Thamesmead

Thamesmead is a suburb in east London in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It is situated 10.6mi east of Charing Cross, and includes a group of disparate developments, mainly social housing, built from the mid-1960s onwards, mostly on former marshland on the south bank of the River Thames, between the established towns of Woolwich and Belvedere. Originally planned to have 60,000-100,000 residents, it is now estimated to be on target for a final population of around 50,000.HistoryMilitary useMost of the land area of Thamesmead previously formed about 1000acre of the old Royal Arsenal site that extended over Plumstead Marshes and Erith Marshes. There is some evidence of prehistoric human occupation of the area: flints, animal bones and charcoal were found in bore holes around Western and Central Way in 1997 by the Museum of London Archaeological Service (MOLAS). In Roman times, the river level was significantly lower, and work by MOLAS in 1997 around Summerton Way revealed evidence of field ditches and pottery and quernstones from Germany dating from around the 3rd or 4th century. After the Roman era, river levels rose again and the area reverted to marshland. According to Hasted, some areas of this marshland were drained by 1279 by the monks of Lesnes Abbey.