Second, the Eltham to Woolwich tram service (route 44, which opened on 23 July 1910) provided transport for Arsenal employees to and from their place of work.

Third, the Bexleyheath railway line from Dartford to Blackheath (opened on 1 May 1895) enabled rapid transport of building materials to the site.

Phillips' layout followed the low-density principles established by Richard Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin and others involved in the Garden city movement between 1900 and the outbreak of World War I.

Variety in materials and finishes (timber-framing, tile-hanging, slate-hanging, stone, brick and rendering) was matched by the complexity of shape and silhouette, and combined with period details such as the raised pavement to produce a virtuoso re-creation of the ‘old English Village’.

At the suggestion of HM Office of Works, London County Council – responsible at the time for the naming of all new roads in the Metropolis – selected the names of famous men who had lived in Woolwich and held high office at Woolwich Arsenal or the Dockyard; Congreve, Maudslay, Phineas Pett, Sandby, Shrapnel and Whinyates are examples.