The room where Lord Nelson’s body lay reopened after restoration

April 1, 2022 Frank Rands

Its unique architecture has been carefully restored, including its roof lantern, monumental stonework and Swedish marble flooring. Alex Walters 31st March 2022 at 10:18am

Nelson room is at the end of the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich 25032022 CREDIT BFBS.jpg — Nelson room is at the end of the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

Nelson Room entrance off the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich 25032022 CREDIT BFBS.jpg — Nelson Room entrance off the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College.

Lord Nelson stone statue inside new Nelson Room at Old Royal Naval College 25032022 CREDIT BFBS.jpg — Lord Nelson stone statue inside new Nelson Room at Old Royal Naval College.

New benches in the Nelson Room view the Nelson Pediment in the courtyard 25032022 CREDIT BFBS.jpg — New benches in the Nelson Room view the Nelson Pediment in the courtyard.

A room that has a fascinating history connected to Lord Nelson is being relaunched after a major conservation project to renovate and reinterpret it.

Visitors to the Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich, can now explore the Nelson Room where Lord Nelson’s body was kept until it was moved to lie in state.

Originally created by Nicholas Hawksmoor to the master plan by Sir Christopher Wren, the Nelson Room’s unique architecture has been carefully restored, including its roof lantern, stonework and Swedish marble flooring.

Claire Kirk, head of learning, interpretation and collections at the Old Royal Naval College, said: “There was a renovation project that was done in 2005 and that made huge improvements to the space. It was a kitchen, essentially, before then.

“When it was the Royal Naval College this space was fully tiled walls, it looked very different, so in 2005 they restored the fabric of the room, they replastered the walls.”

She continued: “This is another step forward. We’ve taken historical paint analysis and brought an authentic colour scheme to the room.

“We’ve relayed the floors so the marble that we have now matches the original Christopher Wren marble. We’ve fixed the roof lantern and repaired all the stonework.

“But the main change has been the interpretation scheme, so we’ve now got wall panels and a Navy programme telling the story of Nelson in Greenwich,” she added.

Claire Kirk Head of learning, interpretation and collections inside the relaunched Nelson Room 25032022 CREDIT BFBS_0.jpeg — The Nelson Room has been carefully restored so visitors can explore the fascinating history of the naval hero.

Head of marketing Sarah Codrington felt the room was worth restoring due to it telling such a “massive story”.

“It was where the body of Nelson came after the Battle of Trafalgar, in 1805,” she said. “We just wanted to tell that story.

“We felt it was important to this place and an interesting story for the public to know.”

Lord Nelson was highly regarded as a national hero during the Napoleonic Wars.

He was therefore given the honour of lying in state in the Upper Hall of the Painted Hall, before which his body lay in a small room off the Painted Hall.

This chamber was named the Nelson Room in 1846.

At the time, Greenwich became the centre for mourning for the loss of the nation’s hero, with carriages queuing back to central London.

Roof lantern sky light inside relaunched Nelson Room 25032022 CREDIT BFBS.jpg — As well as the unique architecture of the intimate room, the roof lantern is a new addition.

According to Sarah Codrington, visitors can now expect a “fascinating combination of audio and visual, a beautiful space with a wonderful lantern skylight at the top”.

She added: “It’s part of the wonderful architecture of the whole place but it pulls together the stories around Nelson’s death.

“It looks out, interestingly, onto a courtyard that has something called the Nelson Pediment, which was created in 1812 and tells the story of him being sent up to heaven.

“It just finishes the story.”