| Summary : The Royal Hospital Haslar was the first purpose-built naval hospital for the sick and wounded in England and was constructed in 1746-62. There were alterations and additional buildings constructed in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Around 13,000 sailors and soldiers are also said to be buried here who served in conflicts between 1753 and 1859. In 1902 the hospital became known as the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar (abbreviated to RNH Haslar). The preliminary design was by Sir Jacob Ackworth, Surveyor to the Navy, and it was developed by Theodore Jacobsen. The hospital was built by James Horne, surveyor, and John Turner, Portsmouth dockyard carpenter. The main building on the site was constructed from red brick with Portland dressings and carvings and a slate hipped roof with a central ridge lantern. The plan comprises six parallel ranges of ward blocks around three sides of a large courtyard which is open to the north. There are also corner residential blocks containing octagonal courtyards. The Palladian style building is three storeys high, except for the central pediment section which is of four storeys. The pediment contains carvings of George II's coat of arms and allegorical figures and emblems depicting Navigation and Commerce. The front elevation is symmetrical and there are sash windows throughout. The hospital joined the Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust in 2001 and in 2007 it ceased to be a Ministry of Defence-managed hospital. It closed two years later, in 2009. The hospital site is currently (2011) the focus of a social and community-led regeneration programme. |
More information : (SZ 61859880) Royal Naval Hospital Haslar (NAT) (1)
The Royal Naval Hospital was built 1746-1762 and opened in 1754. Only three of the original four blocks of buildings set round a square were completed. (2, 3)
The Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, (name confirmed) – as described. (4)
The listed buildings within the hospital grounds include: Ward Blocks A, B, C, D, E, F, and centre, ca.1746-62. Grade II* (SU 6175 9873) Chapel of St Luke [NAT] ca. 1762 Grade II*. For further details see the statutory data. (5)
The hospital is now known as the Royal Hospital Haslar as it is a tri-service establishment. In 1988 the Crosslink was built which consists of Outpatients, operating theatres, accident and emergency department and radiology department. Immediately south of the main hospital block additional staff accommodation was also built. (6)
This is a listed building and information used to create this record has been taken from the National Heritage List for England - for a full description of the site please go to this source. (7)
This source comprises a detailed historical summary of the hospital.
In 1762 a church was completed to serve the staff, their families and patients. It was built facing the hospital quadrangle.
During the early decades of the hospital's existence, occurrences of drunkenness and petty scandal were recorded and soon the buildings became overcrowded and unable to accommodate patients sufficiently. Conditions were said to improve by the late 18th century and during the 19th century, Army casualties from the Peninsular campaign (1809), the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and the Crimean War (1853-56) were treated there. In the Paddock burial area and the Memorial Gardens, around 13000 sailors and soldiers are buried who served in conflicts between 1753 and 1859.
The wars of the twentieth century brought many to Haslar for treatment. The hospital joined the Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust in 2001 and in 2007 it ceased to be a Ministry of Defence-managed hospital. It closed two years later, in 2009. (8)
This website contains information on all the buildings added to the hospital site in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Among them include staff residences, the water tower (1885), a psychiatric unit, the Zymotic hospital and the medical mess (1899). (9)
The hospital site is currently the focus of a social and community-led regeneration programme to create a mixed-use development. See source for details. (10)
Recorded by NRIM. (11)
At the time of amending this record in 2012, access to information on the designations noted in source 5 above is available via the National Heritage List for England. (12)
According to English Heritage's Corporate GIS the buildings of the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar are registered Parks and Gardens and lie in a Conservation Area. The National Grid Reference for the site is: SZ61859880 (13) |