The Great Court of Greenwich Hospital - Greenwich (London, UK)
N 51° 29.017 W 000° 00.356
30U E 707879 N 5707858
This hand coloured aquatint by Thomas Malton, engraved and printed in 1799, depicts the Great Court of former Royal Hospital for Seamen in Greenwich, London.
Waymark Code: WMQCJ9
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/05/2016
Views: 13
This hand coloured aquatint by Thomas Malton, engraved and printed in 1799, depicts the Great Court of former Royal Hospital for Seamen in Greenwich, London.
Thomas Malton (1748 – 7 March 1804), "the younger", was an English painter of topographical and architectural views, and an engraver. J. M. W. Turner and Thomas Girtin were amongst his pupils. He is designated "the younger" to differentiate him from his father Thomas Malton, the elder. Works by Malton can be found in the UK Government art collection and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, Somerset; the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia etc. [wiki]
The Royal Hospital for Seamen, also known under name Greenwich Hospital, was built thanks to charitative initiative of the Queen Mary II and her husband, William III at the site of derelict old Palace of Placentia in Greenwich. The hospital was estabilihed for old, sick or badly wounded sailors from the Royal Navy unable to continue in its service.
The monumental complex was designed by architect Christopher Wren and the the foundation stone was layed in 1696. But the the completion of the last great court finished much later - in 1751, many years after Wren's death (1723). Fortunatelly Sir John Vanbrugh succeeded Wren as architect, completing the complex to Wren's original plans. In the architectonic complex with four main buildings called "courts" (King Charles Court, Queen Mary Court, Queen Anne Court, and King William Court) you can find several beautiful inner spaces - the most visited of them are the Painted Hall and the hospital's chapel...
The Hospital was eventually closed in 1869 for lack of pensioneers and housed the Royal Naval College from 1873. The Naval College was closed in 1997, and Wren’s superb complex is now a campus of the University of Greenwich.