The east end of Greenwich was made up of gravel and chalk pits. In Greenwich, Henry VIII built a castle surrounded by shipyards. Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were both born at Greenwich and their brother Edward VI died there. Greenwich was an important communication place and throughway for the Thames. The east end was part of a Roman highway running to Canterbury. In 1613, King James rebuilt the palace in Greenwich for his wife Anne (Millward 69). The castle was eventually turned into a royal navel college due to its strategic value. The east end of London does not seem to draw the same amount of attention as the west end of London draws. One reason for this could be the attention given to the city that existed inside the walls of London. The east end of London may not have received the same amount of attention as the west end because the west end contained Westminster Abbey, the home of the reigning monarch. Another possibility for the greater attention given to the west end of the city is the relationship of the west end to the Lord Mayor's procession and the coronation of a new monarch. During the procession of the new monarch, their journey would begin in the Tower of London and they would eventually make the journey all the way to Westminster Abbey. There is little focus given to the east end of the city, which was more of an industrial district rather than a residential or commercial district. The east end of London was not a place solely of attraction. In the 1600s, the east end was made up of lower income families and lower income housing. The east end was not under the laws of London since it was located outside of the city walls. Located in the east end were brothels, dicing houses, taverns, and many back-streets where prostitution and gambling occurred. Some of the members of the city believed that only the scum of society would travel to the east end (Merritt 230). The east end was considered by most to be a place of London temptations. The east end was responsible for shipping docks since the easiest way to travel to the western world was to travel east through the Thames, head south around the base of England, and begin making the passage west. The Thames was congested during the summer months as cargo ships attempted to bring their products into London. Oftentimes there would be a heavy demand in getting products into storage before the summer heat began to create havoc on the food or the rats that infested the city could begin spoiling a product. Companies like the East India Company built warehouses farther east down the Thames to help with the shipping route and making it easier for their ships to bring their goods into London without having to deal with the heavy traffic and extra journey. The main shipping docks in the east end of London were a place of murder and crime as well. Christopher Marlowe, a famous playwright was said to be slain in a brawl in Deptford in 1593 and was later buried in the Deptford churchyard (Banks 467). -- Kevin Scott, 2002