Greenwich, royal borough and outer borough of London, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Thames in the historic county of Kent. Greenwich is famous for its naval and military connections and its green spaces.

A significant proportion of the borough’s land is reserved for public open spaces. Fronting the Thames in the western part of the borough is the famous Greenwich Park, in which the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, and the Old Royal Naval College are found. That area, which is also known as Maritime Greenwich, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997.

The Old Royal Naval College

The Old Royal Naval College is located on the site of a 15th-century riverbank house that was converted into a royal palace (known as Placentia) by the Tudor monarchs. Henry VIII (reigned 1509–47) was born at Placentia, and he spent time there with his wives Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, and Anne of Cleves. His daughters, the queens Mary I and Elizabeth I, also were born there, and it was the site of the death of Edward VI. After the old palace fell into disrepair, a new block was built for Charles II. In 1694 Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to complete the building as a hospital for retired and disabled sailors.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory

The Royal Greenwich Observatory, designed by Wren, stands on the hill above these buildings. The observatory, with its high-vaulted Octagon Room, was erected in the 17th century. By 1957 its official functions had been transferred elsewhere, and the site was subsequently made a museum. The Greenwich (or prime) meridian (0°) mark, which since 1884 has been almost universally recognized as the world standard for reckoning longitude, is still on display, as is a collection of early astronomical instruments. The observatory was extensively restored by 1993.

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Cutty Sark

Cutty Sark, three-masted British clipper ship, launched at Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in 1869. The Cutty Sark was 212 feet 5 inches (64.7 metres) long and 36 feet (11 metres) wide, and it had a net tonnage of 921. Its name (meaning “short shirt”) came from the garment worn by the witch Nannie in Robert Burns’s poem Tam o’Shanter. On February 16, 1870, the Cutty Sark left London on its maiden voyage, sailing to Shanghai by way of the Cape of Good Hope. The vessel served in the English-Chinese tea trade through the 1870s, later in the Australian wool trade, and finally as a training ship.

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