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Lot Essay
This picture depicts the river at Greenwich and several local landmarks are apparent. The Trafalgar Tavern, the building with the green canopies can be seen on the left. This pub was constructed in 1837 in an elaborate late Georgian style, on the site of the Old St George Inn. In the mid 19thCentury, it became renowned as one of the venues for "whitebait dinners". Politicians, such as William Gladstone, men of the law and other notables would travel from Westminster and Charing Cross by river to sample the locally caught fish, which would then be served with champagne or punch. The last occasion of this was a whitebait dinner made up of government ministers in 1885. The pub was also frequented by writers such as Wilkie Collins and William Thackeray, and Charles Dickens drank here with the illustrator of many of his novels, George Cruickshanks. He also chose to set the wedding breakfast scene of Our Mutual Friend in the Hawke Room of the Trafalgar Tavern. Due to a decrease in trade in Greenwich, the pub became a home for retired seaman at the start of the 20th Century, however the building was restored in the 1960s and opened as a pub again in 1965.
Behind the Trafalgar Tavern, the twin towers of the Royal Naval College are visible. In Tudor times there was a royal palace on this site, lived in by Henry VII and extended by his son Henry VIII, who lived here, as did both of his daughters, Elizabeth I counting it as one of her favourite out of town residences. In the early 17th century, James I's queen, Anne of Denmark, commissioned the building of the nearby Queen's house, however the main building itself had fallen into disrepair by the middle of the 17th century, due to lack of use. The impressive buildings we see today were begun by Sir Christopher Wren, who envisaged it as two structures so as not to impede the view from the Queen's house. The new buildings, completed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, John Vanburgh, with the interior by James Stuart housed the Old Royal Naval College which gave a home to retired seamen, of which the frequent conflicts ensured there were many. With the establishment of peace, there was less need for the hospital and it closed in 1869. The Royal Naval College was opened in 1873 instructing generations of service personnel in all aspects of naval science and technology until the college removed from Greenwich in 1998 to join the other armed forces at the Joint Service College at Shrivenham.
Behind the Trafalgar Tavern, the twin towers of the Royal Naval College are visible. In Tudor times there was a royal palace on this site, lived in by Henry VII and extended by his son Henry VIII, who lived here, as did both of his daughters, Elizabeth I counting it as one of her favourite out of town residences. In the early 17th century, James I's queen, Anne of Denmark, commissioned the building of the nearby Queen's house, however the main building itself had fallen into disrepair by the middle of the 17th century, due to lack of use. The impressive buildings we see today were begun by Sir Christopher Wren, who envisaged it as two structures so as not to impede the view from the Queen's house. The new buildings, completed by Nicholas Hawksmoor, John Vanburgh, with the interior by James Stuart housed the Old Royal Naval College which gave a home to retired seamen, of which the frequent conflicts ensured there were many. With the establishment of peace, there was less need for the hospital and it closed in 1869. The Royal Naval College was opened in 1873 instructing generations of service personnel in all aspects of naval science and technology until the college removed from Greenwich in 1998 to join the other armed forces at the Joint Service College at Shrivenham.