Built on a site purchased for 15,000, Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone on 19th May 1856. The 2 tonne Welsh granite stone was laid above a copper casket containing the plans of the hospital, the first Victoria Cross, a silver Crimea medal with all four campaign bars, and coins of the realm. The stone bore the inscription:
This stone was laid on the 19th day of May in the year of our Lord, 1856, by Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the foundation stone of the Victoria Military Hospital intended for the reception of the sick and wounded soldiers of her Army.
The building was completed at a cost of 350,000 in 1863 (Around 24 Million in today's money). As with most hospitals since, it was over budget and late.
It is estimated that some 50,000 patients were treated at the hospital during the First World War.
In 1944, the hospital was taken over by United States Forces and 68,000 patients were treated over an eighteen month period.
After the end of the war, the hospital continued to care for those returning from overseas service, but the high cost of running the building eventually led to its closure in 1958.
In June 1963, a serious fire, probably started by vandals in the now dilapidated building, badly damaged the structure, and its fate was settled. In 1966 the bulldozers moved in.
[url=
http://www.netleyabbey.info/Royal%20Victoria%20Hospital.htm]More Information[/url