Greenwich

Greenwich
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
One-time Coat of arms of Greenwich
Greenwich
Location within Greater London
Population	30,578 (Peninsula and Greenwich West wards 2011)
OS grid reference	TQ395775
• Charing Cross	5.5 mi (8.9 km) WNW
London borough	Greenwich
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	SE10
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
UK Parliament	Greenwich and Woolwich
London Assembly	Greenwich and Lewisham
List of places UK England London 51°29′N 0°00′E / 51.48°N 0.00°E / 51.48; 0.00

Greenwich ^[1] is a district of London. It is the main part of the Borough of Greenwich,^[2][3][4] about 8.9 km east south-east of Charing Cross.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory is in Greenwich. It was originally built for the Astronomer Royal. The Oservatory created the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Greenwich is a town with a long history. It became the site of a royal palace, the Palace of Placentia, from the 15th century. This was the birthplace of many members of the Tudor dynasty, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The palace became ruined during the English Civil War. It was rebuilt as a hospital by Sir Christopher Wren. These buildings became the a military college in 1873, which lasted until 1998. The town became a popular resort in the 17th century. Many rich houses were built there, such as Vanbrugh Castle (1717). Estates were built above the town centre.

Greenwich was part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created.

1. ↑ /ˈɡrɛnitʃ/
2. ↑ Wells, John C. (2000). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2nd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. ISBN 0-582-36467-1.
3. ↑ Jones, Daniel (1997). English Pronouncing Dictionary (15th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45903-6.
4. ↑ Collins English Dictionary (3rd updated ed.). HarperCollins. 1994. ISBN 0-00-470678-1.