North Woolwich is a portion of Woolwich parish, and part of the county of Kent, but lies on the north bank of the Thames and surrounded by and locally in the county of Essex, in the Eastern Metropolitan postal district, union and county district of Woolwich, rural deanery of Barking, archdeaconry of Essex and diocese of St Albans and within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court and Metropolitan Police. Here is a terminus of a branch line of the Great Eastern Railway and there is also a station at Beckton. Steamboats ply between North Woolwich and Woolwich (Kent) every few minutes in connection with the railway.
The place was formerly included in the ecclesiastical parish of St Mark, Victoria Docks, from which it was separated in February, 1873 [typo], and formed into a separate ecclesiastical parish. The church of St John the Evangelist was erected in 1872, at a cost of about £8,000, raised by voluntary contributions, is an edifice of brick and stone in the Decorated style, consisting of chancel and nave and turret containing one bell: a handsome stained window was erected in 1872 to the memory of the Rev J W Allington MA, 10 years mission curate of the parish, who died as vicar-general in Zululand: there are 800 sittings. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value about £300, with residence, in the gift of the Bishop of St Albans, and held since 1883 by the Rev Arthur Dalzell Piper BA of St Johns College, Cambridge
An iron mission church was erected at Beckton in 1883. There is a Primitive Methodist chapel and a police (inspector’s) station of the K division. The principal landowners are George Reid and J F French esqs, the North Woolwich Land Company, W F Henley esq, the War Office, London and St Katharine’s Dock Company, and The Gas Light and Coke Company, whose works at Beckton, covering an area of 40 acres, are partly in North Woolwich and partly in Barking. The area of this portion of the parish is about 400 acres, or one-third of the whole parish of Woolwich. The population in 1871 was 1,455; and in 1881, including vessels in harbour, 4,098.
The Woolwich Free Ferry was opened on 23 March 1889 by the 'London County Council' (L.C.C.). However all the planning and construction for the ferry was carried out by 'The Metropolitan Board of Works', but they were replaced by the LCC two days before the ferry service was opened. The 'Greater London Council'. (GLC) took control of the ferries after the abolition of the LCC on 31 March 1965. After the abolition of the GLC in 1986 the responsibility was taken over by Greenwich Council. Now Greenwich Council run the ferry on behalf of Transport for London (TfL)
The Woolwich ferry is a free service operating between Woolwich and North Woolwich, linking the north and south circular roads across the Thames.
The North Woolwich Pier became an important terminus for steamship services on the Thames. Passengers arriving by the river could land here and take a train into London from the nearby North Woolwich Station. Today the pier lies derelict and locked; its future is uncertain. The grimmest moment in the pier's history was in 1878, when the paddle steamer 'Princess Alice' was lost in Galleons Reach. North Woolwich was to have been her next stopping point. A large crowd gathered here to await news of their relatives and friends.Photos: Ayoub mzee
