Wickham Lane, SE18

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Plumstead

The eastern end of the site of the former Royal Arsenal forms Plumstead’s northern boundary.

It means ’place where the plum trees grew’ and was first recorded around 970 as ’Plumstede’.

For most of its history, the village was of little consequence.

Plumstead station opened in 1859. The Herbert estate was laid out north of Shooters Hill. To the south of the railway, Burrage Road was laid out and the first terraces of ’Burrage Town’ were built on Sandy Hill Road.

Plumstead expanded rapidly in the 1880s with housing developed for Arsenal workers, two-up two-down terraced housing was common in the area close to the river.

The downsizing of Woolwich Arsenal after the First World War brought a decline to Plumstead.

After the Second World War council projects transformed the western side of Plumstead. The largest of these was the Glyndon estate, with almost 2,000 dwellings, which was begun in 1959 and completed in 1981.