Dial Square
Only the entrance front with its powerful archway remains of the former gun machining factory, built 1717-20, which with the other buildings covered a wide area and was originally known as the Great Pile.
In 1886 workers in Dial Square formed Dial Square Football Club, soon changing their name to Royal Arsenal. The football club was formed to break the monotony of every day life in a munitions factory and by 1890 they were proclaimed "Champions of the South", attracting the top northern teams to London and playing in one of the most modern grounds in the country. In 1904, now known as Woolwich Arsenal, they were the first southern team to play in English football's top division. The club moved to Highbury in 1913 and became 'Arsenal' the following year. The Club has since become one of the most successful teams in England, renowned throughout the world and moved to its current Emirates Stadium in 2006. It never forgets its origins as a club created to bring people together with the common love of football.
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In 1764 a sundial was erected over the main entrance and it is this building, now called Dial Square, which survives.
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The famous cannon crest was first adopted by Royal Arsenal FC in 1904. The
three vertical cannons were borrowed from the Borough of Woolwich coat of arms.
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Dial Square. One of the oldest remaining structures by Sir John Vanburgh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, c.1717-20, the Dial Square complex was a double courtyard housing smithies and turning shops in one and armourer's shops and accommodations in the other The sundial over the archway dates from 1764.
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