Repository Woods is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

woodland area to the west of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Woolwich Garrison Woolwich Garrison (now referred to as Woolwich Station) is a garrison or Military base, station of the British Army. Geographically it is in Woolwich, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. In terms of command, it is within the Army's London Distri ...

in the

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

in southeast London. Initially created for pleasure use in the early 19th century, it was later used for military training, and is designated at

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

as the UK's earliest known purpose-built military training landscape. Its features include training and practice earthworks, a stream and man-made lake and terraces. A

Rotunda A rotunda () is any roofed building with a circular ground plan, and sometimes covered by a dome. It may also refer to a round room within a building (an example being the one below the dome of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.). ...

, designed by John Nash in 1814, is nearby.

Features

The woods are in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

on the boundary between Woolwich and Charlton parishes, north of

Woolwich Common Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land (less than 40%) and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is al ...

, Charlton Cemetery and the Napier Lines army depot, and south of Hillreach, a stretch of the B210 road between Woolwich and Charlton. The woodlands are enclosed by fences and brick walls (parts of which are Grade II listed). The Rotunda is east of the woodlands. Two buildings sit within Repository Woods: a

respirator A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including lead, lead fumes, vapors, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories o ...

training room (a rectangular brick-built building with a slate roof), and a building associated with a

rifle range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

(both buildings were constructed at some time between 1916 and 1945).S Newsome, J Millward & W Cocroft (2009)
Repository Woods, Woolwich, Greater London: An Archaeological Survey of the Royal Military Repository Training Grounds
', English Heritage Research Department Report Series no. 14-2009. In 1801, of land were initially leased and then acquired in 1802 from the Bowater family; part of the land became the Royal Military Repository training facility or Repository Grounds.Saint, A., & Guillery, P. (eds), (2012)
Woolwich - Survey of London: Introduction
', Volume 48, Yale Books, London. The sloping landscape's water features include a large man-made lake with a circular man-made island. Created before 1808, the lake was later enlarged, and augmented by two further ponds to the south. The central pond is named 'Summerhouse Pond' after a (now demolished) summerhouse on its north side. The ponds were used to teach men "to lay pontoons, to transport

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

upon

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

s, and all the different methods that can be adopted for the passage of troops across rivers, &c.". During the 1820s an earthwork training

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

was added along the length of the eastern boundary, on which were mounted "all the different sorts of

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

used in the defence of fortified towns". In 1838, '' The Saturday Magazine'' described Repository Woods: :"beautifully diversified and unequal in its surface, and interspersed with several pieces of water, this condition of the ground affords excellent practice to the men in dragging the guns up steep acclivities, or lowering them down rapid descents, turning pontoon bridges to transport them over water and imitating all the operations of actual war.". Features associated with pleasure ground use include two

croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...

lawns; the respirator training room was originally a garden building before being modified. Military features include the respirator training room and rifle range building,

slit trench A defensive fighting position is a type of Earthworks (engineering)#Military use, earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate anything from one soldier to a fire team (or similar sized unit). Terminology ...

es, linear training earthworks (today a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

), an

assault course An assault course (also called a confidence course or obstacle course) is a trail (or course) that combines running and exercising. It is often used in military training. The prime use is to evaluate progress and weaknesses of the individual or ...

(1971), and an underground trench shelter. The woodlands were Grade II listed in March 2011, described as "the earliest known purpose-built military training landscape nationally if not in Western Europe." The landscape was regularly visited by British and foreign dignitaries for displays of the British army in training. The woods are still used for army training purposes, although the nearby barracks are set to close by 2028.

At-risk register

In November 2023, Repository Woods was included on a

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

list of ten London sites designated as 'at-risk'. It was the only list addition that was not a building. The adjacent Rotunda structure is also on Historic England's

Heritage at Risk An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

list.

Gallery

File:2015 London-Woolwich, Green Hill-Repository Woods 09.JPG, from Green Hill, road leading to Repository Woods File:2015 London-Woolwich, Green Hill-Repository Woods 10.JPG, Entrance to Repository Woods File:2015 London-Woolwich, Green Hill-Repository Woods 1.JPG, Repository Woods (2015) File:2015 London-Woolwich, Green Hill-Repository Woods 07.JPG, Repository Woods (2015)

References

{{LB Greenwich Parks and open spaces in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Woolwich Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Royal Artillery Installations of the British Army Structures on the Heritage at Risk register