Enhancing the historic viewpoint at One Tree Hill

We are delivering an exciting project to improve access to One Tree Hill and enhance the seating area, thanks to the generous support of the Friends of Greenwich Park who have donated £50,000 to this initiative.

One Tree Hill is located to the east of Observatory Hill, from which visitors enjoy picturesque views of the Thames. It was the preferred view of visitors in the 18th and 19th century. However, the path to the viewpoint is steep.

We will create a new, more accessible-friendly path, install a new bench around the principal tree at the viewpoint, and produce new interpretation to reveal the history and explain the view. We will inscribe a poem about One Tree Hill, published in 1784 and ascribed to poet Thomas Nichols, on etched paving along the new path.

There will be a temporary closure of One Tree Hill and the footpath leading up from Lovers’ Walk while these works are delivered, between January to April 2023.

A famous portrait of Ignatius Sancho, by society artist Thomas Gainsborough.

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Remembering Ignatius Sancho

Ignatius Sancho was a writer, composer and abolitionist who lived on the edge of Greenwich Park, and became the first black person to vote in Britain.

History & heritage | Historical figures