publication date: Apr 6, 2010
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author/source: Tim Walder
Discover Greenwich is a new local museum which is
free. Housed in a building which was formerly the
stable block of the old
Seamen’s Hospital, the building has been completely
renovated and is easily accessible from
Cutty Sark DLR: just go through the big gates with the two globes. The building also houses the
Tourist Office for Greenwich and a café and bar plus a
microbrewery selling
historic beer (including porter) made on the premises.
The museum aims to
summarise and show the history of this
World Heritage site. Today this includes the
Old Royal Naval College (with its painted hall and chapel also open to the public for free), the
Seamen’s Hospital, the
National Maritime Museum, the
Queen’s House, the
Royal Observatory and
Greenwich Park.
There is
plenty here to fill a day, with many
indoor options. The
National Maritime Museum is also free and the Park features a really good
children’s play area with
boating lake, toilets, refreshments and a big
sandpit.
Discover Greenwich looks at the buildings which are, or were on the
site.
These include a
Roman temple, a very large
Tudor palace (now almost completely lost) and the
Old Royal Naval College. There is an illuminated
3D map and a large interpretative area on the
Tudor palace and life inside it. his area includes a slightly strange series of
speaking puppets of characters such as
Henry VIII which move. There are 3D models of the palace and
details of jousting.
My
favourite part was the area showing all the
artefacts dug up from the site of the
palace, including a bizarre and unpleasant
witch’s bottle. Some artefacts have been replicated or reinstated to show
features of the palace, including areas of
flooring and a
window. My
children preferred trying on the replica
jousting armour (a bit like putting your head into a large can of beans).
A big area is devoted to the
Old Royal Naval College, dealing in detail with its
design and evolution during construction. If you have any interest in the
history of architecture this is a must: featuring
good material on the likes of
Wren,
Hawksmoor and
Thornhill.
This area has
fun bits for kids: put your head in the
picture frame and get your friends to laugh. There is also a rather clever
wooden model with bits of the complex: your task is to either
build the college as it is or build your own
version. These are nicely teamed with
17th century architects' models of the buildings. There are also
display areas showing
everyday life for the old sailors when it was a
hospital and for officers, when it was being used as a
training centre. Towards the end of its
naval period, alarmingly, the buildings contained a small
experimental nuclear reactor called JASON. Apparently it only made
enough heat to boil a kettle.
I
loved it and could have stayed an hour or two. My children thought it “
was alright” and were happy for an hour.