Photos

The Old Royal Naval College is set in landscaped grounds on the River Thames in the centre of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. The UNESCO designation recognises the site as being of "outstanding universal value", as Greenwich comprises the finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles.
Greenwich Hospital was established in 1694 by a Royal Charter for the relief and support of seamen and their dependants and for the improvement of navigation. Sir Christopher Wren planned the site and during the first half of the eighteenth century various illustrious architects, such as Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh, completed Wren's grand design. The elaborate ceiling and wall paintings in the Great Hall (known as the "Painted Hall", shown reflected here following a stormy spell) were executed by Sir James Thornhill between 1707 and 1726. The chapel was restored by James "Athenian" Stuart after a fire in 1779.
In 1869 the Hospital was closed, and in 1873 the complex of buildings became the Royal Naval College , where officers from all over the world came to train in the naval sciences. In 1998 the Royal Navy left Greenwich and handed over responsibility for the site to the Greenwich Foundation. In the Autumn of 1999 the University of Greenwich began teaching here, and were joined in October 2001 by Trinity College of Music.
The grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, together with the Painted Hall and the Chapel are now open to the public daily.

Cropped, desaturated and unsharp filter applied.

As always, comments and observations (also workshops) invited.

Regards,

Vic, Singapore. 9th August 2004.