Development During the
Crimean War (1854–1856), news of dreadful conditions in
military hospitals in the Crimea caused political concern in England, and contributed to the fall of the government in 1855 of land was purchased from
Thomas Chamberlayne's Netley Grange Estate on 3 January 1856. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone on 19 May 1856, The inscription read: 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 invalid soldiers of her Army On her return, she was able to highlight flaws in the design But construction was well under way, and it was too late to change the design significantly. though, under the influence of
Dr John Sutherland, Nightingale eventually expressed approval for the plans. The hospital eventually opened for patients on 11 March 1863. It was a quarter of a mile (435 m) long, had 138 wards and approximately 1,000 beds, and was
Britain's largest military hospital. It cost
£350,000 to build, and was late and over budget. Supporting infrastructure was also built, including a reservoir at Hound Grove In 1863 Nightingale's colleague
Jane Catherine Shaw Stewart became the Supervisor of Nurses, but she was there for just five years before an investigation revealed her bullying and temper. She was replaced by
Jane Cecilia Deeble who was awarded the
Royal Red Cross for her work "in Zululand". Deeble was in charge until 1889 when she was succeeded by Helen Campbell Norman. A cast iron pier was extended into Southampton Water in 1865, restricted to in length and not reaching deep water. At the suggestion of Queen Victoria, the line was extended into the grounds of the hospital on 18 April 1900. In 1903, an electricity generating station was built. In 1864, a
Portland stone memorial was erected, dedicated to the members of the
Army Medical Department who died in the Crimean War. Early patients arriving from campaigns taking place all over the world during the expansion of the
British Empire had an uncomfortable journey to the hospital, either having to be transferred to a shallow-draft boat The hospital was particularly busy during the
Second Boer War (1899–1902) which, when the project was further encouraged by Queen Victoria, Some trains needed a locomotive at each end to travel that ¾ of a mile. The railway and pier were also used for Queen Victoria's frequent visits to the hospital; she often arrived at the pier having been conveyed in the
Royal Yacht from her residence on the
Isle of Wight,
Osborne House. She awarded three
Victoria Crosses to patients at the hospital. The Pier's lack of access to deep water meant it ceased to be used for patient transfer after 1901. From its construction until 1902, Netley Hospital served as the home of the
Army Medical School, training civilian doctors for service with the army. In
A Study in Scarlet,
Dr. Watson recounts his earlier life before meeting Sherlock Holmes; it is established that Watson received his medical degree from the University of London in 1878, and had gone on to train at Netley Hospital as a surgeon in the Army. As many patients were suffering from
tropical diseases, the hospital was also used for medical research. The first thing that confronted anyone entering the imposing central tower block was a large museum of
natural history and
anatomical specimens, reflecting the interests of many of the doctors. which expanded Netley Hospital to accommodate around 2,500 beds. Some buildings at the rear of the site, including the former asylum, are used as the
Hampshire Constabulary Police Training Headquarters. The Officers' Mess survives and is also a listed building. The altar from the Catholic chapel is still in use at the Our Lady of Sorrows and St Philip Benizi church in
Fordingbridge. ==See also==