This area is located in the south eastern Borough of Greenwich, and is sandwiched between East Wickham and Woolwich. The area boasts ample green space, including Swingate Lane Playing Field, William Barefoot Gardens, Shrewsbury Park, Plumstead Common, Winn’s Common, and Slade Ravine. The neighbourhood has three schools within its boundary, and many more surrounding it, making it a great place for families. There are a variety of Caribbean and Asian restaurants in the locality, and even more dining options up in Woolwich. This wide-spread neighbourhood is a great place for those with children and professionals who want a break from the busy nature of central London.

In the 18th century, the area was very rural, and villas and terraced housing only began to appear on Plumstead Common Road in the 1840s. However, the neighbourhood retained some of its rural features, with many of the residents owning livestock, which they let graze on common. However, the landowners, Queen’s College, Oxford, began to enclose some of the land, much to the objection of the residents. The situation worsened in 1871 when the college granted the army permission to use the common as a training ground, and the right of public access was withdrawn. When the leader of a protest march was imprisoned, commoners rioted to secure his release. Six years later, the Metropolitan Board of Works was able to purchase the common and secure it for public recreation.

The Pashupatinath Mandir and Nepali community centre located in this neighbourhood was Europe’s first Shiva temple when it opened in 2007.

Woolwich Old Cemetery is the burial place for 120 people lost in the Princess Alice disaster on the River Thames that occurred in September 1878, when the pleasure steamer was struck by a steamer.

Also, it may interest you to know that the Slade Ravine is an ancient valley that was formed at the end of the last Ice Age when the melting glaciers formed rushing rivers.

One of the downsides of this neighbourhood area is that transportation into central London can be a bit tricky depending on your location. The nearest railway station is roughly a 20-minute walk away; it does however have the Thameslink and Southeastern lines.

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. The 5,000 new homes promised by the Royal Arsenal Riverside development, as well as the 800 new homes included in the Woolwich Exchange in the west of this neighbourhood, are two of the foremost examples of this new interest.