Greenwich (Gren'itch; A.S. Green-wic, 'green creek or bay'), a parliamentary borough of Kent (now, officially, the county of London), 5 miles ESE. of London Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames, here crossed by a steamship ferry, on the American system, which was opened in 1888. Greenwich Hospital occupies the site of an old royal palace, in which Henry VIII. and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth were born, and Edward VI. died. Founded in 1694 by Queen Mary as a mark of the gratitude which England felt towards her brave sailors who had fought at La Hogue, it consists of four distinct quadrangular piles - King Charles's building (1664), designed by Inigo Jones, and Queen Anne's, King William's, and Queen Mary's buildings, all designed by Sir Christopher Wren. The Great Hall is remarkable for its painted ceiling, a work carried out by Sir James Thornhill in 1707-27. It contains several valuable pictures of great naval battles and of the heroes who fought in them; there is still preserved the coat which Nelson wore when he was shot at Trafalgar. The chapel is a fine specimen of Greek architecture. A statue of George II. by Rysbrach adorns the central square. The first pensioners were received in the hospital in 1705; these numbered 100; in 1814 the maximum number was reached - viz. 2710. In 1763 out-pensions were granted ; in 1849 the number of in-pensioners began to decrease, until in 1865 they only numbered 1400. For some time the in-pensioners had been discontented, and in 1869, when they had the option of receiving an out-pension, a very large majority preferred to go to their friends. Greenwich Hospital was thus disestablished by the votes of the very men for whose benefit it was originally founded. The annual income of the hospital is £167,259. From this sum numerous pensions are paid; 1000 boys, the sons of seamen and marines, are maintained and educated at Greenwich Hospital Schools at an average cost of £23,000 a year; gratuities are granted to widows of seamen and marines; and 50 orphans of officers receive grants for their education. It is estimated that 9000 persons, exclusive of the children mentioned, derive benefit from the funds. In 1873 Greenwich Hospital became the college for the Royal Navy, and all combatant naval officers are now compelled to take their degree at Greenwich. There are also the Naval Museum, the Royal Hospital School (1712), and the Royal Observatory, which crowns the hill behind the hospital, and was built by Charles II. in 1675, the first astronomer-royal being Flamsteed. The Whitebait Dinner is a banquet held intermittently by the cabinet-ministers to celebrate the termination of a parliamentary session. The manufacturing establishments include engineering, telegraph works, chemical works, etc. Greenwich returned two members down to 1885, when it was divided into three parliamentary boroughs - Greenwich, Deptford, and Woolwich, all now metropolitan boroughs of London. Pop. of Greenwich (1901) 95,757. In 1881 it was but 65,411. See a work by L'Estrange (2 vols. 1886).

Greenwich

Greenwich, the south-westernmost town of Connecticut, with many handsome residences, 28 miles NE. of New York. Pop. 12,131.