Richmond Royal Hospital, on Kew Foot Road in

Richmond, London Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...

, is a

mental health facility Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

operated by

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is an NHS trust that provides mental health services for adults, older people, children and adolescents living in the London boroughs of Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth ...

, which has its headquarters at

Springfield Hospital Springfield University Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Tooting, South London and also the headquarters of the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust. History The hospital opened as the Surrey County Pauper Lunatic Asy ...

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

. The hospital's original block is

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The original hospital block is a mid-18th century brown brick house with a Roman Ionic porch. It was the home of the poet James Thomson (1700–1748), who lived there from 1736 until his death. The site is marked by a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

. Thomson wrote his most famous works there including the masque ''

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

'', which includes the poem "Rule, Britannia" (1740), "The Castle of Indolence" (1748) and " The Seasons" (1738). His poem "

Rule, Britannia "Rule, Britannia!" is a British Patriotism, patriotic song, originating from the 1740 poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson (poet, born 1700), James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in the same year. It is most strongly associated w ...

" was set to music by

Thomas Arne Thomas Augustine Arne (; 12 March 17105 March 1778) was an English composer. He is best known for his patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!" and the song "A-Hunting We Will Go", the latter composed for a 1777 production of ''The Beggar's Opera'', whic ...

in 1740 and became a patriotic song. There is a memorial to him in

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

. After Thomson's death the house was bought by a friend, George Ross, who enlarged it and gave it the name Rossdale Cottage. Over the years the name was altered slightly to Rosedale Cottage. In 1786 it was sold to the widow of Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

. After she died in 1805 it was bought by Charles Talbot, the 15th

Earl of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...

, who changed the name to Shrewsbury House. In February 1868 it was opened as a hospital, by the Earl and Countess Russell. Additions were made to the building in 1896; the architects were Smith and Brewer. After

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

became the patron of the hospital, it became the Royal Hospital, Richmond in 1895. Princess May's Ward for Children was opened by the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of ...

(the future King George V and Queen Mary) in July 1896. As Prince and Princess of Wales they returned to the hospital in April 1907 to open the Swan Memorial Ophthalmic Wing. The hospital joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948. The rehabilitation unit on Evelyn Road, behind the main building, was built in 1980: the architects were Hutchison, Locke and Monk. It was deemed unsuitable for modern healthcare and was sold in 2018, although new healthcare facilities are being built on site.

References

External links

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust
{{authority control Blue plaques Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames Mental health in England NHS hospitals in London Richmond, London