The Graduate PH

The London Fire Brigade has served an Enforcement Notice on Mr Andrew Dillon the occupier of The Graduate PH, 107-109 Blackheath Road, London, SE10 8PD. The notice lists a number of matters including :

• Failure to provide a suitable method of giving warning in case of fire.
• Failure to provide adequate means for fire fighting.
• Failure to ensure that emergency routes and exits are adequately lit.

as well as various management failings. Mr Dillon has until 9th August 2012 to comply with the requirements set out in the notice.

There has been a pub on the site for at least 170 years, but the present building is late Victorian. It was originally the Coach and Horses. Greenwich Council include it on their 'Local List' of Buildings of Local Architectural or Historic Interest where it is described as:

107, ‘The Coach and Horses’ P.H. A fine example of late-Victorian Public House design. Part 3, part 4-storey building in red brick with stone dressings and Dutch gable dormer. Somewhat similar to, and forms pair with, the ‘George and Dragon’ P.H., Blackheath Hill, opposite. (Also Locally Listed).

It is, even by the standards of Victorian Pubs, a very large and imposing building and maintaining it, is I suspect an onerous task. I cannot be absolutely certain, but I think that the present building dates from c1890 when William Brewster was the owner and licensee. Brewster took over the old pub at 109 Blackheath Road in about 1880, but died at 107 - 109 in 1995.

William Brewster was born 1843 in Bury St Edmunds, his father Henry had been the landlord of the Three Bulls PH in the Meat Market, before moving to the Old Angel PH in College St (both in Bury St Edmunds) around the time William was born. By the time William was eight, Henry had moved out to Wickhambrook where he ran the Crown Inn, Malting End, but by William's eighteenth Henry was back in Bury St Edmunds itself running the Three Goats' Heads in Guildhall Street. Henry's last pub was the Woolpack in Fornham St Martin where he died in 1872. Henry's mother Mary Ann took on the license until her death in 1877, when William's younger brother Harry took over.

William had left Suffolk around the time of his father's death marrying Matilda Newell in Lambeth in 1873. Matilda, the daughter of Fornham Farmer (and former publican of the Butchers Arms PH Cemetery Road, Bury St Edmunds) Henry Newell.

William and Matilda ran a pub in Park Road, Camberwell. Their firstborn Thirza Matilda died in infancy, but Lillian Maud b1877, Sidney John b1881 and James Harry b1882 all survived them. Matilda died in 1882, presumably either in childbirth or from resulting complications.

Matilda's older sister Ellen came down from Bury St Edmunds to look after her niece and nephews, but it appears that she looked after her brother-in-law as well because within a few months she was pregnant. William and Ellen married on 7 Dec 1882 in Wood Green and their daughter Matilda May was born the following spring. A son Charles was born in 1887.

Up until 1890 the electoral registers show a voter resident at 107, Blackheath Road, but he is not on the 1891 register. The 1891 census taken on 5 April that year described William, Ellen and the children as being at 107-109. It may not be conclusive proof that the present building dates from around 1890, but it is a reasonable conclusion. The left hand side of the pub continues the building line of the adjacent terrace, but the previous 107 may have been wider.
After William's death Ellen and the children moved to 178 Lewisham Road, where she lived until her death in 1924.

Greenwich: Areas of High Archaeological Potential

The Royal Borough of Greenwich have commenced another planning consultation on Areas of High Archaeological Potential (AHAPs). Largely uncontroversial the document does need a certain amount of time and thought. A brief look reveals a number of typographical errors and minor historical inaccuracies, which in the context of individual planning applications could have deleterious effects. There are individual maps of each AHAP so the file is a chunky 27mB to download.

In order to comment online you will have to register, but the document can be downloaded without registration. The consultation closes at 11.49am (odd, but that is what it says) on Wednesday 18 April 2012.

All of Deptford that lies within Greenwich's boundaries is classified as 'Greenwich AHAP No 1 Deptford'.

The document has been produced by English Heritage and was submitted to Greenwich Council for consideration and possible adoption as part of the evidence base to support the planning policies in the Council’s Core Strategy.

There are presently 30 areas of AHAPs within the borough with the proposal that two are deleted and three new areas are created representing a total of 1719.35 hectares or 34% of the borough.

1 Deptford 32.69 hectares
2 Greenwich Town 50.73
3 Lower Creekside 16.78
4 Royal Greenwich 123.24
5 Greenwich Peninsula & Foreshore 438.89
6 Routeway Corridor 65.54
7 Shooters Hill Settlement 26.35
8 Royal Eltham 48.41
9 Eltham Park Estate 15.17
10 Eltham Lodge, Royal Blackheath Golf Course & Fairy Hill 45.37
11 Lower Belmont 2.28
12 Coldharbour Farm, Eltham 1.04
13 St Nicholas Church, Kidbrooke 1.1
14 Wricklemarsh Estate & Blackheath 20.7
15 Well Hall Pleasaunce 5.65
16 Horn Park 0.8
17 Chalton House 8.05
18 Cox’s Mount & Maryon Park 15.52
19 Pott Houses Triangle 0.77
20 West Plumstead Pottery 0.56
21 Macoma Pottery 2.51
22 Civic Core 4.68
23 Woolwich Dockyard 69.8
24 Old Woolwich 28.32
25 Royal Arsenal West 41.12
26 Royal Arsenal East 527.76
27 Plumstead High Street 19.13
28 Wickham Lane 43.79
29 Barrack Field (new area) 14.67
30 Rotunda and Repository Wood (new area) 18.4
31 Shrewsbury House (new area) 29.52
A River Shutte (proposed deletion)
B Middle Park (proposed deletion)

Charlton Riverside Masterplan

The Royal Borough of Greenwich are consulting on a draft Supplementary Planning Document called the Charlton Riverside Masterplan. Consultation closes at 9.00am Friday morning 9 March 2012.

The proposed policy threatens employment and in that it seeks to reduce the use of the riverside to land aggregates it would lead to a vast increase in the number of lorries on London's Roads including the A2 New Cross Road and A200 Evelyn Street. In order to comment you will need to register which will take 5 - 10 minutes, depending on how used you are to filling in online forms. The quality of what you say is more important than the quantity, but do not worry if you are unfamiliar with the planning system. However, positive comments about emphasizing employment work far more effectively than rants about losing jobs. Witty or sarcastic remarks tend to look pretty lame six months or a year down the road when reproduced in a report to a council committee. If all you want to say is that Greenwich should concentrate on employment then that is all you need to say.

I shall amongst other things be submitting that the masterplan should:
1. Place a greater emphasis on employment, in accordance with London Plan Targets.
2. Show proper regard to Safeguarded Wharves policy as set out in both the London Plan and the draft National Planning Policy Framework.
3. Be in accordance with the Borough's Core Strategy, which is yet to be finalised.
4. Be produced in an easy to use and print format (i.e. A4 portrait)

There are similar documents, in various shapes and sizes, regarding:
Greenwich Penisular West
Woolwich Town Centre
& Eltham Town Centre
As with Charlton comments have to be submitted by 9.00am Friday

I will comment on all three, if only to make the easy to use and print point.