Description
Trinity Hospital almshouses were founded by the Earl of Northampton, on the site of Lumley House, where Robert Dudley, Duke of Leicester grew up, and Queen Elizabeth I is known to have visited. Northampton set up his charity in 1613 for 12 'poor men' of Greenwich and 8 from Shottisham in Norfolk, the place of his birth, hence the name Norfolk College by which the almshouses were also known. He demolished Lumley House and Trinity Hospital was built in 1613/14, facing onto the river and set around a quadrangle with cloisters around a courtyard, and simple gardens behind.
Practical Information
| Previously known as | Norfolk College |
|---|---|
| Site location | Highbridge, Greenwich |
| Postcode | SE10 9PS |
| What3Words | ///mixer.become.wink |
| Type of Site | Private Garden |
| Borough | Greenwich |
| Open to Public | Occasionally |
| Opening Times | private; but tours of house/chapel/gardens open for Open House |
| Events | Tours organised by the Greenwich Society for Open House |
| Public Transport | DLR: Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich. Rail: Maze Hill. Bus 177, 180, 188, 199, 286, 386. Tube North Greenwich (Jubilee) then bus. |
| Research Updated | 1 September 2008 |
| Last Updated | 18 October 2026 |
Full description
In 1609 Lumley House was purchased for £500 by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, whose family had had connections with Greenwich from the end of the C14th, and he had lived in a lodge of Greenwich Park in his youth. In 1604 Northampton had taken a lease on the manor of Old Court, and he also bought the keepership of Greenwich Park, apparently wishing to reunite the by then divided estate as it had existed under the ownership of the abbot of Ghent. However, to Northampton's great disappointment James I repossessed the park for Queen Anne. In 1613 Northampton set up his charity for 12 'poor men' of Greenwich and 8 from Shottisham in Norfolk, the place of his birth, hence the name Norfolk College by which the almshouses were also known. He demolished Lumley House and Trinity Hospital was built in 1613/14, facing onto the river and set around a quadrangle with cloisters around a courtyard, with simple gardens behind. The chapel was dedicated on 4 February 1617; it has a C16th Flemish window showing the Crucifixion, which is thought to have been rescued from a fire in a previous house owned by the Howard family. Northampton had apparently changed his wish to be buried here and left instructions that he be buried at Dover Castle, in despair after his dream of retaining Greenwich failed. He died in 1615 (?1614); a monument to him by Nicholas Stone was erected in Dover Castle Chapel in 1615, but when the Chapel had fallen into ruins Northampton's monument was transferred by the Mercers' Company in 1696 to Trinity Hospital Chapel where it remains, albeit in pieces.
In 1812 Trinity Hospital Chapel was rebuilt, and the building was stuccoed and battlements added. Trinity Hospital became overshadowed by Greenwich Power Station, which was built in 1902-1910 to the east, and also lost its frontage directly onto the river. There is now a small area of landscaping on the public forecourt in front of the almshouse gates along Thames Path. The Greenwich Meridian passes through the site of Trinity Hospital and in honour of this the Mercers' Company commissioned two sundials for the Garden Building in 2007. The Latin motto on the sundials is taken from Ecclesiastes (Chapter 3, verse 1): "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." The almshouses continue to provide accommodation for the elderly people of Greenwich. New accommodation was added when the Garden Building was built within the grounds, which opened in October 2007, providing 31 flats. Refurbishment of the Riverside Building is adding a further 12-14 refurbished flats clustered around the original courtyard.
In 1812 Trinity Hospital Chapel was rebuilt, and the building was stuccoed and battlements added. Trinity Hospital became overshadowed by Greenwich Power Station, which was built in 1902-1910 to the east, and also lost its frontage directly onto the river. There is now a small area of landscaping on the public forecourt in front of the almshouse gates along Thames Path. The Greenwich Meridian passes through the site of Trinity Hospital and in honour of this the Mercers' Company commissioned two sundials for the Garden Building in 2007. The Latin motto on the sundials is taken from Ecclesiastes (Chapter 3, verse 1): "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." The almshouses continue to provide accommodation for the elderly people of Greenwich. New accommodation was added when the Garden Building was built within the grounds, which opened in October 2007, providing 31 flats. Refurbishment of the Riverside Building is adding a further 12-14 refurbished flats clustered around the original courtyard.
Further Information
| Grid Reference | TQ387780 |
|---|---|
| Size in hectares | 0.81 |
| Site Ownership | Mercers' Company |
| Site Management | Mercers’ Company as trustee of the Earl of Northampton’s Charity |
| Dates | 1613 |
| Listed Structures | LBII*: Trinity Hospital. LBII: Lodge to Trinity Hospital, front wall. |
| 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 | Greenwich |
| In Conservation Area | Yes |
| Conservation Area Name | Greenwich Park |
| Tree Preservation Order | Yes |
| Nature Conservation Area | No |
| Green Belt | No |
| Metropolitan Open Land | No |
| Special Policy Area | Yes - Area of Special Character of Metropolitan Importance. |
| Other LA Designation | (Riverside walk) |
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 riverside garden at Ballast Quay was created on the former site of a wharf, on land that has been owned by Morden College since the early C18th. In the late C18th developers leased land here for building, and Georgian houses on Ballast Quay date from that period. The Harbour Master's Office was built by the Thames Conservancy in the mid C19th to control this reach of the river. The wharf here was later rented by the Port of London Authority and in use for import and export from the 1920s, but although use of the riverside wharves continued until the 1980s, after WWII and particularly from the 1960s London's docks had began to decline. The concrete wharf at Ballast Quay was transformed into a neighbourhood garden in the 1960s. Surrey Docks City Farm started here and in the 1970s a tea garden was briefly established. The pleasant garden has a number of trees, grass, beds planted with flowers and shrubs, as well as vegetables. In the garden is a memorial sculpture dedicated to animals killed due to the foot-and-mouth crisis.
The Old Royal Naval College is on the site of what had been a royal palace from 1447, known as Placentia or the Palace of Pleasaunce, a favourite haunt of monarchs until 1688, when William and Mary chose Hampton Court as their palace. At Queen Mary's wish a naval hospital (almshouse) for seamen and their dependants was built here, designed by Christopher Wren. Although incomplete, the first pensioners arrived in 1705 and by 1814 there were over 2,700 residents. Numbers declined and the Hospital closed in 1869, the buildings taken over by the Royal Naval College in 1873 for officers' training. After the Royal Navy left Greenwich in 1998, responsibility for the Old Royal Naval College passed to the Greenwich Foundation. Enclosed by fine railings, the landscaped grounds consist of a series of formal squares and gardens, with lawns crossed by paths, avenues of trees, ornamental fountains and lamp standards; a statue of George II stands in Grand Square.
The National Maritime Museum Complex is within landscaped grounds of lawns with wide pathways and mature trees. It was once part of the larger site of the royal Palace of Placentia that encompassed what is now Greenwich Park and the Old Royal Naval College, originally built as the Royal Naval Hospital. The Queen's House was commissioned by James I in 1616, but it was not completed until 1635 and later became the house of the Ranger of Greenwich Park. It was extended in the early C19th when it was occupied by the Royal Hospital School, who used the grounds. After the school moved out in 1933 the buildings were restored for the National Maritime Museum, which was established in 1934 and opened to the public in 1937. In 1999 the new Neptune Court was completed.
