Places

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This image of a cleat and rope represents the Royal Dockyard at Deptford. A cleat is a T-shaped piece of metal or wood to which ropes are tied on a ship. In its heyday, Deptford was renowned as a shipyard for the making and repairing of boats and ships. The dockyard was founded in 1513 by Henry III, and also served as a ‘victualling yard’, providing supplies to stock the ships. By the 1770s, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich notes, it was the fourth largest of the royal dockyards. After a brief revival it was finally closed in 1869.59 

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The Prime Meridian line in Greenwich represents Longitude 0º – or the point where the eastern and western hemispheres meet. Stand on the line and you can be in both east and west at the same time. The Prime Meridian is also the reference point for world time: all countries take their measurement from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The red ball on the top of Flamsteed House, first used in 1833, drops at exactly 1pm to signify the time to any passing people or ships on the River Thames.60 

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The bell and nest pictured on this tile pay homage to two of Deptford’s favourite pubs: The Birds Nest and The Dog and Bell. Part gig venue, part hotel, part big red bus, The Birds Nest stands at the edge of a roundabout close to Creekside.61 The Dog & Bell, meanwhile, is a traditional pub with a popular line in beers, a weekly quiz and live Trad and jazz.62 

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If you’re meeting someone in Deptford, the giant ship’s anchor on the high street makes for a good rendezvous spot. The anchor actually comes from Chatham Dockyard, which gave it to Deptford in 1988. It was removed by the council in 2013 but a lively public campaign and a petition signed by some 4,000 people forced its return in 2018.63 It now sits back on the high street as a reminder of Deptford’s naval past and a local icon. 

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Deptford locals may be familiar with Ferranti Park, but who is Ferranti? Sebastian de Ferranti was the innovator behind Deptford Power Station, said to be the world’s first central power station.64 The coal-powered station was built in the late 1880s on what had previously been a storage area of the East India Company. Although it encountered various troubles in its early stages, the station – later renamed Deptford East – carried on producing electricity until 1983, defying Thomas Edison’s claim that the AC (alternating current) pioneered by Ferranti wasn’t safe.65 

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The hitch, and all its variants, is just one of the many knots any good sailor must know. Such was the importance of ropes to the naval industry that Deptford’s dockyard had its own ropery in the early 19th century. Interestingly there is a Ropery Road in Sunderland in an area called Deptford. Could it be that the Deptford name had become synonymous with rope making? 

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In the 1970s, The Albany Empire (precursor to The Albany as we know it today) hosted 15 Rock Against Racism gigs. The star shape featured on this tile is taken from the logo of Rock Against Racism, a national anti-racism campaign. The concerts brought together musicians of all colours: including, at one of the Deptford events, Brockley reggae pioneer Dennis Bovell and his band Matumbi.66 The theatre was burned down in a fire in 1978, but a new building was opened four years later.67 

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Deptford music label Deep River Records promotes and releases music by a roster of artists including Paul Astles, Tony Lording, Shedload Of Love, Dave Sutherland, We Ghosts and Ceri. The image of a note on a wave is inspired by the Deep River logo. Other Deptford-based or connected artists to look out for include Squeeze, Skinny Lister and Charles Haywood. 

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In August 1977, the National Front (NF) planned a march from New Cross to Lewisham. Local residents and activists immediately organised a peaceful counter-march, under the banner of the All Lewisham Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (a detail from the banner is included in the tile illustration). The resulting conflict, which saw the police clashing with anti-fascist protestors while escorting the NF marchers to safety, became known as The Battle of Lewisham. The event has inspired many creative responses, including a mural outside Goldsmiths College and the film The Battle of Lewisham by filmmaker Nacheal Catnott.68 

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The image on this tile is inspired by the crest of the London Ambulance Service, which includes a wheel (representing speedy transportation) and a laurel wreath (for honour). From the Covid-19 pandemic to the daily incidents they encounter, paramedics based at Greenwich and Deptford Ambulance Stations are the first responders, working always on the frontline of life and death. 

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The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance in Deptford is a pioneering educational facility, with the world's largest purpose-built contemporary dance centre. Its ethos and practice are influenced by the work of Rudolf Laban, who established ‘choreology’ (dance analysis) and invented a system of dance notation which is now known as Labanotation or Kinetography Laban. The Art of Movement Studio that Laban co-founded moved to New Cross in 1975 and was later renamed the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. It moved to its dazzling new Creekside building in 2002. 

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The lifebuoy represents the life and death of Deptford’s naval history, including its involvement in the transatlantic trade in humans. Enslavement, capture and exploitation were rife on the docklands, and rich slave owners lived close by (usually in Blackheath and Greenwich). Deptford was also the port where many enslaved Africans, including Olaudah Equiano, arrived. However, there were many free non-white residents and visitors too, dating back to at least the 1600s. The Old Royal Naval College notes that, compared to Greenwich, ‘Deptford was home to fewer enslaved workers and to more craftspeople who lived close to the waterfront – joiners, dockworkers, mariners and their families.’69 

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Ahmed Moustafa is a creator of Arabic art and design, and a master scribe in Islamic penmanship. Born in Egypt, Moustafa trained as a figurative artist but later returned to his roots to seek inspiration from the texts of the Qu’ran. In 1983, he set up the Fe-Noon Ahmed Moustafa Research Centre for Arab Art and Design on Creekside. His work has been exhibited around the world, and his designs can be found in many museum and art collections, from the Islamic Arts Museum in Malaysia to the British Museum. 

