The architects behind the transformation of Beresford Square will be returning to Woolwich next month as part of the Open House Festival.

The team from LDA Design, who redesigned the square for Greenwich Council, will be talking about their work in the event, which is one of over 700 taking place across London between  September 13-21.

Some £17 million of government levelling-up money funded the work in Beresford Square, which has hosted a market for more than 400 years. The stalls were moved to the west side of the square and planting, seating and a water feature were put in.

The cash also went into a revamp of Powis Street to remove some street clutter and provide more seating and planting. Work was disrupted after the original contractor went bust but the new-look spaces opened to the public earlier this year.

Last month one of the borough’s Conservative councillors raised concerns that the new public spaces were not being cleaned properly. Jackie Smith, Labour’s cabinet member for business, dismissed his complaint as being “very negative” and blamed residents for leaving litter.

Free tickets for the tour – which will take place at 6pm on Monday September 15 – are available from the Open House Festival website from noon on Wednesday. 

Pedestrianised shopping street
Powis Street was also revamped by the LDA team… Image: The Greenwich Wire
Powis Street with dirt beneath new bench
…although parts of Powis Street have already suffered from a lack of care. Image: The Greenwich Wire

The festival will also feature a tour of the Royal Arsenal conducted by Lisa Lu, a former front-of-house worker for Punchdrunk who is now a tour guide. Lu’s tour will examine the history of the Arsenal and what it has become now. The tour is at 2pm on Friday September 19, with tickets again available on the festival website.

From its launch as a weekend-long event in 1992, the Open House Festival has now expanded to nine days, covering famous and distinctive buildings and spaces right across the capital.

Well-known sites such as the Old Royal Naval College and Charlton House will be opening their doors, while there will also be behind-the-scenes tours of the London Cable Car. Newer buildings on the Greenwich Peninsula such as those in the Design District and Ravensbourne University will also be open to visitors.

There will also be walking tours of Deptford, Thamesmead and the Blackheath Cator Estate, and an archaelogical tour and open day at Lesnes Abbey.

Other sites in Greenwich and nearby include:

  • The annual Open Studios at Art Hub, next to the Thames Barrier, and a chance to see glassblowing at the nearby Gather studio on Warspite Road 
  • Plot 9 Maze Hill – a once-neglected allotment now used as “a thriving space for creative, community-building and therapeutic gatherings” – will be open
  • There will be open days and guided tours of Shrewsbury House in Shooters Hill, including its Cold War control centre, while the nearby Sitopia Farm will be opening its gates to visitors
  • You will be able to look inside the Devonport Mausoleum, next to the National Maritime Museum
  • The Creekside Discovery Centre in Deptford will also be holding its annual open day.
  • The residents of self-build homes at 12 Church Grove in Ladywell will be showing visitors around
  • The recently-refurbished Broadway Theatre in Catford will be open for guided tours 
  • A variety of events will take place at The Exchange in Erith, a former library transformed by volunteers into a venue for the community
  • You can see where Greenwich’s waste goes at the SELCHP incinerator in Bermondsey and the “wonder day” at the Southwark waste management centre off the Old Kent Road
  • Across the Thames, there will be tours of City Hall, a chance to see the once-derelict Tate Institute in Silvertown, events at Trinity Buoy Wharf and English National Ballet‘s base near Canning Town and a chance to take a tour of Wardian, 50 and 55-storey residential blocks on the Isle of Dogs – with a free drink in the rooftop lounge afterwards

For more events, and to book free tickets for those that need them, visit the Open House Festival website. The tickets will be available from noon on Wednesday.

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One reply on “Open House Festival to show off Woolwich’s new-look market square”

  1. Pingback: Woolwich Works to throw open its doors for Heritage Open Days festival - The Greenwich Wire

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