Royal Masonic Hospital
The Royal Masonic Hospital was a hospital supported by English Freemasons, best known for its purpose-built premises at Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith, opened in 1933. Designed by Thomas S. Tait of Sir John Burnet, Tait and Lorne, the building is listed at Grade II*.[1]
From wartime hospital to Ravenscourt Park
The institution's predecessors included the Freemasons' War Hospital, opened in 1916 in the former Chelsea Hospital for Women on Fulham Road. After the war, the premises became the Freemasons' Hospital and Nursing Home. A Samaritan Fund helped patients who could not meet the cost of care.[2]
George V and Queen Mary opened the new Ravenscourt Park building in July 1933, when it received the Royal Masonic Hospital name. Members and lodges contributed to the building appeal and continued to support patients' treatment.[3]
Architecture and nursing
Tait replaced the competition scheme's Neo-Georgian appearance with a modern design using red brick, flat roofs and a steel frame. South-facing wards had deep balconies intended to provide sunlight and fresh air. Welded steel allowed these balconies to project with relatively slender floors. Gilbert Bayes supplied the sculptures of Healing and Charity on the front of the building.[1]
The nurses' home opened in 1938. During the Second World War the hospital treated servicemen, and in 1948 it began nurse training. A later purpose-built training school provided classrooms and study facilities.[3]
Planning and surviving interiors
The hospital's four connected blocks separated administration, wards, ancillary services and surgery. The ward block faced south, while the operating theatres occupied the upper floor of the northern surgical block, where large windows provided diffuse daylight. Kitchens at the top of the ward block supplied smaller kitchens below by lifts. Rounded internal corners helped staff clean the building.[1]
Historic England records a three-storey entrance hall lined with marble, original metal doors and decorated glazing. The glass depicts the signs of the zodiac and Asclepius, the classical figure associated with medicine. Former children's wards retained animal tiles, while boardrooms preserved walnut panelling and Art Deco metalwork. These details form part of the building's documented architectural interest.[1]
Objects associated with the nursing school also survive. The Museum of Freemasonry illustrates the distinctive belt buckle awarded on qualification, incorporating the square and compasses and engraved with the nurse's name on the reverse.[3]
Closure and later use
Financial difficulties ended the Masonic hospital's work during the 1990s. The Museum's exhibition account dates closure to 1994; its archive catalogue records a consultants' farewell dinner in 1996 and the sale of contents and equipment in April 1997.[3][2]
The site subsequently operated as Ravenscourt Park Hospital under the NHS from 2002 to 2006.[2] Closure of the hospital did not end every associated charitable body: as of September 2026, the Charity Commission still lists The Royal Masonic Hospital, charity number 205793, with grant-making to the Masonic Samaritan Fund as its activity.[4]
Related articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Historic England, Royal Masonic Hospital, with associated boundary walls, gates, railings and planters, National Heritage List for England, entry 1192740. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Museum of Freemasonry, Royal Masonic Hospital archive collection, AIM25, reference GBR 1991 RMH, biographical history. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Museum of Freemasonry, Nurses and Queens. Accessed 30 September 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, The Royal Masonic Hospital, charity 205793, overview reporting to 31 March 2025. Accessed 30 September 2026.
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