a town, dockyard, and great national arsenal, in Kent, on the river Thames, is 9 miles from London by water, and 8 miles by road. The North Kent railway passes through the town, and has two stations, about one mile apart, in connection with the royal dockyard and the arsenal. Population in 1851, 22,534. The town is dirty, irregularly built, and without any houses of architectural pretensions. Its streets are mostly composed of mean-looking houses and shops, stretching along the river bank, and rising a little towards the south, where the ascent is crowned by the royal artillery barracks. Here, in 1618, was born Richard Lovelace, the cavalier poet, at the house of his father, Sir William Lovelace, but its site is now forgotten. The parish church, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, was rebuilt in 1740. St John's church was erected in 1840. Trinity Church, and St Thomas's, near Charlton, are recent erections.
Woolwich owes its importance to its dockyard and its arsenal. Its name indicates, it is said, "the settlement," or "home on the creek" (hutniz), and its growth dates from the reign of Henry VIII., whose great ship, the "Henry Grace a Dieu," was burnt here in 1553. "The Sovereign of the Seas," which Fuller pronounces "a liege ship of state," and "the greatest our island ever saw," was built in "the mother dockyard of England" in 1637, by Mr Peter Pett. She mounted 100 guns, was richly carved and decorated, and from the notable part she played in Worcester their great naval defeats, was called by the Dutch the "golden devil." There are here two dry-docks of great size; a basin, 400 feet by 300; an iron shed, over No. 5 slip, erected in 1857, which consists of a centre 261 feet by 82, and two side-spans, each 232 feet by 32. Some of our finest men-of-war have been launched from this dockyard, whose various sheds and buildings extend nearly half a mile along the river bank.
The arsenal was established in 1716. Previous to that date a royal foundry for casting brass cannon had existed in Moorfields. In that year some cannon taken from the French were ordered to be re-cast, and numerous officers and persons of distinction assembled to witness the process. Among them was a German named Schalch, whose experienced eye noticed a moisture in the moulds which the workmen had overlooked. He warned the master-general that an explosion would take place, and when his warning was disregarded, left the foundry. His prediction was fulfilled, and the government immediately advertised for the prophet. He was found, and the superintendence of a new factory, which at his instigation was established at Woolwich, was placed in his hands. The buildings were designed by Vanbrugh. The Armstrong guns are now manufactured or at least completed here. The laboratory is an important department. One of the three furnaces in the foundry will absorb 19 tons of metal. In the carriage factories, sawing, planing, turning, and dove-tailing are done by machinery, and the various portions are put together by hydraulic power.
Woolwich Common is covered with buildings of national importance. The rotunda is a tall, tent-like edifice, crowded with military curiosities, with models or specimens of every kind of cannon, mortar, bomb, musket, rifle, matchlock, and arquebus. The Royal Military Academy was built in 1805, at a cost of L150,000, from Sir Jeffrey Wyatville's designs. It usually contains about 200 cadets. The hall is a handsome and well proportioned chamber.
The Royal Artillery Barracks (for horse and foot) can accommodate nearly 4000 men. The front is 1200 feet in length, and the parade nearly 1 mile. Five remarkable pieces of ordnance are stationed here; the central piece, an immense brass gun, was captured at Bhurtpore.
Between Woolwich and Plumstead lies the practice range, where important experiments in the improvement of artillery are carried on, under the direction of a select committee; and on the borders of the parish, near Charlton, stands the small but important building of the Compass Observatory, where the compasses used in her Majesty's ships are duly examined and regulated.
North Woolwich is on the opposite bank of the river, and communicates with London by a branch of the Eastern Counties Railway. That portion of the river which lies between Charlton Stairs and Woolwich Arsenal is called Woolwich Reach, and is navigable for vessels of any burden.
(W.H.D.A.)