Avery Hill is an area of South East London mainly within

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 ...

, and with some parts in the

London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley () is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Borou ...

. It is located east of

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards o ...

and north west of Sidcup. It is believed that the area is named after an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Avi ...

formerly located in the area.Willey, Russ. ''Chambers London Gazetter'', p 15-16.

Avery Hill House

Avery Hill House was a palatial dwelling built by John Thomas North who had made his fortune in the

sodium nitrate Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Chile saltpeter (large deposits of which were historically mined in Chile) to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate. ...

trade in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

.Whitehead, Maurice. ''History of Education Quarterly'' 31, no. 1 (1991): 144-46. Accessed 6 July 2020. doi:10.2307/368811. Se
online summary and excerpt
/ref> Following North's death the house was acquired by the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

in July 1902 and its grounds extended to create Avery Hill Park in 1903. In 1906 North's house became Avery Hill College of Education, later incorporating two neighbouring buildings. Within a year of its foundation, the residential college had become the largest of LCC's training colleges and was frequently oversubscribed; in 79 years it trained over 15,000 teachers. In 1985 the college merged with Thames Polytechnic, renamed the

University of Greenwich The University of Greenwich is a public university located in London and Kent, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with it ...

in 1993; the university also has extensive facilities at the nearby Southwood site. The university planned to move out of the Mansion site in summer 2020. A Harris Academy boys secondary school is planned to open in 2022.

Winter Garden

The house is notable for an indoor winter garden, the second largest Victorian glasshouse in the UK after Kew Gardens' Temperate House. It forms part of one of the most extensive and expensive garden arrangements ever constructed as part of a private house in England. In the early 21st century, the Winter Garden had fallen into neglect. A campaignSave Avery Hill campaign
/ref> aimed to restore the Winter Garden and protect the heritage of the Mansion, making it open to the public. University of Greenwich Student Union Building

University of Greenwich Student Union Building

Avery Hill Park

Avery Hill Park is a public park. Since 2010, the park has hosted a

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

on Saturdays.

Transport

Rail

The closest

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

stations to Avery Hill are Falconwood and

New Eltham New Eltham is an area of south east London, in the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bexley. It lies south east of Eltham and north west of Sidcup. History New Eltham is a largely residential suburb of Greater London developed on former farmla ...

Buses

Five bus routes serve Avery Hill, which are provided by Transport for London. * 132 to North Greenwich via

and to

Bexleyheath Bexleyheath is a town in south-east London, England. It had a population of 31,929 as at 2011. Bexleyheath is located south-east of Charing Cross, and forms part of the London Borough of Bexley. It is identified in the London Plan as one of ...

* 162 to

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

via

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

and to Eltham * 286 to

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 ...

via Eltham and to Sidcup * B13 to

and to

* B15 to

Horn Park Horn Park is an area of south east London south west of Eltham. It is located southeast of Charing Cross on the southwest edge of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and borders both the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Bromle ...

via Eltham and to Bexleyheath via

Welling Welling is an area of South East London, England, in the London Borough of Bexley, west of Bexleyheath, southeast of Woolwich and of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater London in 1965, it was in the historical county of Kent. E ...

Nearby areas

Avery Hill borders Falconwood to the north and north east,

Blackfen Blackfen is an area of south-east London, England, north of Sidcup in the London Borough of Bexley. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Kent. "Blackfen" means a black, marshy area. The soil is dark and fertile and the area around Blackfen R ...

to the east, Sidcup to the south east,

to the south and south west and

to the west and north west.

References

External links

Friends of Avery Hill ParkAvery Hill Winter GardenSave and renovate Avery Hill Winter Garden campaign
{{LB Greenwich Districts of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Areas of London Eltham