Woolwich walking tour

Join Open City and local resident Rosamund Lily West to explore the municipal architecture of this most distinct of London’s districts, Woolwich

Woolwich was a major manufacturing centre with factories, a dockyard and the Royal Arsenal situated on the banks of the Thames. Alongside a strong and independent civic identity, Woolwich also maintained a significant military presence: a legacy that lives on in pub names and street names such as General Gordon Square as well as the Royal Artillery barracks and the presence of the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. Recently, Woolwich has seen a period of great change. One of Historic England’s Heritage Action Zones, Powis Street has been declared a conservation area.

The walk begins at the new Elizabeth Line station. Designed by Weston Williamson & Partners, it references the site’s armament manufacturing history and sits alongside listed buildings in Dial Arch Square, the home of the original Arsenal Football Club. The tour will visit key buildings around Woolwich’s main squares, Beresford Square and General Gordon Square. We will visit 20th century buildings showing the commercial history of Woolwich such as the former Woolwich covered market, completed in 1936, and Equitable House, headquarters of the Woolwich Equitable Building Society.