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Greenwich Hospital Organization
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PMarione
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Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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Post Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 9:44 pm    Post subject: Greenwich Hospital Organization Reply with quote

A Royal Charter of King William and Queen Mary founded the Royal Naval Hospital for Seamen "as by age, wounds, or other accidents, are rendered incapable of further services", known subsequently as Greenwich Hospital, in 1694 on the site of the royal palace at Greenwich.

From 1705 its magnificent buildings by Wren, completed by 1751, were occupied by Greenwich Pensioners. All the pensioners were provided with uniforms and tobacco money and those that could undertook duties for which they were paid.

The Hospital closed as a seamen's home in 1869 but soon found a new role as home to the Royal Naval College and later also to the National Defence College and its successors.

The funding was
    18,000 p by the original public subscription.

    In 1696 an extra sixpence was deducted from sailors’ wages in the RN or Merchant service to help fund the Hospital.

    In 1697 the King handed over some 10,500 p of fines on French merchants for smuggling.

    In 1699 a lottery was used to raise money.

    In 1706, 6472 p came from Queen Anne, being the confiscated property of the executed pirate, Captain Kidd.

    In 1707 the project was granted all unclaimed Prize Money.

    In 1710 Parliament allocated 6000 p a year from the revenues of Coal Tax.

    In 1714 Robert Osbaldeston of Greenwich left 20,000 p of property and the dues paid by ships passing his North and South Foreland lighthouses.

    In 1716 James Radcliffe, the Earl of Derwentwater, was executed as a political example for supporting the Jacobite rising of 1715. His vast estates in Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland were confiscated to the Crown and in 1735 George II gave them to the Hospital.

    From 1728 the half-pay of the Captains and Lts was reverted to GH

    From 1728 to 1751 Parliament granted 10,000 p a year towards the building.

    From early on, the Hospital bought property in Greenwich to expand its site.

The number of pensioners raised from 42 in 1705 to 2,710 by 1814.
In 1763, the out-pensioners were established at 7 p/year. Their number raised from 1,400 in 1763 to 30,000 in 1820.

The charity was in the charge of governors who met twice a year.
Commissioners (24) were appointed by the Admiralty and ebery fortnight.

The Governor and Treasurer (at 200 p/year) were appointed by patent, the other officers by the Admiralty.

The Lieutenant-Governor was a Captain RN at 400 p/year. The most famous was Captain William Locker, the mentor of Nelson.

There were 4 Captains at 230 p/year and 8 Lts at 115 p/year.
Besides that they had a house, coal and candles, and 1s 2d per day for their table.
A nice sinecure.

The officers met once a week for the punishing of the breaches of the rules. These old sailors must have been a rawdy bunch.

Besides that most of the officers (Lts) in need were most probably out-pensioners.
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kate.holt



Joined: 22 May 2007
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Post Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 3:01 pm    Post subject: GH Reply with quote

Hi Patrick,

Greenwich Hospital has a great deal of history in itself. Not only its obvious links with the navy but also the history of the actual people invloved ans the building itself.
Thank you for posting such alot about it.
I presume alot of the recods are either with TNA or the National Maritime museum. Would they be found elswhere as well?

Kate
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PMarione
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Post Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never checked so I have no idea.

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kate.holt



Joined: 22 May 2007
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Post Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 12:56 pm    Post subject: GH Reply with quote

Hi Patrick,

Oh well no matter. If anyone does know It would be interesting.

I am away now for a couple of weeks. I will be in touch later, I have sourced a copy of Steel's Navy list at Leeds University library so I will be following that up on my return. Hopefullly then I will also be able to follow up a few more items and John Clavell's basic life will be found.

Thanks again for your help.
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johns



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Post Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does anyone know where the parish records are for Greenwich hospital? I have monument incriptions for their graveyard but wanted to find their burial records.
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PMarione
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Post Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

from Derek Ayshford:
Quote:
The archives of GH are at the National Archives.
Useful but no indexing so a pig to find anybody.
Eat plenty of chocolate beforehand because they are big and heavy to lift!!

