A walk through Woolwich Common will make you feel like you’re much further from the hustle and bustle of Central London than you actually are. With Woolwich Arsenal DLR and Elizabeth Line station’s just over ten minutes walk away, this area is a great neighbourhood for families looking for affordable homes and more green space. Whilst much of the current available housing in the area is made up of post-war blocks of flats, there are new developments on the way. Those who currently live here find the area to be quiet, but still full of recreational opportunities. On a typical weekend, residents can be found going for a dip at Charlton Lido, meeting for a Sunday roast at local favourite Fox Under the Hill, or just spending time with family in Barrack Field park. With its modest suburban feel, and historical heritage as a Royal Artillery training site, the neighbourhood is definitely an interesting pocket of Greenwich.

Some refer to this area as Woolwich Common for the large park that sits in its centre. Woolwich Common dates back to the 18th century when it was used by the military for training. Eventually, the area was enclosed and the Royal Artillery Academy was constructed nearby. Shortly after, in 1819, a rotunda designed by architect John Nash for St. James Park, was moved to the common. The rotunda has since been turned into a museum that contains gun collections. While the Academy is no longer based there, the land is still a designated military training area.

In 2012, this neighbourhood hosted the shooting competitions at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The events took place at the Royal Artillery Barracks that sit just north of Barrack Field.

The main field of Woolwich Common suffered from a terrible fire in the summer of 2018. The park had served most recently as an encampment for a community of Travellers, and due to a piling up of unsafe rubbish, a fire broke out. Whilst this was a terrible event for the area, it has fortunately brought much needed focus to the issue of negligence of the space. In response to the fire, the community members have now been able to more easily pressure the Ministry of Defence to rethink the way they oversee the space.

The biggest change impacting this area has been the completion of the Elizabeth Line and the opening of Woolwich underground station just under 15 minutes walk from this neighbourhood. This formerly isolated part of South East London now has trains running to Canary Wharf in under five minutes as well as to central London and Heathrow. This is expected to bring a wave of new development in the coming years, although most of it is planned on the Woolwich side of the neighbourhood. One such example, The Academy, is converting the Royal Military Academy into flats, while still maintaining the building’s Grade II listed status. Additionally, there are plans in place to convert the area around the academy into a lively arts district, with a theatre, outdoor courtyard, and museums.