Another summery day, so this time to Blackheath. Have wanted to go for familial historic reasons. The Palatine ancestors arrived in London in 1909 and spent part of the winter of 1709-1710 in a huge refugee camp, probably in or near Blackheath. Lovely fields now, adjacent to Greenwich Park but farther inland. But with between 13 and 32 thousand Palatine Germans spending the winter in tents, depending on the dates, it must have been hell. One can only imagine the provisions for water and sanitation - or lack of same. The ancestor involved was fleeing after a vicious winter on the Rhine, which had killed the grape vines. There had also been religious persecution and and French invasions to contend with. The Londoners were sympathetic to the refugees at first, but as thousands more arrived they, like many voters of today, felt that there were too many immigrants and that they were competing for food and jobs as well as living in conditions that bred disease. They were sped on their way, my lot ending up in New York (pre revolution of course) on the Hudson River, their descendants eventually moving up the river and over the border and becoming Canadian Loyalists.
We take a look at the heath, which is pretty well empty field now and try to imagine it as a refugee camp, with thousands of tents. Canvas? And, of course, no facilities to speak of. Walk on to a church whose spire we've spotted. Very friendly people but it must be 19th century. Not a landmark in the time of the Palatine Germans. We welcome the chance to use the loo, though. As no doubt they would have done. Bus back to Lewisham dockland light railway station to take a train to Bank and then tube home.