Deptford

Deptford (pronounced /ˈdɛtfɚd/, the p being silent) is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. The area is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Dockyards. This was a major shipbuilding dock and attracted Peter the Great to come and study shipbuilding. Deptford and the docks are associated with the knighting of ... more

Deptford (pronounced /ˈdɛtfɚd/, the p being silent) is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. The area is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Dockyards. This was a major shipbuilding dock and attracted Peter the Great to come and study shipbuilding. Deptford and the docks are associated with the knighting of Sir Francis Drake by Queen Elizabeth I aboard the Golden Hind, the legend of Sir Walter Raleigh laying down his cape for Elizabeth, Captain James Cook's third voyage aboard Resolution, and the mysterious murder of Christopher Marlowe in a house along Deptford Strand. The Metropolitan Borough of Deptford was formed in 1900, and became part of the London Borough of Lewisham created in 1965. In 1900, the parish of St Nicholas Deptford, in the north, around the Royal Dockyard became a part of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich; but the dockyard... less