Woods next to the former abattoir site on Woodlands Farm

Image: © Marathon Taken: 7 Jan 2018

This is the site of the former abattoir for Woodlands Farm. Woodlands Farm was taken over by the Royal Arsenal Co-Operative Society in 1920, and in 1936 an abattoir was built on this site. The abattoir carried out work for all Co-ops in South East London and was in use between 1937 and 1989, but from 16th March 1985 it functioned solely as a meat depot. The building stood empty from October 1989 until it was demolished, between May and June 1994. Now all that remains is some of the concrete hard standing, the old entrance gates and some rather eerie remains of lamp posts. The whole site, surrounded as it is by woodland, is quiet and eerie. This is even more the case in view of what happened here in 1987. On 9th July 1987 two armed robbers were shot dead by armed police officers here at the Woodlands Farm Abattoir when wages were being delivered. The incident set a new record on mainland Britain for the number of deaths and woundings in a single incident which did not involve terrorism. The full story can be read at https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=I0YkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT172&lpg=PT172&dq=plumstead+abattoir+shooting&source=bl&ots=wru9hu37ad&sig=HTd57K3jnbpJm44XH76DZpVL3UQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiGgsj4ssbYAhXmL8AKHR9GCj04ChDoAQg-MAQ#v=onepage&q=plumstead%20abattoir%20shooting&f=false Two news recordings from the time can be seen here - one follows the other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqsKr1nKJWA This view looks into the neighbouring woodland from which the robbers emerged. A view from this point up the access road down which the wages van came can be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4442100 The Woodlands Farm Trust was founded in 1997 and bought a 999 year lease on the farm with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Bridge House Estates Trust.

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