The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throughout the 16th to 20th centuries.

Remains of a probably Celtic oppidum, established sometime between the 3rd and 1st century BCE, in the late Roman period re-used as a fort, were found at the current Waterfront development site between Beresford Street and the Thames.

This may have been a result of a gift of 918 from Ælfthryth, daughter of King Alfred and Countess of Flanders, in that case the first recorded grant of English lands to a foreign ecclesiastic institution.

[12] Woolwich remained a relatively small Kentish settlement until the beginning of the 16th century, when it began to develop into a maritime, military and industrial centre.

Following the establishment of the dockyard, Martin Bowes who had gathered a fortune at the Royal Mint, bought riverside holdings in Woolwich and Plumstead in the 1530s, some of it former church land that had become available after the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

[13] In the 1650s the Board of Ordnance was given permission to prove guns in the grounds of the mansion (an area known as the Warren) and twenty years later they purchased Tower Place itself.

The complex played a central role in Britain's military and industrial expansion: in wartime, tens of thousands of workers found employment here; between wars, unemployment loomed.

Due to the malarial marshlands, it was not a popular place to work and for that reason Woolwich dockyard workers were paid as much as a third more than in other naval towns.

[15] The presence of the dockyard, the arsenal and other military institutions stimulated economic growth in other areas, notably in commercial activities and entertainment.

In 1863, the German firm Siemens & Halske established a submarine-cable factory in the Dockyard area, which expanded rapidly.

[18] In 1868 the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society was established, which developed into one of the biggest consumer cooperatives in the country with two department stores in Powis Street, shops around South East London, manufacturing and food production plants, a building society, a funeral service and many other areas of entrepreneurship.

At this point there were 4,596 houses in the parish, with little space left for building; further development took place in Plumstead, Charlton and North Woolwich, later also in Eltham.

Victorian Woolwich was a rich social mix with skilled engineers along with unskilled labourers (including women and children) working at the Arsenal and other factories, large numbers of soldiers (making up 10–15% of the population) and a small bourgeoisie consisting of military officers and the commercial and professional elite.

Roads were widened and entire neighbourhoods pulled down to make room for modern housing, some of it in tower blocks.

[21] In the 20th century the Polytechnic grew steadily, taking up almost an entire block in the Bathway Quarter and later spreading to other areas.

The Woolwich Mission Kindergarten opened in 1900, and began in a room provided by a Christian socialist vicar of Holy Trinity church in New Charlton, the Rev.

[25] At the same time the town's demographics changed, with initially mainly Sikhs settling down in the area, later followed by black Africans, many from Nigeria.

Additionally, a riverside walk, several parks, a museum, a range of shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants, and a farmers' market have made the Arsenal a desirable place to live.

It will feature a 1,200-seat auditorium for concerts and events, a performance courtyard that seats up to 600, a 450-seat black box theatre and a riverside restaurant.

[36] Woolwich Arsenal DLR station, the terminus of the Docklands Light Railway's London City Airport branch, opened on 10 January 2009.

[41] In the same year, the latter development was named Britain's worst new building, being awarded the 'Carbuncle Cup' for a design judges described as "oppressive, defensive, arrogant and inept".

[45] The financial impact of the Woolwich Central project continued to be felt in July 2024, when Willmott Dixon said costs to fix the scheme had risen from £44m to £48m.

It originally envisaged demolition of the art deco RACS department store, one of two imposing Co-op buildings in this part of town.

Between the Arsenal and the Dockyard lies an area that was once Old Woolwich, a part of the town where little of historical interest remains and that, once again, is facing redevelopment.

[52] The Royal Military Academy at the south end of Woolwich Common was also designed by James Wyatt and has an almost equally long façade in Mock Tudor style.

In the early 19th century the commercial and administrative centre moved south to its present location around Powis Street, Beresford Square and the Bathway Quarter.

The western end of Powis Street is dominated by two former Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society (RACS) department stores, one late Victorian, the other one in Art Deco style.

Woolwich parish church, St Mary Magdalen is a plain brick 1730s building with a spireless tower.

Woolwich railway station opened in May 2022 on Elizabeth line with services towards Abbey Wood, Canary Wharf, central London, Reading and Heathrow Airport.

Woolwich is served by many London Buses routes connecting it with places including Abbey Wood, Beckenham, Bexleyheath, Blackfen, Blackheath, Bluewater, Catford, Central London Charlton, Chislehurst, Crayford, Crystal Palace, Dartford, Deptford, Elephant & Castle, Elmers End, Eltham, Erith, Greenwich, Lambeth North, Lewisham, Kidbrooke, New Cross, North Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Orpington, Peckham, Plumstead, Sidcup, St Mary Cray, Sydenham, Thamesmead and Welling.