The yellow shading represents the old estates of Woodlands and Westcombe Park House which were sold in 1876 for development. This coincided with the arrival of the train service and the building of Westcombe Park station in 1878. This development was termed "Westcombe Park" after the park which was located south of the railway behind the present day hospital.

Woodlands was owned by John Angerstein, a wealthy merchant and founder of Lloyds of London and the National Gallery. It is for this reason that the name Angerstein frequently crops up in the Westcombe Park area. The house is now owned by the council and is a local history museum and art gallery in need of better funding!

People within the grey bordered area would commonly refer to living in Westcombe Park, although strictly speaking only those in the area shaded yellow are really in the Westcombe Park Development. There is a bit of snobbery associated with the railway divide (North is SE10 for Greenwich and South is SE3 for Blackheath), and a lot with the Woolwich Road divide. Like most areas, names have changed through history and going back to 1740 it can be seen from historical maps of the area that it is the area bordered by the four perimeter roads which has claim to the name "Westcombe".

Those in the orange shading are strictly in "East Greenwich" and the housing estate was created c.1883 after the sale of the Coombe Farm which covered this shaded area. A farm of this name has a very long history and it was at one time owned by Henry VIII and given to Anne Boleyn. The farm's last owner was also Angerstein who leased it to a tenant who concentrated on Market Gardening. The Victorian farm buildings themselves were in the vicinity of Westcombe Park station, and were finally demolished in 1901. Only the areas south of the Woolwich Road were suitable for housing due to their proximity to the new station, and the marshy nature of the ground to the north.

For slightly more information you should buy "Discover Greenwich and Charlton" by Darrell Spurgeon which also covers a wider area and is a useful book to have, or alternatively, for as much information as you can handle, take a historical trip to Woodlands on Mycenae Road (pronounced my-sinny if you want to be a local)!