Description
Ravenscourt Park Hospital was designed by architects Sir John Burnet, Tait and Lorne as the Royal Masonic Hospital, a new hospital for the Freemasons. It later became a private hospital, was leased to the NHS in 2002 but has been closed since 2006. The original hospital buildings and gardens were laid out with fine Art Deco detailing, the landscaping in front of the main entrance integral with the design of the boundary wall and entrance. To the south and overlooked on 3 sides, the garden was laid out with lawns, planted with numerous shrubs, conifers and flower beds, with a central elongated rectangular water feature with fountains and lilies.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Royal Masonic Hospital; The Stamford Hospital |
|---|---|
| Site location | Ravenscourt Park |
| Postcode | W6 0TN |
| What3Words | ///mats.damp.river |
| Type of Site | Institutional Grounds |
| Borough | Hammersmith & Fulham |
| Open to Public | No |
| Opening Times | private, but front garden previously unrestricted, access to rear garden only by arrangement |
| Public Transport | Tube: Stamford Brook/Ravenscourt Park (District); Bus: 27, 190, 267, 391 |
| Research Updated | 1 April 2006 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
From the early 1900s, there were plans to relocate the existing Freemasons' Hospital in Fulham Road, Chelsea to Ravenscourt Park but this did not take place until 1932/3. The hospital site, adjacent to the west boundary of Ravenscourt Park (q.v.), was formerly that of a substantial house built when development of the Ravenscourt estate was taking place. The hospital's foundation stone was laid in the presence of four members of the royal family 'by electrical connection' from Olympia. The Wakefield Wing was added in 1958 but the 1930sre-brick Art Deco buildings are largely intact. The hospital was later taken over as The Stamford Hospital, and then became the independent Ravenscourt Park Hospital. In 2002 it was leased to Hammersmith NHS Trust as a means of cutting waiting times, but then closed in 2006 due to a drop in demand and rising costs.
The front landscaping has cast concrete raised beds, a wall with a seat, and low edging walls to the beds. Further planting of shrubs is found around the hospital buildings, also edged by low brick walls. At the south of the main building, the 1930s garden has fine mature trees, dense shrubs and the water feature overlooked by hospital rooms with semi-circular balconies.
The front landscaping has cast concrete raised beds, a wall with a seat, and low edging walls to the beds. Further planting of shrubs is found around the hospital buildings, also edged by low brick walls. At the south of the main building, the 1930s garden has fine mature trees, dense shrubs and the water feature overlooked by hospital rooms with semi-circular balconies.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ222789 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Ravenscourt Park Hospital, to be checked |
| Dates | 1931-33 |
| Designers | Sir John Burnet, Tait and Lorne |
| Listed Structures | LBII: Main building of hospital; boundary wall east of hospital; pair of flower boxes in forecourt; Nurses Home |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | No |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Hammersmith & Fulham |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Ravenscourt and Starch Green |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes - see note below |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | No |
| Other LA Designation | TPO 52/5/74 Robinia, Mulberry, Cherry (4), Horse chestnut (3), Sycamore (2) Sorbus , Holly (2), Quince |
Please note the Inventory and its content are provided for your general information only and are subject to change. It is your responsibility to check the accuracy.
Nearby parks and gardens
Ravenscourt Park opened as a public park in 1888, laid out on the former grounds of the Ravenscourt estate, formerly known as Pallenswick. The moated manorhouse passed through numerous owners including Edward III's mistress Alice Perrers. From 1812 it was owned by George Scott who may have sought Humphry Repton's advice on landscaping of the grounds. In 1887 the house and remaining grounds were acquired by the MBW and Hammersmith Vestry, and opened to the public in 1888. The former stables were converted into the park's Refreshment Rooms, with public toilets added on at the north side. The mansion was used as a public library until it was destroyed by WWII bombing. The park contains remnants of the earlier planting, and the lake was once part of the moat. The park's greenhouses now house a community garden project, Ravenscourt Glasshouses.
The land was once fields of the Pallingswick Estate, part of the Manor of Fulham; one of the pastures was known as Westcroft. In 1878 land was sold for development and Westcroft Square was built by Thomas Hussey of Kensington, a small square of terraced houses around a rectangular central garden. To preserve the garden as open space, owners of property in the square acquired the freehold and offered it as a gift to Hammersmith Borough Council on condition that it was laid out as public open space. It was conveyed to the Council in 1929 and opened in 1929/30.
John Betts House was built in 1964 as almshouses for elderly people of Hammersmith in memory of Dr John Betts (1799-1875) by the Hammersmith United Charities. This was set up in 1923 to amalgamate the large number of small charities that provided for the elderly poor in Hammersmith. The almshouses are on land bequeathed by Betts that the Charities held as investment property. The rectangular building surrounds an enclosed communal garden planted with grass, trees, shrubs and flower beds. Behind the almshouses is the residents' vegetable garden.