Events, exhibitions & displays on a versatile historic site
Isabel Keim
20 February 2009
The Old Royal Naval College is one of London’s most famous riverside landmarks and stands on the site of the Tudor palace where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born. The site is managed by the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College and the buildings and grounds together form the centrepiece of one of this country’s finest examples of Baroque landscape. Planned and designed by some of the greatest architects of the day, including Wren, Hawksmoor, Vanbrugh and James “Athenian” Stuart, the grounds, Painted Hall and Chapel are all open daily to the public free of charge. In 2010, visitors will also be able to explore the new interpretation and education centre, Discover Greenwich, telling the continuing story of the Old Royal Naval College and Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Both the University of Greenwich and Trinity College of Music are based on the site.
2009 Events - A wide variety of public events take place throughout the year at this historic site, including exhibitions, concerts, children’s activities and conferences. This year is a particularly exciting year as it marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s coronation and accession to the throne as well as Baroque 09, a year of nationwide cultural events inspired by the anniversaries of two leading baroque composers; the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death and the 350th of Purcell’s birth.
The Painted Hall - One of the finest banqueting rooms in Europe, the famous painted ceilings and walls of the Painted Hall took artist Sir James Thornhill nineteen years to complete, for which he was paid a miserly £6,685, 2s and 4d – equivalent to £3 a square yard for the ceilings and £1 for the walls. It is estimated that between 30,000 and 90,000 mourners queued to pay their respects in January 1806, when the body of Nelson lay in state in the Hall after his death 200 years ago at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The Chapel - Originally designed by Sir Christopher Wren for the retired seamen of Greenwich Hospital, this neoclassical masterpiece was rebuilt and redecorated by James Stuart and William Newton following a fire in 1779. Its 1789 Samuel Green organ and superb acoustics make the Chapel a popular venue for public concerts and recitals. Public services of worship are held every Sunday at 11am.
Nelson and the Painted Hall Exhibition - The Nelson Room, with high vaulted and domed circular ceiling, has been fully restored, with restoration work revealing original stone floors and features. It houses a permanent exhibition about Nelson’s lying in state, which includes silver plates from Nelson’s dinner service, a life-size statue of Nelson made using the original maquette for the statue on top of Nelson’s Column and a cross-section model of the Painted Hall, as it would have been in 1805 and 1905. The Nelson Room and Painted Hall Exhibition are now open daily.
King William Restaurant – The refurbishment of the King William Restaurant, tucked in the Undercroft of the Painted Hall, presents a unique opportunity to lunch in Admiral’s House from February to April 2009. The restaurant serves a British contemporary seasonal menu, accompanied by a well-chosen list of fine wines. Opening times: 12.00 - 2.30pm, Tuesday to Friday and Sunday. To book a table please telephone 020 8269 2131, also available for group bookings.
Discover Greenwich - A £5.8 million new interpretation and learning centre telling the continuing story of the Old Royal Naval College and Maritime Greenwich will open early in 2010. The centre will include a permanent exhibition, a learning suite and a temporary exhibition gallery. The shop, café and Tourist Information Centre will be completely refurbished, and a new brasserie featuring a micro brewery will open in the adjacent Old Brewery building of the former Royal Hospital.
OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE VISITOR INFORMATION
Admission Free
Grounds open daily 08.00 – 18.00
Painted Hall, Nelson Room & Chapel 10.00 – 17.00
On Sunday the Chapel opens at 12.30 following Sunday service which all are welcome to attend.
For more information please visit www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org
Guided tours of the Painted Hall, Chapel, Jacobean undercroft & Victorian Skittle Alley:
Adults £5, children (accompanied by an adult) free.
Group Tours and lunches also available.
Please call 020 8269 4799 or email info@greenwichfoundation.org.uk for further information.
-ends-
Issued 18 February 2009
For further information, photographs and interviews please contact Isabel Keim
020 8269 4763 / 07890 314 499 ikeim@greenwichfoundation.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Brief Site History
The Old Royal Naval College began life as Greenwich Hospital, which was established in 1694 by Royal Charter for the relief and support of seamen and their dependants and for the improvement of navigation. Sir Christopher Wren planned the site, described as "one of the most sublime sights English architecture affords", and, during the first half of the eighteenth century, various illustrious architects, such as Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh, completed Wren's grand design.
In June 1705, the first Pensioners arrived and, by 1814, a total of 2,710 lived there. They lived on a diet of bread, beer and boiled meat and smoked their clay pipes or ‘chalks’ in the Chalk Walk, now the Skittle Alley. The Pensioners were given pocket money of 1s a week, which they supplemented by acting as caddies at Blackheath Golf Club and guides for visitors to Greenwich.
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. The Navy moved out in 1998 to merge with the RAF and Army at a new Joint Services Staff College in Shrivenham.
With the departure of the Royal Navy from Greenwich, responsibility for the Old Royal Naval College passed to the Greenwich Foundation. The Foundation is a registered charity established to look after, and interpret, the buildings and their grounds for the benefit of the nation.
