London - Royal Naval College

No visit to Greenwich should omit the Painted Hall and Chapel of the old Greenwich Hospital, now the Royal Naval College. The College occupies a historic site, originally occupied by a palace erected by Edward I (1272-1307) and later by the Palace of Placentia built by the Duke of Gloucester in 1428, a favorite residence of Henry VII and other Tudor monarchs.

Here Henry VIII was born, married Catherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves, and signed the death warrant of Anne Boleyn. His daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I were born in the palace. In the time of Cromwell it was used as a prison. In 1664 John Webb began to build a new palace for Charles II, and this was completed by Wren in 1696-98, by which time it had been decided to use the building as a home and hospital for disabled seamen. The Painted Hall in the southwest block (the King William Building) was completed by Wren in 1703. The ceiling paintings (by Sir James Thornhill, 1727) depict William III and Mary II. The Chapel in the southeast block (the Queen Mary Building), was also designed by Wren but completed by Ripley in 1752 and rebuilt after a fire by "Athenian" Stuart in 1789. It was restored in 1955. Notable features of the Chapel are the altarpiece (St Paul's Shipwreck) by Benjamin West and the round pulpit, lectern and font, made of wood from the old dockyard at Deptford.