About the burial registers, there appear to be some 1807-1856 and they are being digitised according to the TNA website.
The trouble is that they dug them all up and moved them down the road to a park in East Greenwich.(Pleasaunce Park)


Last edited by PMarione on Mon May 28, 2007 6:52 pm; edited 2 times in total
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johns



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Post Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 6:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Excellent - thank you

It is a shame things are so difficult to find.
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PMarione
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Post Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where would be the fun then?

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Keith_H



Joined: 18 Oct 2009
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

johns wrote:
Does anyone know where the parish records are for Greenwich hospital? I have monument incriptions for their graveyard but wanted to find their burial records.


The parish records for London have recently been digitised and made searchable. Perhaps this may help.

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/about/default.aspx?section=pr-2009-9-16

Otherwise, it's a trip to the London Metropolitan Archives to consult the microfilm records. You can print off microfilm; the LMA is more customer oriented than the Caird Library
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Keith_H



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Post Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Roy,

I am currently enjoying reading your book "Jack Tar". It is a very good read. Reading N A M Rodger's "The Command of the Ocean" whetted my appetite for finding out more about the life of the Tar or the Jolly, and your book is very informative.

I am interested in the life of Greenwich in-Pensioners. Were they living in barracks, and did their uniform stay the same until about 1860? It appears they were dressed in blue, with bicornes. If you could recommend a source, I would be very appreciative.

Kind regards
Keith
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Roy Adkins



Joined: 28 Mar 2007
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Location: Devon

Post Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Keith,

Many thanks for your kind words about Jack Tar. We have done a bit on Greenwich pensioners in that book, pages 386 to 390, with some pictures in the second black-and-white plate section. There is one picture of Greenwich Hospital as it appeared in 1805, and another of the plaque at the nearby Greenwich Pleasaunce, where many of the burials were moved from the original burial ground. There are also pictures of some Greenwich pensioners, taken from the Illustrated London News of 1844, and you can see them wearing their distinctive uniform and bicorn hats - and yes, the uniforms were blue. Somewhere, and I can't offhand remember where, one of the pensioners is quoted as saying that they had to wear a yellow uniform as punishment (such as for being drunk), but people on the street were told that this uniform was a special honour. Can anyone remind me where this is from? As far as I know, these uniforms were retained for as long as the hospital existed, much like the Chelsea pensioners today.

Lesley and I wrote a piece on the Greenwich Hospital and pensioners in the family history magazine Ancestors. It is called 'On shore and abandoned' and is in issue 66. You can see part of the back number at:

http://www.ancestorsmagazine.co.uk/?page=article&id=437

The magazine is published by The National Archives. I've tried looking for a copy at home here, but it's hidden away at present. (Family history magazines like this often have very useful articles that go far beyond genealogy). The 1960 book by the late Michael Lewis, A Social History of the Navy 1793-1815, has some mentions of Greenwich hospital, mainly pp.414 to 416 in my edition (Chatham reprint).

Many Wikipedia entries are very good. I've not read through the one on the Greenwich Hospital, but at a glance it looks fine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Royal_Naval_College#Greenwich_Hospital

Very few references are given, which probably means there is still not too much in print, but it's worth checking out what is given and taking it from there.

If you go to the National Archives website, under 'advanced search', type in the phrase Greenwich Hospital. This will lead you to various archives held by them at Kew.

I'll add more information if I come across anything useful.

Roy Adkins

www.adkinshistory.com
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PMarione
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yellow was certainly not a colour of "honour" in the RN.
A yellow flag was hoisted for executions and it was the quarantine flag.
Yellow admirals were the unlucky ones who got a "retired" promotion.

One point that maybe is not very known about GH was that the pensioners were not allowed to live with their family. The only women allowed inside the hospital were the nurses (widows of meritant warrant officers).
So the wives of pensioners had to gather at the gates to receive some food that the pensioners could spare from their rations.

Far different from the floating brothels in port.

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