Our Patch OCTOBER 2014
THE ROYAL
MASONIC
HOSPITAL
RAVENSCOURT P AR K
T
he former Royal Masonic
Hospital in Hammersmith
is one of the most handsome
1930s buildings in the
borough. The Royal Masonic
Hospital was opened and
named by King George V in July 1933.
It was designed by the architectural firm
of Sir John Burnet, Tait and Lorne, and
won the RIBA medal in 1934.
It remains one of London’s
pioneering and best examples of the
Modern International style, and is now
Grade II-listed. The hospital’s red brick
exterior combines straight lines with
spectacular curved balconies.
The large concrete relief figures at
third-floor level above the entrance
were sculpted by Gilbert Bayes in
1933, and represent Hebe, the
goddess of Youth, and Aesculapius,
the god of Medicine.
Inside, the marble floors, windows
with carved glass, light fittings, lift
doors and furniture were all designed
in classic 1930s style.
During the Second World War the
hospital donated a major part of its
services to the war effort and more than
8,000 officers were treated on site.
After the war the hospital opened
a training school for nurses. And in
December 1958, the Queen Mother
opened the new Wakefield Wing which
included physiotherapy and pathology
departments, nurses’ accommodation
and a chapel. A new surgical wing was
also opened by the Duke of Kent in
December 1976. But in the 1980s there
was much debate about the future of
the Royal Masonic Hospital.
Eventually it was sold in 1996
and re-opened two years later as an
independent hospital called The
Stamford. It became an NHS hospital
in May 2002 under the new name of
Ravenscourt Park Hospital, offering
a limited range of surgery (intended
to reduce waiting lists) and excellent
facilities, but closed in 2006 due to
insufficient numbers of patients.
With developers Linden Homes
During WWII more
than 8,000 officers
were treated on site
taking over the site – now called Ashlar
Court – the first part of the former
hospital has slowly been transformed
into a delightful block of one, two
and three-bedroom flats and one and
two-bedroom detached houses, all of
which retain the coveted historical
details of the building.
Set within its own private walled
garden, the modern-looking apartments
have their own car parking spaces
and gated entrances, boasting many
balconies and terraces.