The Society holds an archive of 30,000 images of Blackheath. Many of these have been digitised and are publicly accessible on our sister website, www.blackheatharchive.org. We are continually adding more images to this website.

Our archive materials are increasingly diverse and now include video and sound files, as well as images, and we plan to continue to add these to the publicly accessible archive as quickly as possible. We also have a number of newspaper articles, derived from the British Newspaper Archive www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk which reflect historical events in Blackheath.

Thus on 18 Nov 1736,  the Caledonian Mercury reported:

Wednesday Night betwixt 6 and 7 a- clock, Mr. Rofe of Charlton in Kent, was attacked on Blackheath by two Highwaymen, who robbed him of a Bank Note of £20. a Silver Watch, and 26s. in Silver after which they tied his Legs under the Horse's Belly, took off his Bridle, and then made off.

On 31 Dec 1748, The Ipswich Journal reported:

On Thursday last Capt. Smith of the Spencer, a Baltick Trader, was attack'd by a single Highwayman, on Blackheath, who robb'd him of nine Guineas. The Fellow was soon afterwards taken by two Persons coming with a Dung-Cart, who knock'd him off his Horse, notwithstanding he fired a Pistol at them. He proved to be one Hawes, a Smuggler, and has for some Time past infested those Roads, He Was carried before a Justice at Charlton, who committed him, under a strong Guard, to Rochester Gaol.

If you have any items - whether photographs, stories, memories, recordings, anything - which you think may be of significance or amusement to people interested in the history of Blackheath, please contact: