REVIEW OF BLACKHEATH IN SOUTH WEST GREENWICH

 

I have just received a copy of a new book, which is sort of by the late Neil Rhind - in that it is an edited work based on notes he left for a proposed book.

So who was Neil Rhind and why am I about to go on at length about this book? It has been produced by the Blackheath Society as a memorial. He was a local historian researching and writing about  Blackheath and its numerous residents over the years.  As he gathered more and more information he began to catalogue it and gradually published works based on it.  He described not only the area and its buildings in an enormous amount of detail but also wrote  about the people who had lived in them. He published many books and pamphlets but what stands out are his three encyclopaedic works on Blackheath

The Village and Blackheath Vale 1973

Wricklemarsh and the Cator Estate, Kidbrooke, Westcombe and the Angerstein encroachment. 1983

Blackheath in Lewisham Parish. Blackheath in Lee Parish. 2020

 

He  had done the notes for fourth volume which was to be about the outskirts of Greenwich and Blackheath but died before he’d even begun to put it together.  It is called ‘Blackheath in South West Greenwich’ defined, by Neil, as ‘Blackheath slopes’.  I must admit some reservations about that and I would define it as ’posh Greenwich’ – covering Crooms Hill, Gloucester Circus and the like. Over the past years my own historical research has taken me there often enough, so perhaps its ‘interesting old Greenwich’, and why not.

 

I first met Neil in 1969 when I moved to Greenwich and had a very short term job with Greenwich Theatre in its first few weeks.  Neil was working as a journalist and was in and out of theatre every day – doing write ups of this and that for them. I thought he was funny and a bit different from some other writers in the press.   Apparently 1969, that same year, was when he began his work on the social and architectural development of Blackheath.

 

As well as the research and the books he undertook a great of community activity in Blackheath. He  was president of the Blackheath Society and involved in Blackheath Preservation from the 1970s. He also worked closely with the Greenwich Society and was involved in many campaigns on buildings like Blackheath Concert Halls for instance, and the Blackheath Art Club. All of which I’ve written about and hopefully have given due credit for the work he did.  I understood that he disapproved of people like me, involved with the Council -  I was not really forgiven.  

 

He also achieved some honours when people began to realise how much he’d done and how hard he’d worked. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and an Honorary Fellow of Goldsmiths College and most of all a Freeman of the Borough of Greenwich.

 

The new book has been put together from his notes by John Coulter and Julian Watson. Julian was the Greenwich Local ‘History Librarian for many years - and he’s been a great support to me as I am sure he was to Neil. The type set, the layout and artwork and so on has been done by Rob Powell.

I know only too well the years of hard work an encyclopaedic book like this takes.  You start off with the local authority rate books which list out every property and every resident householder. They are only too difficult sometimes to read and only enlivened with small bits of scandal.  Basically they are just lists over and over, year after year of properties and residents.  There are often difficulties with trying to work out the relationship of what is in the rate books with what you find on the map. Half the time they seem to be in random order – I remember my desperation trying to sort out entries on the Peninsula riverside.   At least with the sort of streets which Neil dealt with there is usually some form of house numbering. In early 19^th century Greenwich the rate books must have been looked after by a parish official who I’ve come across several times and mentioned with his picture - John Bicknell.  I'm very grateful to Neil to see in the book the story of Bicknell’s mother, Sabrina; who was a young girl taken over two men who want to train her to become the perfect wife. She married somebody else in the end.

So congratulations for the sheer hard work of going through the rate books and then it’s on to the commercial directories and to correlate them with the rate books , and it might be all a bit boring –but there’s going to be an awful lot of it to do. Of course these days you're going to find big websites full of family history information = far more than you could ever want.

I ought to make a few comments about the contents of the book -which is absolutely fine. I am likely to make fussy and pernickety comments  about issues of no interest to the general reader. One thing is that I’m extremely unsure why this book – which is actually about Greenwich  - claims to be about Blackheath. It goes right the way down to Gloucester Circus which is down the hill and not really on the slopes of anything.  Also the book does not really take on the various caverns and chalk extraction sites which that area is well known for. Although of course other people have taken this on in detail.

There are several entries here which relate to varis people or issues I consulted him  about and  I’m a bit surprised that some of details are not included. For example William Joyce in Diamond Terrace where he’s noted Joyce’s father, Jeremiah, but failed to say that William was a ship builder who built the first iron steam ship in Greenwich. Neil also gave me a lot of information about Joyce’s Diamond Terrace house, his tenure there and other details, none of which is included in the book - which I think is a great pity.

Another strange omission is where he has listed a father and son with just names and no information. Both are in DNB which he has noted and the son well known to most Greenwich historians for achievements also  not noted.  Why not?  I had consulted Neil about this family several times because among other things I thought they had a different earlier address but also issues around  schools, neighbours and so on. I know therefore that he knew a lot about them – so why only single line entries here?

But this is all very trivial stuff and I don’t want anybody to think that I’m criticising the book overall. Nothing’s ever perfect and there is so much more here which really is very very good

It isn’t the sort of book you sit down with and have a good read. It’s more book of reference or at least it will be for many  people.  I mean, nerds like me will read our way through it and criticise it as too short. But for almost everyone will be a very very interesting book to look at  and enjoy.

It makes an important contribution to the history of Greenwich – and note I say Greenwich here. Like everyone involved I want to say good things about Neil and his work and his dedication.  So thank you for this work – and for help and support over the years.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to advertise in Weekender but the book will be available for purchase in Blackheath at the Bookshop on the Heath, Waterstones, and at future Blackheath Society events.  It costs £25

I have written this review at super fast speed.  I got my first look at the book late yesterday – worked all evening and have woken up after the time I promised to send it to Weekender. I hope this all makes sense and also explains why I think this book is so important and that learning about the historians is almost as important as the history.