Building Surveys also known as Structural Surveys, Property Defect Reports , Building Disputes Surveys,
We have written this article for you to read and enjoy and to give you an insight into one of London's popular markets. Before you start to read it we would like to tell you a little about ourselves.
We are Independent Surveyors that carry out Building Surveys in South London in areas such as Greenwich, Bermondsey, Dulwich, Walworth, Surrey Quays and Herne Hill. We also do valuations and schedules of condition on commercial properties in and around the Greenwich Market area.
As Surveyors we probably pay more attention to properties around us than most people do even when we are not surveying them! We always recommend lifting your line of sight above eye level as there are some beautiful buildings to be seen and ones that most people miss as they rush about with their daily life. Surveyor tours are something that we would like to introduce. These would explain the architectural styles and details that we see when carrying out Building Surveys. We are also happy to walk a client around an area that we know as well as explaining the results of the structural survey of their house, office or shop.
Greenwich Market is situated in South London and is
one of the capitals much loved markets.
At Greenwich market you will find numerous artists offering a wide range and style of art to suit all tastes. These include water colours, silk painting, photography, graffiti style/street art and other forms of art involving unusual printing techniques
Many of the buildings that surround Greenwich market in King William Walk, College Approach, Greenwich Church Street and Nelson Road are now Listed buildings and were built in the 1820's and 1830's. As Surveyors we often carry out Building Surveys on listed buildings in London. Owning a listed building can be difficult to maintain and we have often advised on problems regarding rising damp, alterations carried out without consent and wrong materials used in repairs such as cement mortar used for re-pointing instead of a lime mortar. |
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Cement mortar causes dampness |
On Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays the market has many traders selling handmade toys, jewellery, fashion accessories, furniture, home décor items and many other forms of crafts and gifts many of which are made from recycled and reclaimed products.
Set within the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC) in the Grade II Listed Pepys Building the Discover Greenwich Visitor Centre was opened in 2010. The centre has permanent exhibitions that explain the history of Greenwich. There is also a gift shop and the Old Brewery which now functions as a café by day and a restaurant by night.
Schedule of Conditions for Commercial Premises
Although Greenwich Market is now predominantly an arts and crafts market it was historically a food market that was established on its present site in 1831. Originally the market sold fruit, vegetables, eggs and live and dead meat and had its own slaughterhouses on site.
Today food is still available at the market but is mainly in the form of prepared ‘food to go', both British and international, including delicious crepes, sushi, cakes and pies and a carvery stall that sells roast beef and Yorkshire puddings.
Greenwich Market has a large and varied selection of stalls selling fashion items and accessories. Amongst the unique and unusual items found for sale here are bags airbrushed with art, items made from recycled denim, hats made to order, sunglasses and spectacles from the past 100 years.
The Greenwich Meridian or zero degrees longitude is the line that separates East from West and runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. The line is the centre of world time based on the location of the Airy Transit Circle, the historic telescope, found at The Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The location of the Meridian means that each year thousands and thousands of tourists visit The Royal Observatory to stand over the line.
Close to the market is the Greenwich Heritage Centre. Here you will find permanent and temporary exhibtions and information on the history of Greenwich over the years. You can also research family history here with help from the extensive range of records and books. Located on the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich site in Artillary Square the Heritage Centre was founded in 2003 using a combination of information and artefacts from the former Local History Library and Greenwich Borough Museum.
As Independent Surveyors we have carried out a variety of different surveys in South London including Residential Building Surveys and also Commercial Surveys. If you are buying a house or business in and around the Greenwich Market area then call us for a truly independent opinion, we are not influenced by Banks, Building Societies or Estate Agents!
Why you have never seen any Building Surveys or Structural Surveys like ours
Starting at Buckingham Palace the Jubilee Greenway Walk is a 37 mile walking and cycling route that joins many of the 2012 Olympic venues with major attractions and places of interest throughout London. You will see many of London's parks including Hyde Park and Greenwich Park along the way and if you travel the whole route you will see famous landmarks such as Tower Bridge and the Thames Flood Barrier. You will also see the 02 and the Old Royal Navy College at Greenwich if you complete section seven of the route. Along the route be sure to watch out for the special glass pavement squares marked with crowns to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. The first of these has been placed at Buckingham Palace.
Greenwich market is well known for the variety of cottage industries found there. Designers from home and abroad sell a variety of products that cannot be found anywhere else. Weekends are the best time to visit as then you will find over 150 traders selling their crafts.
Greenwich hosted some events of the London 2012 Summer Olympics at the North Greenwich Arena (O2 arena).These included the g ymnastics, basketball and wheelchair basketball events, Greenwich Park was the location of the equestrian and modern pentathlon events. The Summer Olympic Games is the biggest major sports tournament in the world. Held every four years host countries have included the U.S.A, Russia, Australia, Spain, France, Greece and Germany.
Only a minutes' walk from Greenwich Market is the Trinity College of Music. Talented students from the college have performed in the market to raise money for charities such as the Red Cross.
Greenwich Market is close to many places of interest including the Old Royal Naval College, the Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park, and Tower Bridge. We have included other places of interest for you to visit in London at the end of this article.
