In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Plumstead like this:
PLUMSTEAD, a suburban town, a parish, and a sub-district, in Lewisham district, Kent. The town issuburban to Woolwich on the E; stands on the North Kent railway, near the river Thames, 10 miles E by S of St. Paul's, London; was once a market-town; and has a station with telegraph on the railway, a post-office‡ in Sussex-place under London S E, and receiving post-offices in Agues-place and Burrage-Town. ...
The parish comprises 3, 71 8 acres of land, and 344 of water. Real property, £47, 403. Pop. in 1851, 8, 373; in 1861, 24, 502. Houses, 3, 195. The increase of pop. arose chiefly fromcontiguity to Woolwich, and from large extension thereof government employment. The manor was given, in960, by King Edgar, to Canterbury abbey; went, for atime, to Earl Godwin's son Tostan, and to Bishop Odo; passed, in the time of Henry VIII., to the Boughtons; and was given, in 1736, to Queen's College, Oxford. Lesnes or Lessness abbey estate, with interesting ruins1½ mile E of the parish church, belongs to Christ's hospital, London. Burrage-Town estate, forming the Wsection of the parish, belongs to the Pattison family. Genteel residences and elegant villas are very numerous. A committee was formed in Aug. 1866 to test the rightover Plumstead common. The S portions of the parishare hilly, and have good views; but the N portions arechiefly marsh. Shooter's Hill is in the same range as Plumstead common. About 2,000 acres of the Plumstead and Erith marshes were inundated in the time of Henry VIII., and were not recovered till the time of James I. Powder magazines are on the P. marshes; brickfields, tile-kilns, sand-pits, and chalk-pits, arenear P. common; market-gardening is carried on; and sugar moulds are made. The living is a vicarage, united with Arsenal chapel, in the diocese of London. Value, £873.* Patron, the Rev. J. A. M' Allister. The p. curacy of St. Nicholas is a separate benefice, of the value of £300, in the patronage of the Vicar. St. James' chapel, on the Burrage-Town estate, forms another charge, and is in the patronage of Mr. Pattison. St. Margaret'schurch, on P. common, is a recent and handsome edifice. St. Nicholas' church is an old building, and has beenmuch improved. St. James' chapel is neat and modern. There are also neat and commodious dissenting chapels, national schools, and charities £106. The sub-district includes also Charlton-next-Woolwich parish, and comprises 5,057 acres. Pop., 32, 974. Houses, 4, 312.
Plumstead through time
Plumstead is now part of Greenwich district. Click here for graphs and data of how Greenwich has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Plumstead itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Plumstead, in Greenwich and Kent | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/6317
Date accessed: 16th April 2024
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