Nelson Room

The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich is undertaking a restoration and re-interpretation of its historic ‘Nelson Room’. This is a small room next to the famous and sumptuously decorated Painted Hall. The main historical significance of the room is the fact that it was used to store the body of Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson for a period of 11 days before his funeral in 1806. Nelson led the British fleet to victory at the Battle of Trafalgar but was killed by a sniper’s bullet during the fighting. He subsequently became a national hero and was given the rare honour of a state funeral. The Nelson Room is also architecturally significant having been designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor. It is listed as an ancient monument by Historic England.

The broader restoration project includes work to preserve the floors, the return of the room to its historic colour scheme, the installation of a new bronze relief and the commissioning of new benches and seating.