Nearly fifty years after its demolition, the loss of the Royal Victoria Military Hospital in Netley near Southampton is still rued by enthusiasts of history and architecture alike. By the 1960s the hospital was derelict and unloved, partially damaged by fire and apparently unfit for any worthwhile purpose. The era was a dark one for architectural conservation and despite the building’s gigantic scale and magnificent appearance, the bulldozers moved in.
The foundation stone of the hospital had been laid in 1856 by Queen Victoria, who had taken a keen personal interest in its inception and construction. Although opinions differed about its layout and functionality almost as soon as the first patients were admitted in 1863, the hospital dealt with many thousands of ill and wounded over the next few decades, reaching a peak in capacity during the First World War. Photographs of the period depict a brand of medical care that seems rudimentary to us now, but some treatments dispensed at Netley were considered ground-breaking at the time. Flickering ciné footage shows soldiers recovering from both the physical and psychological traumas of war, benefitting from the latest techniques available.
As the years went by the horrors of the Somme et al gradually dissipated, and for a decade or more the hospital enjoyed a period of relative tranquillity without forgetting its military origins – a “cross between a seaside resort, a sanatorium and an army barracks” in the words of historian Philip Hoare. But by the outbreak of the Second World War the building was showing its age, in both the upkeep of its appearance and the medical facilities it provided. In early 1944 the US Army moved in – frustrated by the hospital’s scale and design they famously drove jeeps up and down the giant corridors to save time.
After the last vestiges of the war effort had withdrawn, the hospital was largely left to rot – in too poor a condition to make either its use viable or its repair economical. A fire in part of the building in 1963 hastened its demise and in 1966 the end came. The demolition process at least observed the site’s heritage to some extent by allowing time for the recovery of a time capsule placed in the foundations by Queen Victoria at the hospital’s inception. One section of the main building was saved, however – the chapel was preserved at the last minute and remains today, hosting an exhibition about the history of the hospital. The rest of the site and grounds are now the Royal Victoria Country Park, an extremely popular family recreation area with fantastic views across Southampton Water.
The destruction of the beautiful, unique, expansive hospital is now bitterly regretted by many and rightly so – it exemplifies the tragic losses to British architecture in the twentieth century. But were it still standing today the Royal Victoria Military Hospital would by now surely have succumbed to that most ignominious of fates that great buildings can suffer – the conversion to a warren of luxury apartments. It is unlikely that the general public would have any access to the hospital or its grounds, and sleepy Netley would become a traffic conduit for the residents. Such a scenario would make the building just as tantalisingly unattainable to us today as it seems to be when we look at the old photographs and grainy film and ponder what might have been. In the twenty-first century, perhaps the enigmatic memories and the beautiful waterside park are more of a blessing than we realise.
Peter Neal is signing copies of The Story of Southampton at Waterstones, Above Bar, Southampton, on Saturday 21st June, from 11am.