Greenwich Market stalls are open most days of the week from Tuesday to Sunday. The shops, bars, restaurants etc. around the market are open seven days a week.
There are many pubs in the area of Greenwich Market but two of the popular ones are the Coach and Horses and the Admiral Hardy. Over the years our Surveyors have carried out many Commercial Building Surveys on Public Houses both freehold and leasehold in the form of Schedules of Condition and Property Reports.
Greenwhich Market is only a quick walk from Greenwich Pier which is one of eight passenger piers on the River Thames. The pier is managed by London River Sevices, part of Transport for London. From Greenwich Pier you can cruise the River Thames on one of the many boat operators available including the Thames Clippers, a high speed catamaran service that leaves the pier every twenty minutes.
Greenwich Market is part of a regeneration programme that will transform the area around it. The redevelopment will include the adding of a boutique hotel, extra retail space and a crescent shaped street. The land is owned by Greenwich Hospital and although some Listed Buildings will be demolished the cobblestones in the market square will be re-laid and the iron structure of the market roof will be glazed.
Not far from Greenwich Market is Londons newest addition to its landscape - the skyscraper known as The Shard, the Shard of Glass or Shard London Bridge. The Shard is visible from anywhere in London and is now Europe's tallest building.
Tourism plays a huge part in the success of the market. Visitors come from far and wide to visit Greenwich Market. London is always a favourite tourist attraction which has been boosted by the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics Games of 2012. Greenwich is one of a number of markets that attracts the tourists to London. Other top destinations include Covent Garden, Camden Market, Spitalfields Market and Portobello Road.
The London Underground is one of the largest and busiest train systems in the world. There are 75 lines running within it and it serves 275 stations. The Tube as it is also known, because of the tube shaped tunnels that the trains use to navigate around London, is the easiest way for tourists to see the Capital. Connections to the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) make Cutty Sark the nearest station to the market with Greenwich being the nearest mainline and underground station.
Mr Humbug is a vintage / retro style sweet shop in Greenwich not far from the market. Originally located in Norfolk they sell a wide range of sweets and gifts including old favourites such as aniseed balls, lemon sherbets and gobstoppers.
As Independent Surveyors we have carried out commercial building surveys on a variety of different retail outlets including fast food shops, greengrocers and beauty salons.
The location of the market in Greenwich Town is known as the Island and is part of the Greenwich World Heritage Site. Maritime Greenwich is a World Heritage Site because of its architecture and history and its location to the oldest Royal Park, Greenwich Park. Greenwich gained World Heritage status in 1997.
London is famous for its Christmas Lights that usually get switched on by a favourite celebrity every year. Regents Street and Oxford become filled with people waiting for what has become a special occasion.
At Greenwich Market there are many young fashion designers selling their products, that include printed T-shirts that convey a message and 100% cotton clothing that is ethically produced.
Greenwich Market is not in the London Congestion Zone.
Greenwich Market is very easy to reach via public transport both by train and by bus.
Greenwich Market by Train / LDR - There are two London Stations within walking distance of the market.
Greenwich Market by Bus – There are many buses that stop near Greenwich Market, these include;
177, 180, 188, 236, 386.
Greenwich market can also be reached via river boat at Greenwich pier.
The George Inn in Southwark
Sutton House in Hackney
Fenton House in Hampstead
Carlyle House in Chelsea
Ham House and Garden in Richmond
Eltham Palace, Court Yard, Eltham, Greenwich.
The Rangers House, Chesterfield Walk, Blackheath.
St Mary Spital Charnel House, Spitalfields
Jewel Tower, Westminster
Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner
Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner
We hope you enjoyed our article on Greenwich Market and our comments from an Independent Surveyors point of view. Here are some links to some other articles that we have written and that may be of interest you.
What does a Surveyor do on a Structural Survey?
We survey buildings in South London. Our independent surveyors are experienced and qualified and produce high quality surveys including Structural surveys, Building surveys and valuations on both residential and commercial properties. We use surveyors who are experienced with old properties, many having direct hands on experience of working on listed buildings. Equally we understand newer construction, it may look the same to the untrained eye but performs very differently and we would say is built to a price not a quality standard. We also survey buildings that have been altered and extended both with and without planning permission and building regulations. We solve and deal with building disputes and can also help you with your extension and alteration design work.
If you are purchasing a property in London please ensure that you have a building survey carried out on it. A building survey, prepared by a chartered building surveyor could literally save you thousands of pounds.The survey only needs to uncover one potential problem with the property and the cost of the building survey is more than recovered.
If you book a building survey in London with 1st Associated surveyors you will find that we take great pride in the quality of our building survey and produce a very detailed building survey report, whether it be for a residential property or a commercial property. We use plain English in our building surveys to explain any problems with the property to ensure that you understand the problems and how to resolve them.
Whilst most of this is written from local knowledge of the area, here are some websites that we think may interest you, some of which we have used for information and we would like to give them credit for this. We are only human so if there are any amendments or additions or updates we would be pleased to receive your feedback so we can keep our website up to date.
visitlondon.com, english-heritage.org.uk, nationaltrust.org.uk, londontown.com, alondonguide.com, networkrail.co.uk, visitthecity.co.uk, shopgreenwich.co.uk