Old soldiers' home in the ranks before receiving a commission. The site for the Royal Hospital was an area of Chelsea which held an incomplete building "Chelsey College", a theological college James I founded in 1609. The Royal Hospital opened its doors to the Chelsea Pensioners in 1692 for "the relief and succour" of veterans. Some of the first soldiers admitted included those injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor. The hospital maintains a 'military-based culture which puts a premium on comradeship'. The in-pensioners are formed into three companies, each headed by a Captain of Invalids (an ex-Army officer responsible for the 'day to
Richmond Royal Hospital Richmond Royal Hospital Richmond Royal Hospital, on Kew Foot Road in Richmond, London, is a mental health facility operated by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, which has its headquarters at Springfield Hospital in Tooting. The hospital's original block is Grade II listed. The original hospital block is a mid-18th century brown brick house with a Roman Ionic porch. It was the home of the poet James Thomson (1700–1748), who lived there from 1736 until his death. The site is marked by a blue plaque. Thomson wrote his most famous works there including the masque "Alfred",