Greenwich (A.S. Green-wie, 'green creek or bay'), a parliamentary borough of Kent, is situated 5 miles ESE. of London Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames, here crossed by a steamship ferry, on the American system, which was opened in 1888. The town is chiefly memorable on account of its great national institutions. First amongst these comes Greenwich Hospital, which occupies the site of an old royal palace, in which Henry VIII. and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth were born, and where Edward VI. died. The first idea of its foundation is said to have originated in 1692 after the great naval victory of La Hogue; it was then proposed to raise a suitable monument as a mark of the gratitude which England felt towards her brave sailors. According to the Latin inscription which runs round the frieze of the hall, 'The pious regard of Queen Mary dedicated this Palace of Greenwich for the relief and maintenance, at the public expense, of those seamen who have protected the public safety in the reign of William and Mary, 1694.' The hospital consists of four distinct piles of buildings, all of which are quadrangular and named according to the respective sovereigns in whose reigns they were successively built. King Charles's building, to the west, was erected in 1664, from the original design by Inigo Jones. On the other side of the square towards the east is Queen Anne's building; to the southward of these are King William's building, containing the Great Hall, and Queen Mary's building, containing the chapel. The last three were from designs by Sir Christopher Wren. The Great Hall is remarkable for its painted ceiling, a work carried out by Sir James Thornhill in 1707-27. It contains several valuable pictures of great naval battles and of the heroes who fought in them; there is still preserved the coat which Nelson wore when he was shot at Trafalgar. The chapel is a fine specimen of Greek architecture; it was restored in 1789 from designs by James Stuart. A statue of George II. by Rysbrach adorns the central square.
The first pensioners were received in the hospital in 1705; these numbered 100; in 1814 the maximum number was reached—viz. 2710. In 1763 out-pensions were granted from the funds; in 1849 the number of in-pensioners began to decrease, until in 1865 they only numbered 1400. For some time the in-pensioners had been discontented with their manner of living at the hospital, and in 1869, when they had the option of receiving a grant of money in lieu of their board and lodging, a very large majority preferred to take the money and go to their friends. A few old or bedridden men were transferred to the various naval hospitals and the Seamen's Hospital Society, to be maintained at the expense of Greenwich Hospital Fund. Greenwich Hospital was thus disestablished by the votes of the very men for whose benefit it was originally founded. The revenues of the hospital are derived from different sources, the principal of which are gifts by King William and the original commissioners, the rental of the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater, contributions of the seamen and marines of Her Majesty's fleet, as well as from those who served in the mercantile marine; large sums have been acquired from unclaimed prize-money and fines. The annual income of the hospital is £167,259. From this sum numerous pensions are paid; 1000 boys, the sons of seamen and marines, are maintained and educated at Greenwich Hospital Schools at an average cost of £23,000 a year; gratuities are granted to widows of seamen and marines; and 50 children of officers who have died receive grants for their education. It is estimated that 9000 persons, exclusive of the children mentioned, derive benefit from the funds. In 1873 Greenwich Hospital became the college for the Royal Navy, and all naval officers belonging to the combatant branch are now compelled to take their degree at Greenwich. Having reached a certain seniority as midshipmen, they are entered at the college, and, after having passed through a course of instruction, they are examined and classified according to merit. Executive officers of different ranks have the privilege of studying and earning extra distinctions by passing meritorious examinations. A certain number of the engineer officers also go through a course of study at the Royal Naval College.
The Naval Museum contains many objects of interest connected with the navy, such as models of ships both ancient and modern, specimens of guns, torpedoes, and ammunition, plans of British dockyards, relics of Sir John Franklin's expedition, and, last but not least, the famous original Chatham chest—established at Chatham by Queen Elizabeth in 1588 for the relief of wounded and decayed seamen, and removed hither in 1803.
The Royal Hospital School was first established in 1712 for the purpose of clothing and educating the sons of the pensioners. One thousand boys enjoy its benefits, besides one hundred day-scholars nominated under the Boreman Trust. Entries are made at 11 years of age, and, if the boys prove fit for service in the navy, they are retained till they reach the age of 15½ years. The school is essentially a training place for the Royal Navy, the boys being passed thence to training-ships at Portsmouth and Devonport. The 'Queen's House' in the centre of the school buildings was a favourite residence of Queen Henrietta Maria. The school possesses a spacious gymnasium, a large swimming-bath, several good model rooms for seaman-ship instruction, and a very fine dining-hall. The admissions are limited to the sons of seamen of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Naval Reserve, with a few from the mercantile marine.
Another national institution at Greenwich, not less important than these naval establishments, is the Royal Observatory, which crowns the hill that rises in the park behind the hospital (see OBSERVATORY). It was built by Charles II. in 1675, the first astronomer-royal being Flamsteed. From here the correct time is flashed every day by the electric telegraph to the principal towns of the kingdom. From Greenwich, too, geographers and seamen reckon longitude. The park is a favourite resort of Londoners on Sundays and holidays. The Whitebait (q.v.) Dinner, a banquet held by the cabinet-ministers to celebrate the termination of a parliamentary session, is held at Greenwich, which is famous for the fish from which the dinner is named. Greenwich is well supplied with charitable institutions, chief among which may be mentioned the Jubilee Almshouses, Norfolk or Trinity College, Roan's Charity, the Green-coat and Blue-coat Schools. The manufacturing establishments of the town include engineering, telegraph works, chemical works, &c. It returned two members to parliament down to 1885, when the new parliamentary boroughs of Deptford and Woolwich were formed out of its boundaries, and it was restricted to one member. Pop. (1881) 65,411; (1891) 78,131. See the Rev. A. G. L'Estrange, The Palace and the Hospital: Chronicles of Greenwich (2 vols. 1886).