The History
The original Freemasons’ War Hospital, was opened by London Freemasons with support from lodges in Gloucestershire (Royal York Lodge, Stroud) and around England during World War I in Fulham Road, London, in the premises of the former Chelsea Hospital for Women, and treated over 4,000 servicemen by the end of the war. In 1920 it opened as the Freemason's Hospital and Nursing Home, but outgrew its premises. The new hospital was opened by King George V and Queen Mary, and the king gave permission for the hospital to be renamed as the Royal Masonic Hospital.
The architect was Thomas S. Tait, and the building was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal for the best building of the year in 1933.The red-brick building "combines straight lines with spectacular curved balconies", and has large concrete relief figures of Hebe and Aesculapius by sculptor Gilbert Bayes. The adjacent nurses' home is grade II listed.
The hospital treated over 8,600 servicemen during World War II, and remained independent when the National Health Service was founded in 1948. The Wakefield Wing, with new physiotherapy and pathology departments, accommodation for nurses, and a chapel, was opened in 1958, and a new surgical wing in 1976. From 1977 it began to accept paying non-Mason patients, but financial pressures led to its closure and acquisition in 1992 by the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, not without controversy.
The hospital reopened in 2002 as the Ravenscourt Park Hospital within the NHS, but closed again in 2006.
In 2012 it was stated that the building was being redeveloped by the C & C Alpha Group to house the London International Hospital (LIH), which would specialise in cancer and diseases of the heart and brain. In 2015 it was acquired by VPS Healthcare who proposed to reopen it as the 150-bed London International Hospital in 2017, which would be "the centre for tourists to travel to the capital city for state-of-the-art medical care".
The Explore
This was noticed by @UrbanDuck a while back and only recently came back on our radar whilst looking for something to do. It was explored back in the day by Rookinella but not really covered that well and reported under its later name Ravenscourt Park Hospital.
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/ravenscourt-hospital-hammersmith-2010.60759/
Back in 2016 it hit the headlines after a group of squatters took up residence there.
So myself and UrbanDuck decided to have butchers one night last week.
It was freezing and after persuading a door open we managed to get in.
Now it’s pretty much stripped but is still a lovely building and well worth heading back to.
@AndyK and @The_Raw, this could be one for you guys.
I went back with Candid yesterday to get some externals and have another crack at it only to find the door we opened relocked and any windows we cracked reclosed.
It appears to have a lie in security, well when I say appears he bumped into myself and Candid yesterday and was massively over the top. Threatening us with violence and plenty of verbal abuse. In the end he called the police as we kept walking away from him and his flailing arms and attempts to keep us on site. I think he may have confused us with squatters after yelling " I don't trust you people"
Its deffo worth more time but is a bit of a trek from mine.
Here’s a few pics from the two visits I’ve had, Excuse the crap night pics as it was literally a reccy to check out what it was like
The original Freemasons’ War Hospital, was opened by London Freemasons with support from lodges in Gloucestershire (Royal York Lodge, Stroud) and around England during World War I in Fulham Road, London, in the premises of the former Chelsea Hospital for Women, and treated over 4,000 servicemen by the end of the war. In 1920 it opened as the Freemason's Hospital and Nursing Home, but outgrew its premises. The new hospital was opened by King George V and Queen Mary, and the king gave permission for the hospital to be renamed as the Royal Masonic Hospital.
The architect was Thomas S. Tait, and the building was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal for the best building of the year in 1933.The red-brick building "combines straight lines with spectacular curved balconies", and has large concrete relief figures of Hebe and Aesculapius by sculptor Gilbert Bayes. The adjacent nurses' home is grade II listed.
The hospital treated over 8,600 servicemen during World War II, and remained independent when the National Health Service was founded in 1948. The Wakefield Wing, with new physiotherapy and pathology departments, accommodation for nurses, and a chapel, was opened in 1958, and a new surgical wing in 1976. From 1977 it began to accept paying non-Mason patients, but financial pressures led to its closure and acquisition in 1992 by the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, not without controversy.
The hospital reopened in 2002 as the Ravenscourt Park Hospital within the NHS, but closed again in 2006.
In 2012 it was stated that the building was being redeveloped by the C & C Alpha Group to house the London International Hospital (LIH), which would specialise in cancer and diseases of the heart and brain. In 2015 it was acquired by VPS Healthcare who proposed to reopen it as the 150-bed London International Hospital in 2017, which would be "the centre for tourists to travel to the capital city for state-of-the-art medical care".
The Explore
This was noticed by @UrbanDuck a while back and only recently came back on our radar whilst looking for something to do. It was explored back in the day by Rookinella but not really covered that well and reported under its later name Ravenscourt Park Hospital.
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/ravenscourt-hospital-hammersmith-2010.60759/
Back in 2016 it hit the headlines after a group of squatters took up residence there.
So myself and UrbanDuck decided to have butchers one night last week.
It was freezing and after persuading a door open we managed to get in.
Now it’s pretty much stripped but is still a lovely building and well worth heading back to.
@AndyK and @The_Raw, this could be one for you guys.
I went back with Candid yesterday to get some externals and have another crack at it only to find the door we opened relocked and any windows we cracked reclosed.
It appears to have a lie in security, well when I say appears he bumped into myself and Candid yesterday and was massively over the top. Threatening us with violence and plenty of verbal abuse. In the end he called the police as we kept walking away from him and his flailing arms and attempts to keep us on site. I think he may have confused us with squatters after yelling " I don't trust you people"
Its deffo worth more time but is a bit of a trek from mine.
Here’s a few pics from the two visits I’ve had, Excuse the crap night pics as it was literally a reccy to check out what it was like
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