io8 LONDON PARKS & GARDENS 



and a splashing fountain, and sunny walks to form " a 

 very pleasing contrast," where the air was " perfumed 

 with roses." The slopes of Greenwich may have pre- 

 sented such a scene in the days when Roman galleys 

 rowed up the Thames. 



In another part of the Park, Roman graves have been 

 found, and other burying-places of a later date suggest a 

 very different picture from that of Roman times. These 

 tumuli are very numerous, and although over twenty 

 remain, a much greater number existed, and have been 

 rifled from time to time, or excavated, as in 1784, when 

 some fifty were opened, and braids of human hair, frag- 

 ments of woollen cloth, and beads were found. These 

 graves suggest the occupation of these heights by the 

 Danes, who were encamped there for some three years 

 about loii. Wild and lawless must have been the 

 aspect then, and the incident that stands out prominently 

 is the martyrdom of St. Alphege, the Archbishop, slain 

 here by the Danes in 1012. 



There was probably some royal residence at Green- 

 wich from the time of Edward 1., but it was not 

 until it came to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, that 

 the Palace much used in Tudor times was built. This 

 building faced the Thames, and went by the name of 

 " Placentia " or " Plaisance," and round it there was a 

 garden. The royal licence, which gave the Duke leave 

 to enclose a portion of the heath, provided that he might 

 also build " Towers of stone and lime." The tower 

 stood on the hill now crowned by the Observatory, and 

 was pulled down when Charles II. had the Observatory 

 erected from designs by Wren in 1675. The plan in- 

 cluded a well 100 feet deep, at the bottom of which the 

 astronomer Flamsteed could lie and observe the heavens. 



