Grew up in long lost Oliver Street. Had the privilege of being rejected by MacDonalds in Woolwich for a Saturday job because "I wasn't doing enough A Levels!"
I worked in Woolwich, at the Woolwich Building Society Head Office in General Gordon Square. I was there about 3 years. That’s over 40 years ago, it was pwoper South London then. No it’s like South Mogadishu….
I also worked for the Woolwich Equitable Building Society for a few years during the 1970s ..... first at Bexleyheath and then at the Head Office opposite Woolwich Arsenal Station.
Woolwich was pretty rough in those days, but always used the market in Beresford Square.
Did a pub crawl from there up to Plumstead a couple of weekends ago, how the Gun Pit is still there I’ve no idea. Barman who looked like he’d just finished shooting up in the toilets told us as we came in they had nothing at all on draft and pulled out a load of bottles of Corona, we sat down and starting drinking them, a bird came ordered a pint of Fosters which he then starting pouring from the now magically working beer pumps.
Honestly mate I wouldn't even bother, it's an absolute dive.
I loved growing up in Woolwich/Thamesmead/Abbey Wood. Unfortunately they're all just holes now.
Every time I go to Woolwich I feel it's lost its character completely, especially at night where it feels like a ghost town at times.
No night life, the market isn't like it used to be, no nice sit down restaurants on the high street (can't think of one) and of course, like most run down towns in London, it's not safe at times.
I visited my mate in West Malling last night and even on a Monday night walking about, it looked lovelt on the street, I just looked around and thought, if it wasn't for Charlton and work, I doubt I'd set foot in London anymore.
The demise of Woolwich town centre?. It was never a place of beauty, at least in the early 60s and through to the 90s, but it had a certain charm and honesty about it, the RACS, the market and covered market, The rather dated Cuffs, and Garrets, that I worked at with a pal from Bloomfield school, delivering carpets, often going across the Ferry, which the approach road had some notable greasy spoon cafe's, with 'Parade type pin' ups on the walls.
It had a decent set of shops, Taylors: John Colliers.... certainly the "window to watch' as they used to claim in their advertisements, and you could listen to LP's in the RACS record department, where I bought 'Electric Ladyland',which was sold to me in a brown bag, I still have the LP, still my favourite album of all time.
I daily passed through Woolwich after going through it on a 53 bus twice a day to school from Charlton, and in later days had a 'couple of fags' upstairs, with fellow 5th and sixth formers, eyeing up the girls from King's Warren school, some of whom lived in and around Charlton.
You could almost feel the decline in Woolwich, in the late 60's and despite visiting the Pictures on a Saturday night, and going for drink with the older lads from Springfield, I really went there, as the cloth shops, shoe shops closed, and the excellent 'Sam's where I bought an RAF great coat, as I endorsed the more art school look, of grandad shirts, longer hair, and less of the Ben Sherman, and Levi look of the era.
Worked at Morgan Grampian on the doctors newspaper called Pulse, but missed London, and the excitement of the Westend in the early 80s, so left as a better job came up, the decline of the buildings in both Powis street was in decline, and the closure of the RAC's on both sides of the street, was very poignant as my Grandmother had worked there when it first opened, and remember going there one Christmas for a meal in the restaurant, just before it closed, with its plastic co-op money ,as well as light metal coin's. it's days had sadly come to an end.
I came back to Morgan Grampian as a design consultant, in and around the early 90's and rarely went out, besides parking the car in the council estate the back of the Woolwich Odeon, the fear of having your car broken into, and having your radio nicked seemed a daily occurrence apparently, but I never had any issues on the estate. Think the car park closed down, and Sainsbury's was built? yes.....
Woolwich had a good Ford dealership, Stormont's, but like quite a few in the south east it also disappeared.
When I had to do jury service at Belmarsh, I did go to one of the last days of the covered market, and shops like Alpat and the camera shop also had gone, to be replaced by chicken shops, and money transfer shops, the covered market seemed to deal in dodgy poor fakes, how the council allowed such 'toot' was a disgrace.
When Marks also left as well as the Woolwich, and the closure of MG, or Miller Freeman as it became, for me like many others became a low tide mark. I guess in recent times it must be very difficult to compete as 'retailer' as the internet and delivery services take out the need to go to the shops, as well as Blue water, for what was once the more well off.
I have in the past been critical of Woolwich, because it was part of the culture of my early life, I blame most of it on the Council, its anti car policy, or at least parking, with traffic wardens lurking around most street corners in the early 70s who had the cheek to park in the town centre.
