Please read and enjoy our article and watch your FREE LONDON MUSIC VIDEO at the end Greenwich - The Home of Time
"Have you got the time on you, mate?"
"Yes, it's just gone noon, GMT" comes the reply!
Not a likely exchange between Londoners, we admit, but GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) is a legitimate point on the global clock and has been so for hundred's of years.
So what is the significance of Greenwich in terms of the world's time or indeed in any sense? | Greenwich lies on the south bank of the River Thames , a few miles east of London. Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and being the location of the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Historically, this became a reference point for other places around the globe to determine the local time, so noon in Greenwich was midnight on the other side of the world.
In addition to its prominence in the world of time calculations, Greenwich has a great deal of history. A royal palace, or hunting lodge, has existed in Greenwich since the 11th century . The Palace of Placentia was built in 1447 and was the birthplace of many in the House of Tudor , including Henry VIII .
Henry VIII's daughters Mary (later to become known as 'Bloody Mary' ) and Elizabeth , later to become Elizabeth I , were born at Greenwich . The remains of the old hollow oak tree in which Elizabeth was said to have played as a child can still be seen in nearby Greenwich Park . | | The Queen's House, Canary Wharf in distance | The palace became Elizabeth's favourite summer residence. The English Civil War effectively caused the Royal association with Greenwich to be broken and the palace fell into disrepair. It was subsequently rebuilt as the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors , a domed masterpiece built by Sir Christopher Wren . The buildings later became the Royal Naval College in 1873 . The maritime connections of Greenwich were celebrated in the 20th century, with the siting next to the River Thames of the Cutty Sark , a famous tea clipper, currently being restored following a devastating fire.
Just along the road is the National Maritime Museum in the former buildings of the Royal Hospital School . | | Canaletto's View |
|  | | Royal Observatory Clock | Just by the Cutty Sark , a circular building contains the entrance to the Greenwich foot tunnel , opened in 1902 . 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.
This wonderful view of Greenwich makes the few seconds ride in the wood-panelled Victorian lift and 5 minutes walk through this old tunnel well worthwhile. | | Greenwich Royal Observatory | The National Maritime Museum is housed in buildings designed by Inigo Jones , including a grand arcade around the Queen's House .
Beyond these buildings sprawls the glorious 183 acres of Greenwich Park , a Royal Park laid out in the 17th century and formed from the hunting grounds of the Royal Palace of Placentia .
Greenwich Park rises, sometimes steeply, towards Blackheath . At the top of this hill is the former Royal Observatory through which passes the Prime Meridian , that we mentioned earlier. |  | A Greenwich pub |
| A few feet down from the Royal Observatory , and through a gate, the path is crossed by the Prime Meridian itself, where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere, a feat performed daily by the many thousands of visitors to this wonderful part of London.
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) was at one time based on the time observations made at the Royal Greenwich Observatory .
Sadly, Greenwich no longer hosts a working astronomical observatory, but a ball still drops daily to mark the exact moment of 1 pm .
This would be a good time and place to be if you needed to reset your watch!
Oh, and by the way it's time for lunch! |
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