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APT Studios and Gallery, BEARSPACE, Deptford Foundry Studios… Deptford has a history of platforms and spaces supporting local artists. There’s also visual arts festival Deptford X, which began in 1998 and features a free, ten-day programme of events and showcases each year. Not to mention, of course, Cockpit’s popular Open Studios events, where the public can meet and buy works from our talented makers. Deptford itself has even been immortalised in paint, for example in Laurence Stephen Lowry’s 1959 work ‘View of Deptford Power Station from Greenwich’. 

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Tanners Hill has seen businesses (and people) come and go. One local treasure to close its doors was Witcomb Cycles, a family business known for its lightweight, homemade steel bicycle frames. Founder Ernie Witcomb took over no.25 Tanners Hill in 1955, and his son went on to help build the frame that Stan Brittain rode in the 1958 Tour de France.70 Another local favourite, butchers WH Wellbeloved, closed its doors in 2021 after nearly 200 years serving its famous pies, sausages and other meats to its Deptford neighbours and regulars. 

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Deptford Station is the oldest working railway station in London. The first train to depart in 1936 travelled to the now-disused Spa Road Station in Bemondsey, along London's first passenger railway line: the London and Greenwich Railway. The ramp outside Deptford Station was first installed to cater for arriving horses and carriages, which were then stored in the arches below. During the Second World War, the arches were repurposed as air-raid shelters, and since have been converted into shops and bars.71 

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Ever heard of the Deptford Pudding? This citrus-infused, custardy dessert is something along the lines of bread-and-butter pudding but with breadcrumbs, orange and lemon. How or when it got its name is unclear but the recipe can still be found online, thanks to the deptfordpudding.com blog.72 Other local dishes and puddings can be found in the Deptford Community Cookbook, which came out of a project inviting local residents and business to share their favourite recipes.

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The illustration on this tile draws from the edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales designed by 19th century designer, artist and author William Morris. Deptford makes an appearance in the Tales, for example in the quote reproduced here: ‘Lo, Depeford!’ which continues ‘and it is half-way pryme’ (meaning it is halfway to midday). Neighbouring Greenwich fares less well in the next line, where we are told, ‘ther many a shrewe is inne’ (there are many scoundrels)!73 

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John Blanke was a Black royal trumpeter in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII, and is known to have played at Greenwich Palace. The John Blanke Project notes that he is the first person of African descent in British history for whom we have both an image and a record: a painting of him in the 1511 Great Tournament Roll of Westminster and a mention in court records held at the National Archives, which show him receiving wages and ‘famously petitioning for a wage increase and gifts.’74 

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When in need of food and support, there are a few place to turn to in Deptford. The 999 Club on Deptford Broadway is a hub for people who are homeless: providing food, washing facilities and support through its day centre The Gateway, as well as offering advice, advocacy, shelter, health checks and activities.75 Another local safety net is Kath’s Place on Deptford High Street, a charity shop that is also home to the We Care food bank and community hub. Deptford is also the location of one of Fareshare’s distribution centres, sending surplus food to those who need it around London. 

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A thread from a horse’s mane and a slip pattern feature on this tile: references to Cockpit’s sewing talents and also to the Cutty Sark ship, currently docked in Greenwich. The Cutty Sark took its name from the poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’ by Robert Burns, which refers to a witch called Nannie who is dressed in nothing but a ‘cutty sark’ (an old Scottish name for a short nightdress or slip). The figurehead of the famous clipper ship is even based on the character of Nannie.76 

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Once upon a time, if you wanted to cross Deptford’s creek you had to pay a toll to traverse the wooden bridge reaching over the water. That fell into disrepair in the 1920s, but nowadays you can walk over via the Ha’Penny Hatch, a steel bridge that lifts to allow boats passage. The graffiti-lined walkway leading up to the Hatch lies in the shadow of the huge vertical lifting bridge, part of the railway infrastructure.77 

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This image of a guitar chord references an iconic illustration reproduced in punk zine Sniffing Glue. The image shows three chords: A, E and G with the words: ‘This is a chord’, ‘This is another, ‘This is a third’ – followed by: ‘Now form a band’. Inspired by the DIY ethos of punk, Crossfields resident Mark Perry set up the zine in July 1976. Taking its name from the Ramones song ‘Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue’, it only ran for 12 issues but inspired other music zines and magazines, while captured the buzzing, emergent punk scene of the time.78 

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The Doomsday Book of 1086 recorded a number of mills in and around what is now Deptford. According to Know Your London, four mills were recorded on the Ravensbourne River, listed under the Manor of Greenwich, and 11 more under the Manor of Lewisham. Mills continued to be built over the centuries, including the original Mumford’s Flour Mill in the late 18th century,79 Brook Mill in the early 1700s, and Brook Dale Mill, which was rebuilt in 1828.80 Local primary school Tidemill, which contributed to this mural, no doubt takes its name from the tide mills operating in the area. 

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Tideway is the company behind the £4.5bn Thames Tideway Tunnel, funded by the payments of Thames Water customers. Work taking place at Tideway’s construction site in Deptford, near to St Paul’s Church, is aimed at tackling sewage overflow into Deptford Creek, instead diverting the flow to the Greenwich connection tunnel and on to the main tunnel. This has involved digging a 4.5km tunnel from Greenwich Pumping Station to Chambers Wharf, via Deptford Church Street and Earl Pumping Station.81