THE Royal Victoria military hospital, which once stood in Netley looking across Southampton Water, was a breathtaking building on a vast scale, which, if still standing today, probably would have been turned into luxury flats much like some of the buildings that still remain near the site.

The hospital building, an amazing 1,427ft-long, was built on a site purchased for £15,000.

Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1856. The two-ton Welsh granite stone was laid over a copper casket containing the plans of the hospital, the first Victoria Cross, a silver Crimea medal with all four campaign bars, and coins of the realm.

The inscription read: “This stone was laid on the 19th May in the year of our Lord, 1856, by Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the foundation stone of the Victoria Military Hospital intended for the reception of the sick and wounded soldiers of her Armies.’’

Royal Victoria Hospital was completed at a cost of £350,000 in 1863 – about £25m in today’s money. Although undeniably attractive, it was far from practical.

Florence Nightingale was highly critical of the design and, with help from Lord Palmerston, tried to get changes made.

Little was done, however, to meet the criticisms.

Lord Palmerston is reputed to have said: “The comfort and recovery of the patients has been sacrificed to make a building that would cut a dash when looked at from Southampton Water.

Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor to the hospital, arriving by boat at the specially constructed pier that jutted 557ft into Southampton Water.

The pier became redundant when a new railway line was built in 1900 to link the hospital with the main line in Netley.

It is estimated that some 50,000 patients were treated at the hospital during the First World War.

In 1944, the hospital was taken over by United States Forces and 68,000 patients were treated over an 18-month period.

After the war, the hospital continued to care for those returning from overseas service, but the high cost of running the building led to its closure in 1958.

In June, 1963, a serious fire badly damaged the structure and its fate was settled. In 1966 the bulldozers moved in, although the psychiatric hospital remained open until 1978.

In 1979 Hampshire County Council purchased the grounds and buildings. A year later the hospital grounds were opened to the public as the Royal Victoria Country Park.

The chapel is all that remains of the hospital but the former officers’ mess still stands and has been turned into flats.