Building MPM795 - FORMER ROYAL NAVAL ACADEMY (BUILDINGS NUMBERS 1/14, 1/116-19) AND ATTACHED RAILINGS

Former Royal Naval Academy built 1729-32. The building was remodelled in the 19th and 20th century and parts of it had to be rebuilt as a result of Second World War bomb damage.

Former Royal Naval Academy built 1729-32. The building was extensively remodelled in 1808 and parts of it were rebuilt following bomb damage in 1941. The academy was established in 1733 as the first naval shore-training establishment. Renamed the Royal Naval College in 1806, it was closed in 1837, and reopened as a higher education institute in 1839. [1]

The Royal Naval College was moved to Greenwich in 1875, although Pilotage was still taught at Portsmouth. The building was remodelled in 1905 and the following year the establishment was renamed RN Navigation School, HMS Dryad. The school was used as officer's accommodation during the First World War and reopened in 1918. A new block was added in 1938 to accommodate a chart room and lecture rooms. The building was damaged during an air raid on the 10th March 1941 and was later restored as a naval officers' mess. HMS Dryad was moved to Southwick in 1941 following the bombing. The Royal Navy moved out of the building in 2007. [2]

The listing entry states that the central cupola was added in 1808. However, it has also been suggested that this formed part of the original building as it appears in early drawings of the Academy by students, and on a model of Portsmouth Dockyard in the collections of the National Maritime Museum which is dated 1774. [1, 2]

<1> Historic England, The National Heritage List for England (Index). SPM35.

<2> Historic England, The National Heritage List for England (Index). SPM35.