| Summary : The Royal Naval hospital, also known as The Royal Naval Hospital Stonehouse was built in 1758-65 to the designs of the architect Alexander Rowehead. The hospital was set up to provide care for injured, disabled and sick seamen who had served in the Royal Navy. The hospital is was originally comprised of a group of buildings of ten ward blocks, arranged around a courtyard and central block containing the chapel, dispensary and staff housing, connected by a Tuscan colonnade. The hospital closed in 1995 and since then a number of the buildings at the site have been converted into dwellings, offices and commercial premises.The group of buildings that make up the Royal Naval Hospital lie in a Conservation Area. |
More information : (SX 46695471) Royal Naval Hospital (NAT). (1)
D179 STONEHOUSE HIGH STREET ROYAL NAVAL HOSPITAL
2.
Begun 1758. Opened 1762. Architect, Alexander Rowehead, probably with William Robinson as consultant. Consisting of a series of buildings laid out on axial lines. This block system is the earliest example in England of a hospital with a limited number of patients in each block in order to prevent contagion.
Trafalgar Central Administrative Block and Connected Wards with Granite Tuscan Colonnades.
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Trafalgar Block: 3 storeys and attic. 1:3:1 windows. Stone
rubble with ashlar dressings. Centre projects boldly with
pediment. 1st floor bands, plain architraves.
Lunette in pediment over 3-light 2nd floor window above arch
containing Venetian window. 3 arches to open passageway of ground floor. Central cupola and turret. Hipped roof of new
interlocking tiles. Interior very plain with plain central staircase, no other internal features of interest. The Trafalgar block originally contained the chapel.
Ward Blocks: 10 blocks forming square connected by Tuscan
colonnades in granite now mostly glazed and an upper corridor
built over. The 10 ward blocks also stone rubble with ashlar
dressings, 3 storeys, generally 5 windows, parapet with band, 2
bands to 1st floor, plain architraves, sashes in reveals, hipped roofs with new interlocking tiles.
Sundial in front and West of Trafalgar Block
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C18 sundial made by John Gilbert of London, on a turned stone
pedestal standing on what is said to be a millstone made of 6
stones dovetailed together.
Pay Office and Admiral's Office
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Part of the original hospital plan. Small square single-storey and attic blocks with 3 arches facing inwards towards each other and 3 openings at sides. Stone, rusticated quoins, parapet. Slate mansard roofs with central chimneys Admiral's Office has lead rainwater pipe and head dated 1765.
Inner Gate-Piers
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Early C19. Reputed to have been designed by Daniel Alexander
(1768-1846). Rusticated stone piers with pedimented cap over carved relief and fretted band. After removal one of the piers
has been replaced.
Residences Nos 4, 5, 6 & 7 including Area Railings
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Built as official residences in 1765. Red brick front now cement rendered. 3 storeys, attics and basements. 12 windows,centre 6 project slightly with wide pediment over. Parapet. Slate mansard roof with dormers. Bands. Later sashes without glazing bars. 3 porches (centre porch is double) with fluted pilasters and pediments, glazed doors and sides. Including plain area railings.
Residences Nos 8 & 9. The Medical Mess.
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Built 1806. Reputed to have been designed by Daniel Alexander
(1768-1846). 2 almost identical blocks facing each other forming a square with Nos 4, 5, 6 and 7. Ashlar. Slate hipped roof with wide eaves. 3 storeys, attics and basement. 9 windows, flat arches. Sashes without glazing bars. 1st floor continuous sill course, band at 1st floor level. No 8 (north block) has central semi-circular porch with Tuscan columns and entablature, glazed curved door and flanking windows between columns. Medical Mess (south block) has a later large glazed porch at centre. 4 round-headed dormers.
Residences Nos 11, 12 and 13.
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C18. Stone rubble with ashlar dressings. Slate roofs. Centre
block (No 13) 2 storeys and attic, 3 windows, slate mansard or with end chimneys, parapet and wide pediment, with attic lunette; 1st floor Venetian window with blocked flanking lights, ground floor later enclosed porch rendered, 2 small dormers, Nos 11 and 12 flanking wings to No 13 at centre, 2 storeys, 3 windows, slate hipped roof, parapet, central wooden porch with fielded panels and glazed sides and door and wide cornice. Continuous band at 1st floor level. All windows are sashes with glazing bars.
Water-Tower
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C18. The original water tower for supplying the hospital. Octagonal or plan. Stone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings. Circular openings 1 or 2 on each side. Brick round
arch opening on ground floor. Now blocked Low-pitched roof with central octagonal turret with lead-clad dome with bell finial.
North Gateway and Store
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C18. Stone rubble with ashlar dressings. Corrugated iron roof
with gabled ends. 2 storeys. Parallelagram on plan with archway
with keyblock through centre on parallel axis, 8 windows, plain
architraves with reveals in line with axis of building. The central archway is in slight projection, large iron gates to outward end of archway which leads to the jetty where patients were landed. The rooms over were stores for hair and bedding.
Landing Jetty
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C18. Short jetty of rusticated granite projecting into Stonehouse Lake (now reclaimed). At each side there are landing steps. Used for landing patients from the ships.
Chapel
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Built 1883. Gothic Revival. Rubble Slate roof with dormers and wooden 'clerestory' with trefoil lights. Wide 2-light aisle windows with depressed arches carved chevrons. Porch at west end, above a large nave window with 2 round headed cusped lights. Low tower on south west corner with octagonal stone spire. Semi-circular apse at east end.
Octagonal Posting Box immediately south of the Pay Office
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Made 1853-59. It is a private box used only by the Royal Naval
Hospital but was probably cast by one of the Post Office contractors. It does not bear the lettering Post Office' nor letter Box nor the Royal cypher. Painted red cast iron, octagon pillar with angle beading, moulded cap which is flat and moulded base with shallow plinth. Vertical posting slit with external flap.
Main Gate & Gate-Piers
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Victorian. Large ashlar gate piers with cornices and rusticated
ball finials. Studded and panelled wooden gates with openwork
cast iron panel bearing Royal Arms. Flanking railings curved outwards to cast iron lamp standards, the lamps are modern.
Originally there was a cast iron overthrow between the piers.
Boundary Wall along Clarence Place and Stoke Road
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1758 to 1762. A long stretch of stone rubble wall on south and east side of the Royal Naval Hospital along Clarence Place and
Stoke Road. From approximately 15 ft high. Intended to prevent the desertion of patients usually recruited by press-gangs.
All the listed buildings at Royal Naval Hospital form a group. For further details on the designations see the statutory data. (2)
The hospital closed in 1995 and since then a number of the buildings at the site have been converted into dwellings, offices and commercial premises. (3)
At the time of amending this record in 2012, access to information on the designations noted in source 2 above is available via the National Heritage List for England. (4)
According to English Heritage’s Corporate GIS the group of buildings that make up the Royal Naval Hospital lie in a Conservation Area. The National Grid Reference for the buildings is: SX4663954703 (5) |