Old Royal Naval College

Maritime Greenwich
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Chapel is in Queen Mary Court (left) and the Painted Hall is in King William Court (right). The domes are above the entrances.
LocationUnited Kingdom
Includes
CriteriaCultural: (i), (ii), (iv), (vi)
Reference795
Inscription1995 (19th Session)
Extensions2008
Area109.5 hectares (271 acres)
Buffer zone174.85 hectares (432.1 acres)
Websitewhc.unesco.org/en/list/795
Coordinates51°29′1″N 0°0′21″W / 51.48361°N 0.00583°W / 51.48361; -0.00583
Old Royal Naval College is located in the United Kingdom
Old Royal Naval College
Location in the United Kingdom

The Old Royal Naval College are buildings that serve as the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich,[1] a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding universal value" and reckoned to be the "finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles".[2] Formerly the site of a royal palace, the old college was originally constructed to serve as the Royal Navy's Greenwich Hospital, designed by Christopher Wren, and built between 1696 and 1712.[3][4] The hospital closed in 1869 and so between 1873 and 1998 the buildings were used as a training establishment for the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.[5] The site is now managed by the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, established in 1997 to conserve the buildings and grounds and convert them into a cultural destination.[6]

  1. ^ "Maritime Greenwich: Evaluation 2004" (PDF). Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  2. ^ "UNESCO papers". Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  3. ^ "Royal Hospital". Old Royal Naval College.
  4. ^ "A Brief History of The Royal Hospital School". Mariners. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  5. ^ Dickinson, Harry W. (2016). Wisdom and war: the Royal Naval College Greenwich 1873-1998. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1138271753.
  6. ^ "Old Royal Naval College Annual Review 2020 – 2021" (PDF). Old Royal Naval College. Retrieved 8 June 2022.