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A description of Greenwich Hospital and the Naval School
taken from “A Topographical Dictionary of England” published in 1831
“Between the park and the river is that magnificent structure appropriated as an asylum for the decayed veterans and disabled seamen of the British navy, and for the maintenance and support of the widows and children of such as have fallen in the service of their country. This noble institution was established in the early part of the reign of William and Mary, and, upon the suggestion of Sir Christopher Wren, the unfinished palace of Charles II, afterwards enlarged under his gratuitous superintendence with additional buildings, was, by royal grant, appropriated to this patriotic purpose, in 1695. The king appointed nearly two hundred commissioners, including the principal officers of the state, the archbishops, bishops, judges, the lord mayor and aldermen of the city of London, the master, warden, assistants, and elder brethren of the Trinity House, to frame statutes and ordinances for the right management of the royal hospital, and, by letters patent, granted the annual sum of £2000 for completing the works, and carrying the plan into effect. By a commission issued in the reign of Queen Anne, seven of these commissioners were constituted a general court, of which the Lord High Admiral, the Lord Treasurer, or any two members of the Privy Council, should form a quorum. The governor and treasurer were appointed by the crown, all the other officers of the establishment by the Lord High Admiral, on the recommendation of the general court; twenty-five of the commissioners were appointed to form a standing committee, and the internal regulation of the hospital was vested in the governor and a council of officers, appointed by the Lord High Admiral. Similar commissions were issued by succeeding sovereigns, on their accession to the throne, and his late Majesty, George III, by charter, incorporated the commissioners, in whom also were vested, by act of parliament, all the estates held in trust for the benefit of the institution. By an act passed in the 10th of his present majesty, George IV, "to provide for the better management of the affairs of Greenwich Hospital," it is now placed under the authority, control, and direction, of the Lord High Admiral, or the commissioners to whom that office is usually entrusted. The present establishment consists of a governor, lieutenant governor, five captains, eight lieutenants, two chaplains, physician, assistant physician, surgeon, and three assistant surgeons, dispenser, and two assistants, secretary, cashier, steward, clerk of the cheque, clerk of the works, and other officers. On the opening of the hospital, in 1705, fifty-two pensioners were admitted: in the three following years the number increased to three hundred, and progressively increasing with the augmentation of the funds, it had in 1738 amounted to one thousand. Since-that period the buildings have been considerably enlarged, and there are at present two thousand seven hundred and ten pensioners, who, in addition to their lodging, clothing, and maintenance, receive a weekly allowance of pocket money. Apart from the pensioners, there are three matrons, and one hundred and sixty-two nurses, widows of seamen, who, besides their maintenance and clothing, receive a salary of £11 per annum, for attending the pensioners when sick, and keeping their apartments and linen in order: the number, of persons resident within the walls of this splendid establishment, including inferior officers and servants, is not less than three thousand five hundred. The hospital originally was open only to seamen in the king's service, but, in 1710, the privileges were, by an act passed in the reign of Queen Anne, extended to disabled mariners in the merchants' service. Mariners, as seamen, are entitled to the benefits of the hospital, and foreigners, having served two years in the British navy, are entitled to the same advantages as natives. By act of parliament in 1763, fourteen hundred out-pensioners, each of whom receive £7 per annum, were admitted on the foundation, but they have lately been transferred to the navy board. The ample funds by which this noble institution is supported have arisen from numerous sources, among which were a grant of £2000 per annum by King William; a subscription of £8000 raised at the commencement of the work, by the original commissioners; a grant of £19,000, the amount of various fines paid by merchants for smuggling; the forfeited effects of Kid, a pirate, amounting to £6472, granted by Queen Anne, in 1705; the moiety of an estate bequeathed by Robert Osbaldeston, Esq., in 1707, amounting to £20,000, with the profits of his unexpired grant of the North and South Foreland light-houses, since renewed to the hospital; an estate devised by Mr. William Clapham, of Eltham; the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater; a benefaction in malt tickets of £1000 by some person unknown; a legacy of £3381-15 by John de la Fontaine, Esq.; a bequest of £2000 by Mr. Evelyn, and fines for fishing with unlawful nets and for other offences on the river Thames. With these several sums and others not detailed, an investment has been made, producing £70,000 per annum, to which may be added £30,000 per annum arising from the above mentioned forfeited estates, which are situated in the counties of Cumberland and Durham, and contain valuable mines of lead and other ores; £20,000 per annum from a contribution of sixpence per month from every seaman in the merchants' service, the profits of the market of Greenwich, given by Henry, Earl Romney, in 1700; a percentage on freights, and other sums, forming in the aggregate an income of nearly £130,000 per annum.
