’m saying here…) and, when the crowds have died down I suppose that it will be an alternative to Oxford St for the big chains but I can’t see that I’ll be returning soon.

The only place I actively liked was Wahaca, latest in a superior chain of Mexican restaurants. There aren’t, as far as I can see, any indie eateries (or indie-anything) in Westfield, but as chains go, this was very good indeed. My friend and I shared several plates from their street-food selection and enjoyed everything we were served.

Back to the scrum, and I was beginning to get bit freaked out by it all; a bit panicky in the crowds. In the end I just couldn’t face going in most of the shops, merely nipping to M&S to change a birthday shirt that was too small and John Lewis to see the real reason why I came. This:

(as usual, click on the image to make it bigger)

On the top floor of John Lewis, if you can make your way through the tourist tat in the Official Olympic Store, there’s a viewing room, complete with seats and an info board. It’s really quite impressive, and, I think in retrospect, was worth the journey just to see history in action. You can also  see it from the end of one of Westfield’s streets, but this is the best view.

So – is it a threat to Greenwich? Absolutely no way – this is for a different kind of shopping – mass-market consumer basics type stuff that has a place – we all shop in chains from time to time – but is the exact opposite of the kind of one-off, inventive quirkiness that Greenwich offers.

I’d call it a serious threat to Stratford’s old shopping centre and market, by the theatre, but still hold out hope in that with all those thousands and thousands of people I saw on Saturday I didn’t see thousands and thousands of carrier bags. Stratford is still a town that needs shops for ‘real’ people who don’t do their weekly food shop at M&S and who still need to buy a plastic bucket or a clothes airer…

What we should see it as, however, is a warning – of what Greenwich could turn into if we were ever stupid enough to throw away our Unique Selling Point and buy into the chain-store-clonery that has blighted most of Britain’s towns. I met a woman at an event last night who, although she lives in Pimlico, went into raptures about shopping in Greenwich – something she does on a regular basis – because she can get really unusual stuff she couldn’t hope to find elsewhere.

We still have a real difference. Here’s to keeping it that way.

Paul’s just reminded me about a discussion we had back in 2009 (well, part of it’s there, anyway – the usual problem – all the comments pre-2010 are sadly lost…) about how the Rotunda at Woolwich could be saved.

The basics are thus:  a bizarre, tent-like structure by the Prince Regent’s favourite architect, John Nash, was originally built as a tent in George’s back garden at Carlton House for a grand ball to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon (now that’s what I call style…)  but it was so loved by all and sundry that Nash built a brick wall round it and covered the canvas roof with lead – today’s equivalent would be to put a big aluminum lid over the Dome. It was a bit in the way in George’s back garden though, so it was moved to Woolwich, where for many years it was a museum. Then Firepower came along and the place was abandoned.

I once met the major in charge of looking after it – a decent chap saddled with excellent listed historical buildings, no budget to look after them – and a growing collection of  ’important’ military regalia that people kept ‘donating’ to the museum because they didn’t want to give it all house-room. He told me it cost sixty-odd grand just to stop the Rotunda collapsing into dust – that was in 2009 – and he just didn’t have the cash.

I started to really fear for the building – but a link Paul’s sent me to some very sketchy (literally – the pictures, one of which I’ve pinched for the top of this post, are lovely) page on the website of  Scott Brownrigg, the architects in charge of creating the new home for the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery, who are moving from St John’s Wood to Woolwich (no prizes for guessing why) has cheered me up a little.

Here’s a PDF of the proposals which recognise the importance of the Rotunda, and include a ‘forming up area and ménage’ adjacent to it. Not being of a horsey-bent, I’m assuming that’s some kind of parade-ground-y-type thing where splendidly-uniformed chevaliers swagger around on horseback – presumably quite an eyeful if we’re allowed to see it. It also implies that it’s this area English Heritage have asked to be kept open (I think they mean ‘clear’ rather than necessarily open to the public)  - which means the rather welcome demolition of  ’particularly low merit’ buildings surrounding it.

All this sounds pretty okay to me. I can’t say I’m wild about the new buildings – the stables remind me of chicken sheds and the rest of the constructions smack of a visitors centre in a national park – but they’re not offensive and I’m intrigued that the whole shebang runs on pellets made from horse manure, a fuel of which they’ll have such a ready supply they’ll be able to sell it off to anyone who wants to run their gaff on dung. Given the recent hikes in gas and electricity charges recently that sounds almost attractive.

The only thing I can’t find in the proposals is any ring-fenced cash for renovation and upkeep of the Rotunda itself. I truly hope that’s been thought of. It would be reassuring to know that the major’s been allocated some money to spend on this Grade II* listed Georgian gem.

Isn’t this a fine sight? This is the sign of one healthy river – and a river that flows right through a capital city. And this photo was taken in Greenwich – right by the King’s Steps on Greenwich beach.

Emma lives in East Greenwich and has the enviable job (well on a gorgeous day like today, anyway) of working for the Environment Agency as a Fisheries Officer, looking after the Tidal Thames, Ravensbourne, Quaggy and Pool.

Twice a year she and her pals at the EA get to carry out fish surveys at eight sites on the river – from Richmond in the west to Stanford-le-Hope (Essex) in the east.

She says “The data collected in these fish surveys helps us to understand the health of the river, which we need to report back to the EU. We survey the populations of fish using several different methods over the period that the tide turns at low water (known as slack water). Using several different methods means that we can survey as much of the river at that site as possible – a beam trawl is used to look at the deaper water, a seine net is used to survey the shallower margins and a kick net is used to look for tiny fish at the water’s edge.”

The fish are from their last year’s survery and are remarkable for the sheer variety of species. The one on the top of this post shows bream – which is a freshwater fish, and smelt, an esturine species.

And this:

…is a sea bass  (don’t tell the local restaurateurs, eh…) which is very definitely a marine species. The Thames has them all. Emma tells me that all these fish were caught in the same half hour period, “showing how valuable the intertidal foreshore area is in Greenwich for all kinds of fish”.

The last pic isn’t quite Greenwich but I couldn’t resist it. It’s a sight that Emma spotted, presumably whilst up to her thighs in water, in Brookmill Park near Deptford Bridge station. It’s on the wall of the DLR line where it comes up to the banks of the river Ravensbourne. “The river here was restored when the DLR wanted to use the concrete river channel as a place to lay the new line, so they built a new natural channel for the river to run in next to it, creating valuable new habitat for fish, birds such as kingishers and other wildlife” – and rarer mammals too, such as this RiverBanksy, which I adore as it really looks like it’s wading through undergrowth by the emasculated river. Truly an urban species…

Emma and her fishermans friends will be back in Greenwich on the 5th October to carry out their autumn survey. They’ll be by the naval college, at low tide which is around 1430. Emma says “We should be there from around 1400. Keep an eye out for us and our little silver Environment Agency boat, anyone is welcome to come and watch!”

Not quite Greenwich – but Stephen’s snap of these splendid chaps and the fact that, apparently, “Every visitor on boarding receives a salute” was enough for me to want to include these pics of Columbia’s naval flagship ship A.R.C. Gloria, currently sashaying for tourists, Columbian ex-pats and bigwigs alike over at South Quay West India Docks and forgive them for not actually stopping at Greenwich.

From the BBC News Story yesterday, the Columbian population of London are crazy to see their ship in London (I particularly liked the bit where the crew stand on the rigging in yellow, red and blue jerseys) and it’s quite an eyeful for the rest of us too.

Sadly she’s only in town ’til Friday.