Unit History: Naval Hospital

Until the mid-eighteenth century, the Royal Navy had no dedicated hospitals. The first and largest hospital was built at Haslar (Gosport, Hampshire) between 1745 and 1761. The Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse, was built during the Seven Years War on a 24 acre site on Stonehouse Creek. Intended to be primarily accessible by water, building started in 1758 and was completed in 1762. The third Naval hospital, at Chatham, was not built until 1827-8.
Both Haslar and Stonehouse were built around large quadrangles. At Stonehouse, the quadrangle was surrounded by detached ward blocks planned to prevent the spread of infection around the hospital. The map below shows the layout of the hospital in 1908.
 
The Military Hospital (now Devonport School for Boys) was built on the opposite side of Stonehouse Creek in 1791.