Herbert and Prince's Road

A view over Herbert road area in Plumstead, South London photo taken 1940 to 46 [Note the traffic flow! Shadows indicate it is about 10 to 11 in the morning, probably summer. Shop blinds down indicate it was not a Sunday]. The aerial position is over Eglinton Hill looking North towards Woolwich. The road at the top of the photograph is Plumstead Common Road {not really visible except on the end of Prince's Road}. The road snaking through the middle is Herbert Road. The road to the right is Prince's Road which no longer exists as such because the area has been replaced by Barnfield Gardens Housing Estate and only the lower portion of Barnfield Road [not shown in photo see maps below] remained. The small terraced row of houses in the lower right hand half of the Photograph are in Brookhill Row [not to be confused with Brookhill Road]. The rear of the properties can clearly be seen with outside lavvies to the rear and the tops of the chimney's numbering six properties. The small lane between Herbert Road and Prince's Road is Mayplace Lane. This particular lane meanders to the top of the Southern slope of Shooters Hill and emerges into one end of Plum Lane. As an aside, a great view of the River Thames can be seen at the other end of Plum Lane. The two long buildings on the other side of Mayplace Lane, laying between Brookhill Row and Herbert Road was Chicks Garage, a place where William Alfred Edwards 1st worked as a chauffeur for many years. There were several smaller roads leading off the original Prince's Road such as Brookhill Row, amongst a few were Rocket Row, John's Place, Portland Place, Rose Cottage's, Stevens Cottages, Albion Place, Fern and Lotus Cottages, Barnfield Place, Herbert Terrace, Bett's and Trotter's cottages and many more... all gone. Brookhill Row and the surrounding roads in Plumstead were the homes of a large proportion of the Edwards and Pullen contingent for about 100 years. First arriving in between 1861 and 1871 till about 1968. The two photos below are views of Prince's Road at the southern end. The sewage stack is out of view in the larger photo as it is fractionally south of the aerial shot. The sewage stack was put in place due to the authorities inadequately designing sewage infrastructure. This was due to the speed of erecting in mass, cheap houses to satisfy the workforce of the British Empires need to build weaponry at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Woolwich was a Garisson Town of considerable size. Together with these and the Docks on both sides of the River Thames made it a strategic target for bombing in the second world war.     View in Plum Lane, on a clear day you can see the River Thames. The road to the left is Nithdale Road. School to left is Plum Lane School which lays in the next road Genesta. Plumcroft Primary lays in Nithdale Road in front of the senior school but out of shot in this photo. St Margarets Church in the background Date of Map is 1867 Date of Map is 1894 Date of Map is unknown