Description
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
Cemetery within the grounds of the Royal Hospital that served the pensioners residing there. It accommodated some 10,000 burials between its consecration in 1691 and closure in 1854/5 since pensioners were not normally given a headstone and the ground was re-used. There are some fine monuments including a number from the C18th.
Cemetery within the grounds of the Royal Hospital that served the pensioners residing there. It accommodated some 10,000 burials between its consecration in 1691 and closure in 1854/5 since pensioners were not normally given a headstone and the ground was re-used. There are some fine monuments including a number from the C18th.
Practical Information
| Site location | Royal Hospital Road (Royal Hospital London Gate) |
|---|---|
| Postcode | SW3 |
| What3Words | ///buns.author.hung |
| Type of Site | Cemetery |
| Borough | Kensington & Chelsea |
| Open to Public | Yes |
| Opening Times | Access by application to Royal Hospital Constable at London Gate |
| Public Transport | Tube: Sloane Square (District, Circle) |
| Research Updated | 1 October 2007 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
Royal Hospital Chelsea: Site on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens, for Register Entry see https://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England was established in 1984 and was commonly called English Heritage. In April 2015 it split into 2 separate entities, Historic England (HE), which continues to champion and protect the historic environment, and the English Heritage Trust, whose role is to look after the 400+ historic sites and monuments owned by the state. HE manages the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) that includes over 400,000 items ranging from prehistoric monuments to office blocks, battlefields and parks, which benefit from legal protection.
The Old Burial Ground was consecrated in August 1691 and has accommodated some 10,000 bodies, for the pensioners were not normally given a headstone and the ground was used and re-used. Among those buried here were William Cheselden, pioneer of modern surgery, and Dr Burney, who was Organist at the Royal Hospital from 1783-1814 and author of 'General History of Music', but better known as father of the novelist Fanny Burney. The cemetery closed for burials in 1854/5 and from 1855-1893 a plot in Brompton Cemetery (q.v.) was used, until a portion of Brookwood Cemetery was acquired that is still used for Royal Hospital Pensioners. The Old Burial Ground has table tombs, headstones and slabs, some dating from the C18th and handsomely carved, and it is an important military cemetery.
The Old Burial Ground was consecrated in August 1691 and has accommodated some 10,000 bodies, for the pensioners were not normally given a headstone and the ground was used and re-used. Among those buried here were William Cheselden, pioneer of modern surgery, and Dr Burney, who was Organist at the Royal Hospital from 1783-1814 and author of 'General History of Music', but better known as father of the novelist Fanny Burney. The cemetery closed for burials in 1854/5 and from 1855-1893 a plot in Brompton Cemetery (q.v.) was used, until a portion of Brookwood Cemetery was acquired that is still used for Royal Hospital Pensioners. The Old Burial Ground has table tombs, headstones and slabs, some dating from the C18th and handsomely carved, and it is an important military cemetery.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ281782 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | Royal Hospital |
| Site Management | Royal Hospital |
| Dates | 1691 |
| On National Heritage List for England (NHLE), Parks & Gardens | Yes |
| NHLE grade | Grade II |
| Registered common or village green on Commons Registration Act 1965 | No |
| Protected under London Squares Preservation Act 1931 | No |
| Local Authority | Kensington & Chelsea |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Royal Hospital |
| Tree Preservation Order | No |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance II |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Thames Policy Area |
| Other LA Designation | Area of Metropolitan Importance |
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
* on The National Heritage List for England, Parks & Gardens
The Royal Hospital was founded in 1682 as an almshouse for army veterans. The site was selected by Christopher Wren, the King's Surveyor-General of Works, and paid for by Sir Stephen Fox, former Paymaster-General. The hospital land was added to under James II but in the reign of William III almost a third was made over to the Earl of Ranelagh. Part of his estate became famous pleasure gardens, Ranelagh Gardens, but later bought back by the Hospital's Board of Commissioners. Wren's formal gardens to the river were lost when the Thames was embanked between 1850-68. Ranelagh Gardens was laid out as a public park by John Gibson in 1860. In 1846 Royal Hospital Road was constructed, cutting off Burton's Court from the main site, whose northern boundary of St Leonard's Terrace has the main entrance gates to the Hospital approached by Royal Avenue, originally laid out to communicate with what was then the King's private road. South Ground is sports facilities managed by the local authority, and has been the location for the Chelsea Flower Show.
The Royal Hospital was founded in 1682 as an almshouse for army veterans. The site was selected by Christopher Wren, the King's Surveyor-General of Works, and paid for by Sir Stephen Fox, former Paymaster-General. The hospital land was added to under James II but in the reign of William III almost a third was made over to the Earl of Ranelagh. Part of his estate became famous pleasure gardens, Ranelagh Gardens, but later bought back by the Hospital's Board of Commissioners. Wren's formal gardens to the river were lost when the Thames was embanked between 1850-68. Ranelagh Gardens was laid out as a public park by John Gibson in 1860. In 1846 Royal Hospital Road was constructed, cutting off Burton's Court from the main site, whose northern boundary of St Leonard's Terrace has the main entrance gates to the Hospital approached by Royal Avenue, originally laid out to communicate with what was then the King's private road. South Ground is sports facilities managed by the local authority, and has been the location for the Chelsea Flower Show.
This is the rear communal gardens for residents of Ormonde Gate, which was named after Ormonde House, built on this site in 1691 and the residence of the Duchess of Ormonde in the 1730s. The communal garden was accessed from the rear of the houses, the rear elevation designed as formally as the front.
Completed in 2006, the new Duke of York Square complex is built on the site of the former Royal Military Asylum, which was known as Duke of York's after the Duke who laid the foundation stone in 1801. The Asylum later became a teacher training school and then the headquarters of the Territorial Army, which had a large parade ground fronting the main building. In 1999 the Ministry of Defence offered the site for sale and it was subsequently purchased by the Cadogan Estate for development for retail, residential and commercial uses together with provision of new public open spaces.