The Painted Hall

They say that travel broadens the mind but they forget to warn that often the most surprising travel experiences can be found far closer to home than you might expect.

Earlier this week, I was fortunate to visit the Painted Hall at Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College. I’ve never been so impressed than when we walked through the doors and up the stairwell and truly had a ‘wow’ moment. And then I remembered that I wasn’t in a Renaissance church or grand parliamentary building in Europe. I was in Greenwich. In London. Less than 10 miles from home.

I had taken a Thames Clipper cruise from the London Eye, in the heart of London and seen many of the city’s greatest tourist attractions: The Palace of Westminster, Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. After sailing under the iconic Tower Bridge, the captain announced we should take our seats. The boat would be speeding up to 60 km/h to take us past Rotherhithe, the Angel pub near Bermondsey (one of my favourite London riverside pubs), Canary Wharf and finally into Greenwich, alongside the Cutty Sark, which after numerous setbacks, has nearly completed its restoration.

Walking through the riverside gates of the Old Royal Naval College, with the perfect symmetry of the white baroque buildings on both sides, and the Observatory at the top of the hill ahead, was an unusual honour, as they are not normally open to the public but completed the maritime experience.

The 300-year old Painted Hall can justifiably claim to be the finest dining hall in the Western world. The high walls and domed ceilings are decorated with stunning fresco paintings by James Thornhill and was originally planned to be dining hall of the hospital. Having taken 19 years to paint, it was eventually decided that it was too grand for the pensioners to eat in, and had become one of London’s first tourist attractions. The Painted Hall was empty until 1806, when Admiral Lord Nelson’s body was brought to lie in state after his death at Cape Trafalgar. It then became the National Gallery of Naval Art, and remained so until the 1930s. From 1939 the Painted Hall was in use as a dining hall once again, which continued until the Royal Navy’s departure in 1998.
The hall is part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, a title of which it fully deserves. It is certainly one of London’s unknown gems, and whilst a part of me hopes that it remains exactly that, it seems unfair that so few are aware of the capital’s original tourist attraction.

Thanks to Visit Greenwich and TravMedia for arranging such a great evening at a beautiful venue.

For further information about the Painted Hall visit http://www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org/the-painted-hall/