Avery Hill Area

In South East London, part of Avery Hill falls into Greenwich, and some parts fall into Bexley. Located north of Sidcup in East London, it is east of Eltham. The area was thought to be named after an old aviary located here.

Built by John Thomas North, the nitrate trader in Chile who became wealthy with his salt nitrate landed estate, the Avery Hill House proudly stood in the last years before it burned down in 1825.

In 1903, the grounds were expanded for the creation of Avery Hill Park and the residence was acquired by the London County Council after North’s death in July 1902. Originally built in 1806 and incorporating three nearby buildings, North’s house was converted to a school in 1906. Upon its founding, the residential college quickly grew into the largest of LCC’s training colleges, and oversubscribed constantly; over the next half century it graduated over 15,000 teachers. Originally a college, Thames Polytechnic merged with the college in 1985, later renamed the University of Greenwich, located at Southwood.

The university predicted that it would vacate its current location in summer 2020. An academy for boys will open in 2022 at Harris Academy.

Winter Garden

Within the year’s largest Victorian greenhouse in the UK, the Temperate House, located at Kew Gardens, there is a winter garden. The garden consists of one of the largest and most expensive private gardens ever constructed. The Winter Garden was neglected in the early 21st century. A campaign was called to re-establish the Winter Garden and preserve the historical heritage of the Mansion, ensuring it would be accessible to the public. A neighbouring farmland of 68 acres was sold to the Crown for development in 1936. For the purpose of laying out a new set of streets, a different set of streets was laid out which replaced the old fields and woods. After World War II, the London County Council took over and built a school and flats, much to the dismay of some of the early residents. The GLC left the estate to the London Borough of Greenwich in 1980 as part of a last-phase development that included a nursery and retirement flats.

Check West Acton Area