Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
21
GREENWICH RIVERSIDE
A fine vantage point for viewing the Old Royal Naval College is the
Five-Foot Walk
, which
squeezes between the college railings and the riverbank. It was here that George I, Elector of
Hannover (and a Protestant), landed to take the throne on September 18, 1714, though it was
estimated that over fifty other (Catholic) cousins had a better claim. If you're in need of
riverside refreshment, drop into the Regency-style
Trafalgar Tavern
(see p.398), at the east
end of the walk. Just beyond the pub, down Crane Street, is the
Trinity Hospital
, founded in
1613 by the Earl of Northampton for 21 pensioners; the entry requirements declared the
hospital would admit “no common beggar, drunkard, whore-hunter, nor unclean person…nor
any that is blind…nor any idiot”. The cream-coloured mock-Gothic facade and chapel (which
contains the earl's tomb) date from the nineteenth century, but the courtyard of almshouses
remains much as it was at its foundation. Beyond the Trinity Hospital, the Thames Path
continues along the river, past a few more pubs, and eventually all the way to the Dome.
Cutty Sark
Greenwich Church St • Daily 10am-5pm • £12 •
T
020 8312 6608,
W
rmg.co.uk • Cutty Sark DLR
Launched from the Clydeside shipyards in 1869, the majestic
Cutty Sark
is the
world's last surviving tea clipper, which would race to get the tea harvest to Britain
in the shortest possible time, with a dividend being paid to the ship that won. In
actual fact, the Cutty Sark spent more time as a wool clipper, returning from
Australia in just 72 days.
The ship suffered a devastating fire in 2007, whilst mid-restoration, but has since
risen from the ashes, fully restored and with interactive displays to engage children and
adults alike. First off, you get to inspect below decks, where every single bit of space
would have been taken up with cargo, leaving most of the thirty-strong crew to sleep in
specially constructed bunkhouses on deck - only the o
cers' quarters provide any
privacy and creature comforts. The stunning brass-clad hull has been lifted up off the
ground to allow space underneath for a café, and an impressive display of multi-
coloured figureheads beneath the ship's prow, itself adorned with Nannie, the angry
witch from Robbie Burns' poem
Tam O'Shanter
.
Old Royal Naval College
Cutty Sark Gardens • Daily: grounds 8am-6pm; buildings 10am-5pm • Free •
T
020 8269 4747,
W
ornc.org • Cutty Sark DLR
It's entirely appropriate that the one London building that makes the most of its
riverbank location should be the
Old
Royal Naval College
, a majestic Baroque
ensemble which opens out onto the Thames. Despite the symmetry and grace of the
four buildings, which perfectly frame the Queen's House beyond, the whole complex
has a strange and piecemeal history.
The first of the four blocks was built in the 1660s as a
royal palace
for Charles II,
but the money ran out. William and Mary preferred Hampton Court and turned
Greenwich into a
Royal Hospital for Seamen
, along the lines of the Royal Hospital in
Chelsea. Wren, working for nothing, had his original designs vetoed by the queen, who
insisted the new development must not obscure the view of the river from the Queen's
House - what you see now is Wren's revised plan, augmented by, among others,
Hawksmoor and Vanbrugh. The naval hospital moved out in 1869, replaced by the
Royal Naval College
, which, in turn, was supplanted by the current incumbents, the
University of Greenwich
and
Trinity College of Music
. The two grandest rooms, situated
underneath Wren's twin domes, are open to the public and well worth visiting, and
there's an excellent exhibition on the history of the area called
Discover Greenwich.
Painted Hall
The magnificent
Painted Hall
, in the west wing, is dominated by James Thornhill's
gargantuan allegorical ceiling painting, which depicts William and Mary enthroned,
