Netley Hospital

The Royal Victoria Hospital or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from Florence Nightingale. Often visited by Queen Victoria, the hospital was extensively used during the First World War. It became the 28th US General Hospital during the invasion of mainland Europe in the Second World War. The main building – the world's longest building when it was completed – was entirely demolished in 1966, except for the chapel and former YMCA building which still survive. The extensive outbuildings, which once occupied a vast acreage of land to the rear of the main building, finally succumbed in 1978. The site of the hospital can be seen and explored in Royal Victoria Country Park.The hospital was situated within the larger area of land bounded by the River Itchen and River Hamble, particularly around Sholing that had become known locally as Spike Island. That term was subsequently used by wounded soldiers and prisoners of war to describe the location of the hospital.HistoryDevelopmentDuring the Crimean War (1854 to 1856), news of dreadful conditions in military hospitals in the Crimea caused political concern in England, and contributed to the fall of the government in 1855 due to "Mismanagement of the War". Encouraged by Queen Victoria and aided by the friendship between Florence Nightingale and the new Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, the fresh political climate allowed a large military hospital to be planned and constructed.