REPOSITORy wOODS, wOOlwICH, gREATER ... - English Heritage

INTRODUCTIONBackground to projectIn January to April 2008 English Heritage’s Archaeological Survey and Investigation teamundertook a detailed archaeological survey of an early 19 th -century training fortificationand the nearby training grounds, known as Repository Woods, which were bothoriginally part of the Royal Military Repository, Woolwich. This was undertaken as partof a wider study of the open spaces of Woolwich which will be incorporated into theSurvey of London’s forthcoming volume on the parish. The work also complementsextensive architectural and historical research undertaken by English Heritage (Cole etal 2009) into the Woolwich Rotunda, which was moved from Carlton House to its siteat the eastern side of Repository Woods in 1818. The departure in 2007 of the RoyalArtillery from Woolwich after nearly 300 years also provided a suitable opportunity toundertake the survey before the new occupiers arrived and any potential changes of useoccurred.Woolwich is located 10km south-east of central London, to the south of the RiverThames. Repository Woods and the training fortification earthwork are situated onthe western side of Woolwich parish on its boundary with Charlton, to the west ofWoolwich Barracks and at the north-west corner of Woolwich Common (Figure 1).Repository Woods is an area of deciduous woodland. Its eastern boundary is definedby the earthwork remains of the training fortification. To the south is the Napier Linecompound, now occupied by units of the household division, but formerly the site ofthe Royal Military Repository buildings. The northern side of the woodland is boundedby Hillreach road which becomes Little Heath as it heads west. The western boundaryis marked by housing and to the south by Charlton Cemetery. The boundary betweenWoolwich and Charlton parishes runs down the western side of the woodland.The aim of the project was to provide an accurate plan of the archaeological featureswithin Repository Woods, and of the training fortification to the east, in order to assessthe survival of features related to the 19 th and 20 th century training activities in the area(Figure 35). As well as contributing to the Survey of London's research, this informationwill allow better understanding and future management of the Repository Grounds andof the landscape context of the grade II* listed Rotunda building. The survey involvedundertaking a detailed measured survey of the all the earthworks and structures withinRepository Woods, as well as of the training fortification earthwork, at 1:1000 scale usingelectronic techniques (see Methodology). The Rotunda compound was not surveyed.The site is currently occupied by the Ministry of Defence and there is no public access toRepository Woods, though the training fortification is visible from the public highway tothe east.The training fortification has sometimes been known as the ‘Napier Line’ but the authorshave not found any historical evidence for the term.© ENGLISH HERITAGE14 - 2009