Greenwich Heritage Centre

Greenwich Heritage Centre stood in Woolwich’s Royal Arsenal complex, a former 17th-century military storehouse turned museum. The building formed part of New Laboratory Square, a quadrangle designed by James Wyatt in the late 18th century. Originally a naval ordnance store, it later became a factory making boxes and barrels for ammunition. By the First World War women worked here assembling small-arms cartridges. After the Arsenal closed in 1994, the site was restored and shared with Firepower Museum before becoming home to the heritage centre in 2003. The centre grew from collections of the old Greenwich Borough Museum and local history library. In 2014 the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust took over its management alongside other borough heritage sites. Two permanent exhibitions traced Woolwich’s military past: “Inside the Arsenal” and “Making Woolwich,” marking the 300th anniversary of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Temporary displays each year focused on local stories, replacing the earlier Berkeley Gallery. Visitors entered through the former carpenters’ workshop of 1877 in the south wing. The west range held the permanent exhibition on the Royal Arsenal, while the south wing later displayed artillery history. Outside, the quadrangle’s restored facades framed views across Artillery Square. The building itself stood as a record of Woolwich’s industrial and military role over two centuries.