East Greenwich Pleasaunce is a public park in East

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, in south-east

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It is situated to the north side of the railway line between

Maze Hill Maze Hill is an area in Greenwich and Blackheath, in south-east London, lying to the east of Greenwich Park, and west of the Westcombe Park area of Blackheath. It is part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and takes its name from the main thorou ...

and

Westcombe Park Westcombe Park is a largely residential area in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is bounded by the main London-Dartford railway line to the north, the Blackwall Tunnel southern approach to the east, ...

railway stations and south of the A206 Woolwich Road. The park, opened in 1857, was originally the graveyard of Greenwich Hospital. Due to construction of a railway tunnel as part of the

London and Greenwich Railway The London and Greenwich Railway (L&GR) was opened in London between 1836 and 1838. It was the first steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first entirely elevated railway. Origins The idea for t ...

, the remains of around 3000 sailors and officers, including those who fought in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

and the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

were removed from the hospital site in 1875 and reinterred in the Pleasaunce (named after the former Royal

Palace of Placentia The Palace of Placentia, also known as Greenwich Palace, was an English royal residence that was initially built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in 1443. The palace was a pleasaunce; a place designed for pleasure, entertainment and an escape ...

or Palace of Pleasaunce). Greenwich Pleasaunce

Those buried in the Pleasaunce include: *Lieutenant James Berry (d.1930), Curator of the Royal Naval Museum for 17 years *John Booth (1781-1858). Born

Northowram Northowram () is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England that stands to the east of Halifax on the north side of Shibden valley. Southowram stands on the southern side of the valley. The village was documented in the 19th century a ...

, West Yorkshire. Served at the

as a Royal Marine in HMS ''Revenge''. In July 1852 became a Greenwich Hospital in-pensioner. * John Davidson (d. 31 January 1881), surgeon, Inspector-General of the Royal Navy, and Honorary Physician to Queen Victoria. *Sir John Liddell (d. 29 May 1868), Director-General of the Medical Department of the Royal Navy (1855-1864)Obituary: Sir John Liddell, KCB, MD, ''British Medical Journal'', 6 June 1868, p.574. *Anthony Sampayo, French Ambassador to England *James Shepherd (d.1907) for 18 years

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

's boatswain's mate on the Royal Yacht ''

HMY Victoria and Albert (1855) HMY ''Victoria and Albert'', a steamer launched on 16 January 1855, was a royal yacht of the sovereign of the United Kingdom until 1900, owned and operated by the Royal Navy. She displaced 2,390 tons, and could make on her paddles. There we ...

'' There are 19 Commonwealth naval personnel burials of the 1914-1918 war and two from the 1939-1945 war. In 1926 the Pleasaunce was sold to the

Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich The Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. It bordered the boroughs of Woolwich, Lewisham and Deptford and, across the River Thames, the borough of Poplar and the County Borou ...

, the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

reserving rights of further burials. Railings around the tombstones were removed and part of the ground was landscaped as a park. Today, the Pleasaunce has a small children's playground (installed in 2001), a community centre (The Bridge, formerly the under-5s One O'clock Club run by

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

), a cafeteria and a small war memorial.

References

External links

Friends of East Greenwich Pleasaunce
{{Cemeteries in London 1857 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Cemeteries in London Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in England