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

DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR THE HISTORY OF THE SITEThe broader military presence in Woolwich has a long and established history of whichonly a brief resume will be provided in this report.This section draws on extensive background research undertaken by Susan Skedd andEmily Cole (2008) into the Rotunda’s history at Woolwich.The Royal Artillery in WoolwichThe establishment of the Royal Artillery in Woolwich was preceded by the RoyalDockyard, established in 1512 (Skedd 2008, 3), and the transfer to Woolwich of fireworkand munitions activities in the mid 17 th century. During Henry VIII’s reign the ordnanceand artillery activities which were to later become the Royal Arsenal were established ona site known as the Warren (Skedd 2008, 3) close to the river. The Royal Artillery wascreated by Royal Warrant in 1716 in order to provide to two companies of professionalartillerymen and thereby alleviating the problems and expenses of having to recruit andtrain gunners as and when conflict arose (Timbers 2008, 22). The training and educationof these soldiers then became an issue and in 1741 the Board of Ordnance formed amilitary academy in Woolwich (Timbers 2008, 25) based at the Warren. Howevertowards the end of the 18 th century, the expansion of the Board’s manufacturing activitieswas putting pressure on space at the Warren and plans were made to move the cadetssouth to the edge of the Common. This move instigated the construction of an arrayof new buildings, including the New Barracks, completed 1777, and the Royal MilitaryAcademy, built 1806 (Timbers 2008, 62).History of the Repository GroundsBefore the Royal Military RepositorySmall-scale maps from the mid-18 th century show that the area of the future RepositoryGrounds was on the eastern edge of a large woodland called Hanging Wood whichencompassed parts of Woolwich and Charlton parishes (e.g. Andrews, Drury andHerbert 1769). Immediately to the east of Hanging Wood were a cluster of buildings,identified on later maps (e.g. TNA:PRO MPHH 1/571) as Bowater’s Farm, located at thecross roads where Artillery Place and Repository Road now meet (Figure 3).The Board of Ordnance began to lease land from the Bowaters in or around 1773 buta map which may have been produced to accompany these transactions (TNA:PROMPH 1/562) shows the land where the barracks were later built, rather than the futureRepository Grounds to the east. Interestingly this map also shows Mulgrave Pond, withthe land between it and Mr Bowater’s Farm to the west being labelled ‘Part of the Park’.It seems more likely that one of two maps of the future Repository Grounds apparentlydating to or after 1788, one surveyed by Lt Peter Couture RE (Figure 3) and one by‘gentlemen cadets’ (TNA:PRO MPHH 1/571; TNA:PRO MPH 1/235), relate to the area’sacquisition by the Board of Ordnance particularly as the survey was undertaken by aRoyal Engineer, though the title ‘An Accurate Survey of the Ground adjoining to the© ENGLISH HERITAGE14 - 2009