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Town of Interest
Greenwich is a town, now part of the south-eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. It is best known for its maritime history and as the location of Greenwich Mean Time. The Royal Greenwich Observatory is located in Greenwich and the Prime Meridian passes through the building. Greenwich Mean Time was at one time based on the time observations made at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, before being superseded by Coordinated Universal Time. While Greenwich no longer hosts a working astronomical observatory, a ball still drops daily to mark the exact moment of 1pm, and there is a museum of astronomical and navigational tools, particularly John Harrison's marine chronometers. The observatory is situated in Greenwich Park, which used to be the grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia. At the bottom of the park is the National Maritime Museum which also includes the Queen's House, designed by Inigo Jones.
The Cutty Sark (a clipper ship) has been preserved in a dry dock by the river. A major fire in May 2007 destroyed a part of the ship, although much had already been removed for restoration. Its future has yet to be decided. Near the remains of the Cutty Sark, a circular building contains the entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel. This connects Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs on the northern side of the River Thames. The north exit of the tunnel is at Island Gardens, from where the famous view of Greenwich Hospital painted by Canaletto can be seen. (more)
