Description
The Royal Victoria Patriotic Building was a school for the orphaned children of servicemen in the Crimean War, designed by architect Major Rhode Hawkins and built in 1857-59. It was on land enclosed from Wandsworth Common purchased through patriotic funds in 1854; Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1857. It was later put to various uses, including a hospital, school but closed in 1974. It was restored in the 1980s. To the north of the main front of the RVPB is an area of public open space with lawns and some planting of shrubs, with paths and seating. A footpath leads from here through an area of woodland to Trinity Road.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Wandsworth Common; Spencer Park School |
|---|---|
| Site location | off Trinity Road/Windmill Road |
| Postcode | SW18 |
| What3Words | ///export.await.cycles |
| Type of Site | Public Open Land |
| Borough | Wandsworth |
| Open to Public | Partially |
| Opening Times | part in front of RVPB has unrestricted access |
| Public Transport | Rail: Wandsworth Common. Bus: 77, 210 |
| Research Updated | 1 May 2005 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
The Royal Victoria Patriotic Building is Victorian Gothic in style and the original buildings consisted of 3-storey ranges in a symmetrical plan with enclosed walks and two open courts. The main front has a tower over the central entrance with a statue of St George and the Dragon in a niche, with lower corner towers. The Chapel was added in 1864-66. Part of the grounds were used for a boys' school in 1871, later sold to Emanuel Hospital in 1880, and part were used for farm purposes. The London County Council purchased this latter area in 1912 in order to return it to the common.
During WWI the RVPB was used as a hospital but later became vacant until 1951 when the LCC purchased the buildings and surrounding land for educational and housing purposes. Spencer Park Secondary School was opened in 1957 using the old RVPB as well as additional buildings, but closed in 1974 after which the RVPB was disused until the 1980s when it was restored. Adjacent is the Fitzhugh Estate (q.v.), a modernist housing estate built by the LCC in 1953-5.
During WWI the RVPB was used as a hospital but later became vacant until 1951 when the LCC purchased the buildings and surrounding land for educational and housing purposes. Spencer Park Secondary School was opened in 1957 using the old RVPB as well as additional buildings, but closed in 1974 after which the RVPB was disused until the 1980s when it was restored. Adjacent is the Fitzhugh Estate (q.v.), a modernist housing estate built by the LCC in 1953-5.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ268743 |
|---|---|
| Site Ownership | LB Wandsworth |
| Site Management | Parks Service |
| Dates | 1857-9 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Royal Victoria Patriotic Building. LBII: RVPB Chapel |
| 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 | Wandsworth |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Wandsworth Common |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | Yes - Borough Importance I |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | Yes (part) |
| Special Policy Area | No |
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
The Fitzhugh Estate is on land that was once part of Wandsworth Common, an area of which was enclosed in the 1850s for building the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building to house orphans of the Crimean War. The buildings, by then vacant and derelict, were acquired by the LCC in 1951 along with adjoining land for educational and housing purposes. The Fitzhugh Estate was built in 1953-55, designed along modernist principles to provide state-of-the-art social housing, consisting of five 11-storey blocks arranged within the landscape in such a way as to retain existing trees and provide views. At the time, the estate was highly regarded and seen as a blueprint for exemplary housing. The grounds have mature and more recently planted trees, shrub and flower beds set into lawns. A community garden run by residents has been set up in recent years.
Spencer Park was built on land that was formerly part of Wandsworth Common and the remains of more extensive commonland, part of the wastes of the Manor of Battersea and Wandsworth. After vigorous protests by local people to preserve the common from further encroachment, Earl Spencer, Lord of the Manor, agreed to transfer most of the common to the Common Defence Committee that had been established, excluding the area that became Spencer Park, named after him. By the late 1870s the development of Spencer Park was underway with houses overlooking the common and an enclosed private park formally laid out with grass, paths and trees.
Wandsworth Common is an important historic common, the remains of more extensive commonland that was part of the wastes of the Manors of Battersea and Wandsworth; by the C19th it had been sub-divided by the railway and encroached upon by building as London was developed. Attempts by local people to preserve the Common against further encroachment began in earnest in 1868 when appeals were made to the MBW to take over responsibility following the Metropolitan Commons Act of 1866, but this was initially unsuccessful. In 1870 a Common Defence Committee was set up, later to become the Wandsworth Common Preservation Society. In 1887 the Common was transferred to the MBW who carried out improvements including planting, paths layout, creation of the ornamental lakes from old gravel pits as well as the smaller Three Island Pond near Bolingbroke Grove. In 1898 the Common became the responsibility of the new LCC who in 1912 purchased an area of 20 acres of open land to extend the common.