Royal Naval Academy Academy was reconstituted as the "Royal Navy College" and in 1816 was amalgamated with the "School of Naval Architecture". The college closed as a young officer training establishment on 30 March 1837, meaning that from that date all youngsters setting out on a naval career proceeded directly to sea. The closure of the college created a gap in officer training, and in 1857 the two-decker "Illustrious" undertook the role of cadet training ship at Portsmouth. In 1859 she was replaced by the three-decker "Britannia", which was removed to Portland in 1862 and to Dartmouth in 1863. A distinguished Academy graduate
Royal Naval College, Greenwich Christopher Wren and built between 1696 and 1712, then intended to serve as the Greenwich Hospital, a home for disabled sailors. This closed in 1869, when the pensioners were transferred to other places, leaving the buildings available for a new use. The site of the former hospital had once been occupied by the medieval Palace of Placentia, or "Palace at Greenwich", begun by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, in 1428. After the Royal Navy departed in 1998 the buildings were opened to the public as the Old Royal Naval College. The President of the College was a full-time post until 1982