John Passmore Edwards Web Site
Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich
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The present church
dates back to 1732 but there has been a church on this site since
400AD. Early drawings of the Woolwich church show a semaphore telegraph
on the church tower, by which messages were sent to ships on the river.
This was known to have continued in use at least until 1847 and the
church still retains a right to fly the red ensign. In 1894 the church was extended to add the present choir, sanctuary and Lady Chapel.The organ was installed in 1900 and the 8 bells date back to at least 1826 |
| A stained glass window was installed near the main door in remembrance of the 590 people who lost there lives in the Princess Alice disaster of 1878. The Princess Alice was a paddle steamer which whilst returning from a day trip to Southend on Sea was in collision with a collier, the Bywell Castle, a short distance down river from the Woolwich Ferry. The collier sliced the steamer in two, and it sank in a few minutes leaving the 700 passengers and crew to struggle for life in the polluted waters of the Thames. It was said that as many died from the pollution as from drowning and the disaster contributed to moves to start to clean up London's main artery. Another memorial, a plaque commemorating the life of Henry Maudslay, the engineer, who is buried in the church yard. His tomb was removed by the Maudslay Society. | |
| St Mary's, now part of a larger parish with St Michael and All Angels Church, Borgard Road, is an active church and a well used building, home to Youth Club, Folk Club and Senior Citizen's Club as well as an under 5's crèche and other community organisations such as the "Greenwich Community Safety Trust" and "Working with Words" an organisation that works with people with learning difficulties. | |
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© Dean Evans 2004
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September 18, 2004
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