Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, England. Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863. The buildings of the current campus were completed in 1905. Earlier students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the sole centre for Royal Naval officer training. The training of naval officers at Dartmouth dates from
Britannia Royal Naval College 1863, when the wooden hulk was moved from Portland and moored in the River Dart to serve as a base. In 1864, after an influx of new recruits, "Britannia" was supplemented by . Prior to this, a Royal Naval Academy (later Royal Naval College) had operated for more than a century from 1733 to 1837 at Portsmouth, a major naval installation. The original "Britannia" was replaced by the in 1869, which was renamed "Britannia." The foundation stone for a new building at the college was laid by King Edward VII in March 1902. Sir Aston Webb designed the shore-based college