King Charles II founded the Royal Hospital in Chelsea in 1682 as a retreat for veterans. The provision of a hostel rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. It opened its doors to the Chelsea Pensioners in 1692 for "the relief and succour" of veterans. Wren expanded his original design to add two additional quadrangles to the east and west of the central court; these were known respectively as the "Light Horse Court" and the "College Court".

---

Size: 4831px × 3271px
Location: Royal Hospital, Chelsea,London, England
Photo credit: © De Luan / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 17th, 19th, antiquity, architecture, army, art, black, boat, boats, britain, british, casualties, century, charles, chelsea, christopher, city, cityscape, classical, craft, culture, drawing, england, english, engraving, etching, flower, formal, garden, great, heritage, historic, history, hospital, iconic, ii, illustration, imposing, king, landmark, landscape, line, lithograph, london, military, monochrome, picture, picturesque, pleasure, rhs, river, riverside, rowing, royal, sailing, scenic, show, sir, site, sketch, spreading, thames, veterans, war, waterfront, white, woodcut, wren, yachts