Greenwich and the London River

Paul Tempest’s timely book covers the past, present and future of an area rich in history that is a key to the City’s safety and success. The River Thames is the lifeblood of London, and on its southern shore lies the jewel that is Greenwich – a World Heritage Site, man’s agreed base-point of time and space, home of the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum, the Cutty Sark and so much more. Paul Tempest has lived in Greenwich for more than 50 years, and has researched it in loving detail.

This book is enhanced by the maps and drawings of Peter Kent (another longstanding Greenwich resident and a well-known artist) and the photographs of Stephen Tempest, the author’s son. Together they capture the essence of the place and the spirit of the people who live and work in the Borough. This, says the author, is ‘not so much a formal guidebook as a drawing together of disparate threads, an expression of affection and love’.

Along with the illuminating narrative and rich visual portrait of Royal Greenwich, the author also offers his assessment of how the River has changed over the last 50 years, and what might lie in store in the coming decades.

Drawings by Peter Kent
Photographs by Stephen Tempest