Severndroog Castle was built in 1784 as a memorial to Sir William James. His wife Lady James wanted to celebrate Sir William’s most famous exploit when he destroyed the fleet and stronghold of pirates on the island fortress Severn Droog on the west coast of Malabar, India in 1755.
Building History
1720: William James is born in Pembrokeshire
1738: James serves under Sir Edward Hawke in the West Indies
1747: James is appointed Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of the East India company's marine
1755: On 2nd April, James and his men capture the fortress of Severndroog on the coast of Malabar
1759: On returning to England, James marries Anne, the daughter of Edmond Goddard of Hartham in Wiltshire
1774: James purchases and later rebuilds Park Farm Place at Eltham
1778: James is awarded a Baronetcy (British order of chivalry below the rank of Baron but above that of a Knight. A baronet does not have a seat in the House of Lords but is entitled to the style Sir before his name. Abbreviated to ‘Bart.’)
1780: The third child of Sir William James is stillborn - there is no mention of a name or sex of the baby made in the Eltham burial register
1783: James dies of apoplexy (a stroke) on 16th December in the midst of festivities attending the marriage of his only daughter Elizabeth Anne to Thomas Boothby Parkyns (later the first Lord Rancliffe)
1784: Severndroog Castle is built on Shooters Hill in the parish of Eltham. Lady James gives £500 to the parish to provide coal every December to the poor of Eltham
1792: James' son Edward William dies aged 18
1797: General Roy uses the tower when linking up England and France trigonometrically and for that purpose, the 36" theodolite made by Ramsden and presented by George III to the Royal Society was installed on its summit. The theodolite is now homed at the London Science Museum – more at: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
1798: Lady James dies and is buried at the family vault in Eltham Churchyard
c.1816: Mr John Blades, ex-sheriff of London purchases the castle, stating: “It being a conspicuous object eastward of his mansion at Brockwell Hill, near Dulwich”.
1836: An advertisement is placed stating "Mr John Smith solicits the company of his friends to join a select gipsy party" to be held at Shooters Hill on Tuesday the 12th of July; "The spot fixed on as the resting-place is in front of the castle at Shooters Hill."
1847: The castle is under threat from a proposal to build a 10,000 catacomb cemetery in terraces on the site
1848: Royal Engineers use the building for conducting a survey of London
c.1850: Public access to the castle is withdrawn and the road which leads through the wood past the tower is closed at the same time
1869: Mr Barlow, ship owner, leases Castle Wood. He terraces the slope south of the castle and built Castle Wood House but never lives there
1874: Mr Thomas Jackson (eminent railway and docks contractor of Eltham Park) acquires the lease and his son
Mr John Jackson occupies the house until the lease transfers to Mr E Probyn Godson
1922: Mr E Probyn Godson bequeathes to the London County Council (LCC) an option on the estate, the freehold of which he had acquired together with that of the castle. The property is bought by a committee for £6,000 part made up by contributions from metropolitan borough councils of Bermondsey (£250), Deptford (£500), Greenwich (£500), Lewisham (£500) and Woolwich (£2,000) and is transferred to LCC management in November. Castle Wood House (and its outbuildings including the classical style Flint Lodge) is demolished but the castle is kept for "park purposes"
1939 - 45: Severndroog Castle is the highest point from London to Paris. During World War II the tower is manned day and night by two observers (special constables) who were in telephonic communication with Whitehall and kept constant lookout for air raiders
1986: Greater London Council (GLC) is abolished and the London Borough of Greenwich takes ownership of the castle
c.1986: Severndroog Castle is closed to the public
2002: Greenwich Council propose to lease the castle to a property developer Mount Anvil. A campaign to keep the castle for the public begins
2003: Severndroog Castle Building Preservation Trust (SCBPT) is founded
2004: Severndroog Castle is one of twenty-one buildings selected to appear on the second series of BBC2’s Restoration
2005: An event is held at the castle on 2 April to commemorate 250 years since the battle of Severndroog
2008: SCBPT becomes a registered charity and the London Borough of Greenwich 2008 agrees in principle to a 30 year lease.
2010: The Heritage Lottery Fund awards a grant of £595,000 towards the restoration of Severndroog Castle