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18-599: The Royal Masonic Hospital was a hospital in the Ravenscourt Park area of Hammersmith , west London, built and opened in 1933. The Grade II* listed building became the Ravenscourt Park Hospital in 2002, but this closed in 2006. As of May 2015 the hospital was expected to reopen in 2017 as the 150-bed London International Hospital, a centre for medical tourism. However, London International Hospital Limited commenced winding up proceedings on 30 March 2017, and

36-527: A builder and philanthropist who developed nearby St Peter’s Square. Scott employed leading landscaper Humphry Repton to lay out the gardens of the estate, and encouraged the building of houses along its edges. According to a park plan from 1830, there were 78 houses within the park, and by 1845 this number had risen to 330. The first public library in Hammersmith at Ravenscourt House was opened by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury on 19 March 1890. In 1887,

54-514: A remnant of the original moat. King Edward III ’s mistress Alice Perrers lived in the manor during the 14th century. The manor house was rebuilt in 1650 and in 1747 it was sold to Thomas Corbett who named it Ravenscourt, probably derived from the raven in his coat of arms, which was itself a pun on his name as corbeau is French for raven . In 1812 the Ravenscourt House and estate were bought by its final private owner, George Scott ,

72-444: Is still much evidence of historic planting throughout the park, including plane trees and cedars. The park is home to two Great Trees of London , an old and stunted plane tree, and a large mature tree of heaven . Ravenscourt Park currently offers many facilities including tennis and basketball courts, a bowling green, an all-weather pitch, a walled garden, multiple play areas, and a paddling pool for children. There are two cafes in

90-575: The National Health Service was founded in 1948. The Wakefield Wing, with new physiotherapy and pathology departments, accommodation for nurses, and a chapel, was opened in 1958, and a new surgical wing in 1976. From 1977 it began to accept paying non-Mason patients, but financial pressures led to its closure and acquisition in 1992 by the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust, not without controversy. The hospital reopened in 2002 as

108-740: The House. It was opened on 19 May 1888. Management of the park was transferred to the London County Council in 1889, to the Greater London Council in 1965, and finally to the Hammersmith London Borough Council in April 1971. A number of "lodges" (i.e. cottages) on the perimeters of the park were also transferred with the stipulation that they could only be inhabited by Council staff who worked there. Part of Ravenscourt House

126-641: The Ravenscourt Park Hospital within the NHS, but closed again in 2006. In 2012 it was stated that the building was being redeveloped by the C & C Alpha Group to house the London International Hospital, which would specialise in cancer and diseases of the heart and brain. In 2015 it was acquired by VPS Healthcare who proposed to reopen it as the 150-bed London International Hospital in 2017, which would be "the centre for tourists to travel to

144-536: The Scott family sold the estate to a developer for building purposes, to be covered, it was said, with working-class dwellings. Counterproposals to prevent this, either by repurchasing the property by public subscription or by appealing for public purchase by the Metropolitan Board of Works , both failed, largely owing to the exorbitant price – said to be well over £70,000 (equivalent to £9,832,177 in 2023) demanded by

162-453: The capital city for state-of-the-art medical care". London International Hospital Limited terminated the remaining site service contracts and returned the site to Imperial College Healthcare Trust on 4 July 2016; it commenced winding up proceedings on 30 March 2017, and was dissolved on 28 March 2018, owing £15 million to the Trust. Ravenscourt Park The origins of Ravenscourt Park lie in

180-589: The end of the war. In 1920 it opened as the Freemason's Hospital and Nursing Home , but outgrew its premises. The new hospital was opened by King George V and Queen Mary , and the king gave permission for the hospital to be renamed as the Royal Masonic Hospital. The hospital was re-built in 1933. The architect was Thomas S. Tait , and the building was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal for the best building of

198-406: The ground-tenants, Ebenezer Stanley Burchett of 23 Ravenscourt Park and Frank Dethbridge of "The Hermitage", determined to block the development by demanding much larger sums of £1000 each. Their action had the desired effect, and other lessees demanded similar sums. A total of at least £10–£12,000 would have been added to the development costs, and this initiative effectively knocked the bottom out of

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216-455: The medieval manor and estate of Palingswick (or Paddenswick) Manor, located on the site and first recorded in the 12th century. The historic name still exists today in the name of Paddenswick Road, which runs along the north east boundary of the park. By the 13th century the manor house was a mansion surrounded by a moat fed by the Stamford Brook . The lake in the centre of the park today is

234-435: The new freeholder. However, it transpired that the ground-leases of the row of detached and semi-detached residences called Ravenscourt Park, extending southwards from No. 23, contained a proviso giving ground-tenants the right to forbid any building on the width of the park opposite their frontages. The new freeholder promptly took steps to remove this obstacle by buying out the rights of prohibition for small cash sums. Two of

252-566: The park. The Tea House is run by Fait Maison and is nearest the Paddenswick Road entrance. W6 Cafe is located within the W6 Garden Centre on Ravenscourt Avenue near King Street. Friends of Ravenscourt Park is an organisation whose aim is "to maintain and improve a well used and loved park in west London." A memorial in the park to Giles Hart was unveiled on 5 July 2008. He was a British engineer and trade union activist killed in

270-533: The speculation. The freeholder became amenable to fresh negotiations, and eventually agreed to sell the property for the greatly reduced sum of £58,000. It was acquired by the Metropolitan Board of Works (the Hammersmith Vestry contributing half the purchase-money) on 20 November 1887. The Board of Works established a public park, laid out by JJ Sexby , in the 13 hectares (32 acres) of land surrounding

288-548: The year in 1933. The red-brick building "combines straight lines with spectacular curved balconies", and has large concrete relief figures of Hebe and Aesculapius by sculptor Gilbert Bayes . The adjacent nurses' home is grade II listed. It was re-opened by King George V. The hospital treated over 8,600 servicemen during the Second World War (including fighter pilots Eric Lock and Richard Hillary , who describes it in his book The Last Enemy ) and remained independent when

306-648: Was dissolved on 28 March 2018, owing £15 million to the Imperial College Healthcare Trust . The Freemasons' War Hospital , was opened by London Freemasons with support from lodges in Gloucestershire (Royal York Lodge, Stroud ) and around England during the First World War in Fulham Road, London, in the premises of the former Chelsea Hospital for Women , and treated over 4,000 servicemen by

324-603: Was used as a tuberculosis dispensary from 1918. In 1941 Ravenscourt House was severely damaged by incendiary bombs , during The Blitz , and was later demolished. Today, only the stable block remains, which now houses Ravenscourt Park's cafe, sometimes known as the Ravenscourt Park Tea House. The park is part of the Conservation Area of Ravenscourt and Starch Green , and its north-eastern corner has been designated an Archaeological Priority Area . Today there

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