The hospital is situated on a terrace fronting the Thames, eight hundred and seventy-five feet in length, and terminated at each extremity by an alcove: in the centre is a landing-place from the river, from which the view of this sumptuous pile is strikingly beautiful and magnificent, extending through a lengthened perspective of elegant building enriched by the stately domes of the hall and chapel, from each of which is continued a noble colonnade of the Doric order, three hundred and forty-seven feet in length, and terminating with the palace of Henrietta Maria, consort of Charles II., now the naval asylum, above which is seen the royal observatory on an eminence in the park. On the west side of the principal quadrangle, which is two hundred and seventy-three feet wide, and in the centre of which is a statue of George II by Rysbrack, sculptured out of a single block of marble taken from the French by Admiral Sir George Rook, is that part of the hospital called King Charles's building. In the centre of the front towards the river is a handsome portal, leading into an inner quadrangle, separating the wing of that monarch's unfinished palace from a range of building formerly of brick, but which, having fallen into decay, was rebuilt of Portland stone in 1814, in a style of more appropriate grandeur. The west front is decorated with six lofty Corinthian columns in the centre, and on each side enriched with pilasters of the same order. This range contains the apartments of the governor and lieutenant governor, the governor's hall, council-chamber, and other offices, with wards for four hundred and seventy six pensioners. On the east side of the principal quadrangle is that part of the hospital called Queen Anne's building, corresponding, in every respect, with the exception of some of its minuter details, with that of King Charles, and with it forming the entire front towards the river. This range, in addition to apartments for officers of the establishment, contains wards for four hundred and forty-two pensioners. To the south of these buildings are those of King William on the west, and Queen Mary on the east, erected by Sir Christopher Wren, to which there is an ascent from the principal quadrangle by a double flight of six steps, forming a terrace on the southern side, from which is a fine view of the river. In the former of these ranges is the painted hall, and in the latter the chapel of the hospital, of which the finely proportioned domes, by a projection of these ranges contracting the area of the quadrangle, are brought into a prominent point of view, in which they display with full effect the symmetry of their form and the gracefulness of their elevation. The tambour of these domes is surrounded by duplicated columns of the composite order, with projecting groups at the quoins, and the cupola is terminated by a turret surmounted by gilt vanes. The entrance to the hall is through a vestibule, in which are various emblematical paintings and portraits of several of the British admirals and benefactors to the hospital: the internal view of the dome, which is finely embellished with paintings, and from which hang many of the colours taken from the enemy, is strikingly beautiful. A large flight of steps leads from the vestibule, through a lofty and magnificent portal, into the grand saloon, one hundred and six feet in length, fifty-six in width, and fifty feet high, lighted on one side by a double range of windows, of which the jambs are empanelled and decorated with roses, and corresponding with these, on the opposite side, are recesses in which are emblematical figures painted in chiaro-oscuro. A range of lofty Corinthian pilasters, supporting a rich entablature, surrounds the saloon, the ceiling of which is exquisitely painted by Sir James Thornhill, in compartments; in the centre are the figures of King William and Queen Mary seated on a throne, attended by the cardinal virtues, and surrounded with emblematical representations of the seasons, the signs of the zodiac, and numerous allegorical devices from mythology and history. A series of portraits of the most distinguished admirals, and paintings of their principal naval engagements, decorate the walls, and over the great arch at the upper end of the hall are the British arms, supported by Mars and Minerva. From the saloon a flight of steps leads into the upper hall, in which the funeral car of Lord Nelson is deposited: the ceiling is decorated with paintings of Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark with various emblematical figures; in the angles are the arms of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, between which are represented the four quarters of the world, with their several emblems and productions. On the left of the entrance is a painting of the landing of the Prince of Orange, afterwards William III, and over the mantlepiece, the landing at Greenwich of George I. To the south of the painted hall is a continuation of King William's buildings, of which the east front is of Portland stone, decorated in the centre with a pediment, in the tympanum of which is an emblematical representation of the death of Admiral Lord Nelson in alto-relievo.
Opposite to the entrance into the painted hall is the chapel of the hospital, of which the interior and roof were destroyed by fire in 1779, and restored in the most elegant style of Grecian architecture, from a design by the late Mr. James Stuart, publisher of the Antiquities of Athens. In the vestibule are statues of Faith, Hope, Meekness, and Charity, after designs by West: a flight of fourteen steps leads through folding doors of mahogany exquisitely carved, with an architrave, frieze, and cornice, of statuary marble, beautifully enriched, into the chapel, which is one hundred and eleven feet in length and fifty-two in breadth, with a lofty arched ceiling divided into compartments, and elegantly ornamented with foliage and other designs. The altarpiece is embellished with a painting of the shipwreck of St. Paul, by West, in a richly gilt frame, twenty-five feet high and fourteen feet wide, above which are angels in statuary marble, sculptured by Bacon. The chapel is a continuation of Queen Mary's building, of Portland stone, similar in design, and, though less elaborately ornamented, corresponding in style with that of King William. This range of building, which, like all the rest, forms a detached quadrangle, contains wards for the accommodation of one thousand one hundred and seventy pensioners. The extremities of these two last ranges form the grand south front of the hospital, between which is a singularly grand and beautiful perspective view of the river and of the country on the opposite bank. The west entrance to the hospital is formed by massive rusticated stone piers, supporting a terrestrial and celestial globe, each six feet in diameter, on which are traced the great circles of the sphere, rectified for the latitude of Greenwich. Without the walls, on the west, is the infirmary, a handsome modern quadrangular building of brick, one hundred and ninety three feet in length and one hundred and seventy five in breadth, containing apartments for a physician, surgeon, and apothecary, with their assistants, a surgery, dispensary, and a small chapel, and wards divided into well ventilated rooms, holding four each, for the reception of two hundred and fifty-six patients. Adjoining the infirmary is a building for the accommodation of one hundred and seventeen helpless pensioners and their nurses, with hot and cold baths, and a room containing a good medical library. The east entrance is through iron gates handsomely decorated, opposite to which is a range of brick building comprising the commissioners' board-room and the requisite offices for the secretary, cashier, steward, clerk of the cheque, and other civil officers of the establishment.
