Greenwich - London's Nautical Heritage 

(Picture) Queens House with the Royal Observatory in the distance

Greenwich - London's Nautical Heritage Attractions include, The Queen's House and National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park, The Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory, Prime Meridian Clock and Greenwich Time-Ball are also located in Greenwich.

Greenwich lies on the south bank of the Thames, approximately five miles to the east of central London. Rich in maritime history and with an outstanding architectural heritage, Greenwich's more traditional attractions include many buildings designed by well-known English architects, including the Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and the Old Royal Observatory situated in Greenwich Park, built by Sir Christopher Wren for King Charles II. At the Observatory, visitors can stand astride longitude zero with one foot in the eastern and the other in the western hemisphere.

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GMT Greenwich Mean Time
The Royal Observatory
The Royal Observatory was founded on 22 June 1675 by King Charles II, and was built specifically to do work which would help to solve the problem of finding longitude - one's exact position east and west - while at sea and out of sight of land. Charles II appointed John Flamsteed as his first Astronomer Royal in March 1675. The 28-year old clergyman was instructed 'to apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much-desired longitude of places for the perfecting the art of navigation.' Longitude was then impossible to calculate at sea and Flamsteed began his observations to solve the longitude problem once and for all.