It is east of Greenwich and west of Woolwich, on the south bank of the River Thames, 7.2 miles (11.6 km) southeast of Charing Cross.

On the northern edge of the house's garden is a mulberry tree planted in 1608 by order of King James in an effort to cultivate silkworms.

On the death of Sir Adam, his executors Peter Newton and David Cunningham of Auchenharvie were charged to rebuild St Luke's Church.

[4][6] The manor was subsequently acquired by the colonial administrator Sir William Langhorne, 1st Baronet, who is buried in the parish church.

In 1843, Charlton was the site of the death and burial of murdered civil servant Edward Drummond, whose assassination led to the establishment of the M'Naghten Rules for legal insanity.

The flat land adjoining the Thames at Charlton Riverside has been a significant industrial area since Victorian times.

The establishment of heavy industry centred on Charlton Pier, and led to a number of serious fires in the area in the mid 19th century.

[10][11] A notable establishment was the Siemens Brothers Telegraph Works (although largely in the parish of Woolwich) opened in 1863, which manufactured two new transatlantic cables in the 1880s,[12] and contributed to PLUTO in World War 2.

From 1903 to 1913, the Italian writer Italo Svevo lived in a house on Charlton Church Lane which now bears a blue plaque in his honour.

He had arrived there in his capacity as a director in a Trieste firm selling high-quality underwater paint for ships, on whose behalf he established a factory in Charlton's Anchor and Hope Lane, fulfilling a big contract with the British Royal Navy.

Stone & Co moved to Charlton from Deptford in 1917, and produced 22,000 propellers for the Royal Navy during World War II (its products being fitted to battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and numerous smaller vessels),[15] plus propellers and water-tight doors for RMS Queen Mary, RMS Queen Elizabeth and Royal Yacht Britannia.

In the London Assembly, Charlton falls within the Greenwich and Lewisham constituency, which has been represented by Labour's Len Duvall since its creation in 2000.

The architecture of Charlton is diverse, offering an insight into how different parts of the area were built up, as it evolved from a Thames-side village into the London suburb that it is today.

Other streets in Charlton named after prominent figures or places include Montcalm, Henry, Prince of Wales, Canberra, and Kashmir.

[1] Out of an active workforce of 6,698 people, 11.8% worked in wholesale, retail or auto repair; 11.4% in education, and 11.4% in health and social care.

[30][31] Sainsbury's also has a large distribution centre in New Charlton; it was rebuilt and expanded in 2012 and re-opened by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in 2013.

The first recorded place of worship in Charlton is St Luke's Church, originally a chalk and flint building known to have existed in the 11th century.

[34] It is the burial place of several generations of the lords of the manor of Charlton, and of murdered British prime minister Spencer Perceval.

The current church was built in 1905 and celebrated its centenary on 17 September 2005 with a concelebrated ecumenical mass, led by Archbishop Kevin McDonald and parish priest, Fr.

[38] The church has strong historic links with the Irish community in south east London which are evident in the statue of Saint Patrick on display inside.

The current presbytery was once the home of William Henry Barlow (1812–1902), the eminent 19th century engineer, who designed St Pancras railway station and for whom English Heritage have erected a blue plaque in recognition; it is also grade II listed.

The southern approach of the Blackwall Tunnel crossing of the River Thames is located to the west, while the South Circular Road lies some way to the east.