I am probably being sentimental, but Woolwich was a decent working class shopping area, with good transport links, sadly missing in so many local areas. But it was alway's lively in the evening's!. And the bands at the Woolwich Poly were both excellent and inexpensive, but that was a long time ago........
Earl of Chatham used to be ok for a pint in the 90s. There was an army surplus store on the square just down from the wimpy on the corner, great if you need new trousers. The Mitre not bad but further out by the ferry. the cinema was close by. Last film I saw there was either Natural Born Killers or the Lion King...
Comments
Born there 1965 . Think it shut in 80”s
It must have been about 50 years ago, as I was about 18 or 19 back then.
There was quite a bit of publicity at the time that an American company was opening up here.
So us lads wanted to go and try it out.
Up to then, we'd always gone to the Wimpy Bar in Welling.
Woolwich was pretty rough in those days, but always used the market in Beresford Square.
I loved growing up in Woolwich/Thamesmead/Abbey Wood. Unfortunately they're all just holes now.
Every time I go to Woolwich I feel it's lost its character completely, especially at night where it feels like a ghost town at times.
No night life, the market isn't like it used to be, no nice sit down restaurants on the high street (can't think of one) and of course, like most run down towns in London, it's not safe at times.
I visited my mate in West Malling last night and even on a Monday night walking about, it looked lovelt on the street, I just looked around and thought, if it wasn't for Charlton and work, I doubt I'd set foot in London anymore.
Good luck though and have a good time 😂
It was never a place of beauty, at least in the early 60s and through to the 90s, but it had a certain charm and honesty about it, the RACS, the market and covered market, The rather dated Cuffs, and Garrets, that I worked at with a pal from Bloomfield school, delivering carpets, often going across the Ferry, which the approach road had some notable greasy spoon cafe's, with 'Parade type pin' ups on the walls.
It had a decent set of shops, Taylors: John Colliers.... certainly the "window to watch' as they used to claim in their advertisements, and you could listen to LP's in the RACS record department, where I bought 'Electric Ladyland',which was sold to me in a brown bag, I still have the LP, still my favourite album of all time.
I daily passed through Woolwich after going through it on a 53 bus twice a day to school from Charlton, and in later days had a 'couple of fags' upstairs, with fellow 5th and sixth formers, eyeing up the girls from King's Warren school, some of whom lived in and around Charlton.
You could almost feel the decline in Woolwich, in the late 60's and despite visiting the Pictures on a Saturday night, and going for drink with the older lads from Springfield, I really went there, as the cloth shops, shoe shops closed, and the excellent 'Sam's where I bought an RAF great coat, as I endorsed the more art school look, of grandad shirts, longer hair, and less of the Ben Sherman, and Levi look of the era.
Worked at Morgan Grampian on the doctors newspaper called Pulse, but missed London, and the excitement of the Westend in the early 80s, so left as a better job came up, the decline of the buildings in both Powis street was in decline, and the closure of the RAC's on both sides of the street, was very poignant as my Grandmother had worked there when it first opened, and remember going there one Christmas for a meal in the restaurant, just before it closed, with its plastic co-op money ,as well as light metal coin's. it's days had sadly come to an end.
I came back to Morgan Grampian as a design consultant, in and around the early 90's and rarely went out, besides parking the car in the council estate the back of the Woolwich Odeon, the fear of having your car broken into, and having your radio nicked seemed a daily occurrence apparently, but I never had any issues on the estate. Think the car park closed down, and Sainsbury's was built? yes.....
Woolwich had a good Ford dealership, Stormont's, but like quite a few in the south east it also disappeared.
When I had to do jury service at Belmarsh, I did go to one of the last days of the covered market, and shops like Alpat and the camera shop also had gone, to be replaced by chicken shops, and money transfer shops, the covered market seemed to deal in dodgy poor fakes, how the council allowed such 'toot' was a disgrace.
When Marks also left as well as the Woolwich, and the closure of MG, or Miller Freeman as it became, for me like many others became a low tide mark. I guess in recent times it must be very difficult to compete as 'retailer' as the internet and delivery services take out the need to go to the shops, as well as Blue water, for what was once the more well off.
I have in the past been critical of Woolwich, because it was part of the culture of my early life, I blame most of it on the Council, its anti car policy, or at least parking, with traffic wardens lurking around most street corners in the early 70s who had the cheek to park in the town centre.
I am probably being sentimental, but Woolwich was a decent working class shopping area, with good transport links, sadly missing in so many local areas. But it was alway's lively in the evening's!.
And the bands at the Woolwich Poly were both excellent and inexpensive, but that was a long time ago........
There is only one Woolwich thread!
£13.20 for two pints of Estrella in the Guardhouse tonight.