St Nicholas Hospital Main Entrance Range

The main entrance range of St Nicholas’ Hospital, originally the Royal Naval Asylum, was built between 1809 and 1811. It was designed by William Pilkington, under the supervision of Edward Holl, who was Architect to the Navy Board. The building is constructed of yellow stock brick with Portland stone dressings, and has slate roofs.

The range comprises a central archway with flanking screen walls and single-depth ranges. The central two-storey block features a Roman portico with two pairs of giant Tuscan pilasters framing a round entrance arch. The ground floor has four 6/6 sash windows, and the first floor has four 3/3 sash windows, all recessed behind the wall plane. A parapet sweeps down to the right and left, connecting to single-storey wings with sash windows and 20th-century casements. The wings have gabled roofs of a low pitch.

Historically, this building formed the main approach to the hospital, with kitchens located in the side ranges. It is noted as a unique example of military planning; it is thought the entrance range might have screened officers’ houses, formerly located to the north, from the main hospital building. It is part of a significant group of early naval hospital buildings.