From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Blackheath is a place in London, England, divided between the London Borough of Lewisham and the London Borough of Greenwich (the borough boundary runs across the middle of the heath, with the Village in Lewisham and the Blackheath Standard area and Westcombe Park in Greenwich), whose name derives from the dark colour of the soil, and not, as was popularly believed for many years, from the burial of victims of the Black Death on the heath in the 14th century.
Settled by Romans as a stopping point on Watling Street, Blackheath was also a rallying point for Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and for Jack Cade's Kentish rebellion in 1450. After pitching camp on Blackheath, Cornish rebels were defeated in the Battle of Deptford Bridge (sometimes called the Battle of Blackheath), just to the west, on 17 June 1497. With Watling Street crossing the heath carrying stagecoaches en route to north Kent and the Channel ports, it was also a notorious haunt of highwaymen during the 17th century.
Blackheath is perhaps most famous as the home of the Blackheath Football Club, founded in 1858, which was the first Rugby club in the world without restricted membership. With neighbouring Greenwich Park, it is also well known as the start point of the London Marathon, has strong associations with the campaign for women's suffrage - the suffragette movement - and the heath frequently hosts kite-flying competitions.
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