Greenwich Park

History of Greenwich Park and its Royal Connections

Using slides from the local history library and from my own collection we looked at how the area that is now Greenwich Park was occupied in prehistoric times and then was the site of a Roman temple during their occupation. The enclosure by Duke Humphrey was looked at and how the park became associated with royalty and the building of the palace by Henry VIII and its use by him and his family. The building of the Queen’s House for Queen Anne of Denmark and the use by her successors as well as the building of the Naval College were also examined with their royal connections. Outside the park the occupying of the Rangers House and other grand houses by members of the royal family were looked at as well as strange survivals such as Queen Caroline’s bath leading to associations up to the present day such as the visits by the Queen for the investiture of Sir Francis Chichester and the Jubilee walkabout. I ran this course at Greenwich Community College in January 1992 with a walk in the park with the students later that year.