The Enderby site

The Enderby family used this section of the Greenwich riverside where they built a factory.
This covered:
Site marked K1 on Skinner and 152 and 153. It also includes the part of 151 running along the top of the plot – the ropewalk. This was leased from Morden College, who had acquired it as part of a land swap when the gunpowder magazine was built in the seventeenth century. In the 1840s it was described as a paddock and meadow. Some cottages had been built fronting on to Blackwall Lane. Their lease expired in 1854 and it was then leased to a George Smith, and then to a Mr. Keiser.
Part of site marked K2 on Skinner – and shown as 149 and part of 151 on the tithe map. This is the main section of the Enderby factory.

Section which is K3 on the Skinner plan (the area of the gunpowder depot) The tithe map shows the area (marked 265) further intersected by a pathway which appears to lead to a building which is, perhaps, Salution House. It was in use by a Calvert Clark by 1858. In 1843 the riverfront section also shows a cottage and garden.

In 2002 Groundwork said: Enderby’s Wharf  – Owned by Alcatel and open to the public during daylight hours. Historic wharf used for, rope and cable loading, in use as recently as 1979 – from here the world’s first transatlantic cable was loaded onto BruneI’s Great Eastern.
Improvements have included the provision of new perimeter railings, gates and surfacing, a refurbished and planted boat, and a timber platform for events and displays. The historic cable relay tower was refurbished and cable winding gear made safe and relocated on the wharf. Alcatel’s contemporary activities are represented by a map of their submarine networks around the world, and by the display of a repeater unit as currently manufactured at the site. Additionally one of the Industrial Heritage Interpretation panels is located here. Delivered by: Deptford Discovery Team. Date implemented: 1999-2000 (cable winding gear refurbished 2002) Funded by: Alcatel and LDA .Designed by: JCLA and Deptford Discovery Team. Contractors: Roadways and Car Parks Ltd, James Garner, Alcatel, DDT Ltd.
Ferry Steps and Slipway – Refurbishment of the steps down to the concrete slipway that served ferries to cable-loading ships moored off Enderby’s Wharf. Carved timber steps, rep-
resenting history and current activities of Alcatel, were implemented in 2001 by Greenwich Mural Workshop, funded by: Alcatel and Groundwork. Artist: Richard Lawrence Possible groyne construction to prevent the steps from being covered by river silt

Alcatel Jetty. This disused structure has been transformed into a “green jetty” following structural investigations which revealed that re-opening or public access were not feasible without reconstruction. The jetty is planted with a mixture of native stonecrops and a natural colonisation by species indigenous to the riverside is taking place. Delivered by: Deptford Discovery Team Funded by: LDA Designed by: JCLA. Structural report: Robert West Consulting Engineers Contractors: Roadways and Car Parks Ltd

Gallows”: Former Jetty Remains Decaying timber remnant of former jetty structure. Proposed as site for a water feature powered by renewable energy, by Greenwich Mural Workshop, who are carrying out a feasibility study

In 2014 everything has been swept away and the site is being developed by Barratts for housing.

Return to Enderby Wharf