To the south of the hospital is the Naval asylum, or school, for the clothing, maintenance, and education of the children of seamen. This extensive and truly liberal institution had its origin in the establishment of the royal hospital, in which a small number of the pensioners' sons was educated, and the original school was, in 1821, incorporated with the Royal Naval asylum, which had been removed from Paddington to Greenwich in 1801.The establishment comprises an upper and a lower school: the former consists of one hundred sons of commissioned and ward-room warrant officers of the Royal Navy, and marines, presented by the Board of Admiralty collectively, and of three hundred sons of officers of the same or inferior rank, nominated in rotation by the lords and the first secretary of the admiralty, and by the commissioners, governor, and lieutenant-governor of the hospital, individually. The scholars are admitted between the ages of eleven and twelve, and are instructed in writing, arithmetic, the mathematics, navigation, and the drawing of charts on geometrical principles, by masters appointed for the purpose, the chaplain is officially head master of all the schools, and especially charged with the religious instruction of the children, and the general superintendence of the other branches of their education. Each boy has a bible and prayer-book given to him on admission, and during his continuance is supplied with all necessary books and instruments, which he is allowed to take away with him on leaving school, when he is bound apprentice to the sea service for seven years. The lower school consists of four hundred boys and two hundred girls, children of inferior warrant and non-commissioned officers and seamen; they are admitted, from nine till twelve years of age, on petition to the governor of the hospital, according to their father's claim for service, which claims are examined monthly, and decided upon by a committee of selection: the boys are instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, till they are fourteen years of age, and are then apprenticed to the sea service; the girls, till of the same age, are taught reading, writing, and needle-work, and on their leaving school are placed out to trades or as household servants. The schools are supported from the general funds of the hospital, towards which are added the various sums received by the guides appointed to show the hospital to strangers, which, from its external magnificence and internal decoration, attracts numerous visitors. The present schoolrooms were erected from a design by Mr. Alexander, and consist of two spacious wings, each one hundred and forty-six feet in length and forty-two in breadth, connected with the central building by a colonnade of the Tuscan order, one hundred and eighty feet long and twenty wide, affording a sheltered area for recreation in wet weather. The central building, formerly the palace of Henrietta Maria, consort of Charles II, erected in 1635, and considerably enlarged for its present purpose, contains apartments for the superintending captain, the chaplain and head master, the assistant masters, the schoolmistresses, matron, nurses, and others connected with the schools, and the school-rooms, refectory, and dormitory for the girls. In the western wing are the chapel and the upper school-room, one hundred feet long and thirty-nine wide, with a lateral recess twenty-two feet square, over which are two spacious dormitories, containing each two hundred hammocks, suspended in two tiers on each side. To the west of this wing is the gymnasium, with complete apparatus for the practice of those athletic exercises so essential in a nautical education, as tending to impart strength and agility to the body, and courage and intrepidity to the mind: in part of the ground appropriated to this purpose is a circle of lofty masts and slighter poles alternately inserted at the top into a circular beam, and in the centre a high pole with a horizontal windlass, affording a complete course of gymnastics peculiarly adapted to naval purposes. The east wing comprises the lower school-room, of equal dimensions with the upper, two similar dormitories, each containing two hundred hammocks, and a refectory one hundred and forty-three feet long and thirty-nine wide, in which eight hundred scholars dine together at four tables, and a room for washing, in which are arranged in a circle one hundred separate cisterns, and other apparatus for one hundred boys to wash at once from a running stream. Connected with this part of the buildings are washhouses, laundries, kitchen, brewhouse, bakehouse, and other requisite offices. The grounds surrounding the buildings are pleasantly laid out; and on the lawn in front of the central building is a piece of heavy ordnance mounted. To the west of the naval asylum, in a detached situation, is the infirmary belonging to the institution, a neat building of brick, arranged with due regard to the accommodation of patients, who are visited during their illness by the matron of the school, and attended by the nurses.”
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