Royal Hospital Chelsea This July: Shakespeare and Pensioner Tours
Most people know the Royal Hospital Chelsea for one week in May, when the Chelsea Flower Show fills its grounds. In July the home of the Chelsea Pensioners shows a quieter and more personal side, a short walk from Sloane Square. This week brings bicycle-powered Shakespeare to the Soane Stable Yard, and all summer the Pensioners themselves are leading tours of the buildings and of a regimental museum the public rarely sees.
As You Like It on Tuesday evening
On Tuesday 7 July the HandleBards, a four-strong troupe of actors who cycle between venues with their set, props and costumes on the back of their bikes, perform As You Like It in the Soane Stable Yard from 7pm to 9pm. It is an outdoor show, so dress for the weather. Chairs are provided, but picnics and outside alcohol are not allowed, and umbrellas are discouraged because they block sight-lines. Heidi Bakery sells Prosecco and food before the performance and in the interval. Tickets are booked through the HandleBards website: standard tickets are £20.50, £13 for those aged 21 and under and £5 for children 12 and under, with under-fives free. Any remaining tickets are sold on the day for £21.
Tours led by Chelsea Pensioners
The public guided tour lasts about 90 minutes and is led by a Chelsea Pensioner, so you hear about life in the community from someone who lives it. Tours run daily except Mondays, are limited to 25 guests and cost £30 for adults and £17.50 for children aged 5 to 15. Times vary by day, so check the calendar on the Royal Hospital's tours page.
For something more unusual, the Wellington Hall Museum tour runs on Wednesdays from 1.45pm to 2.45pm through July and August. The Pensioners' own regimental museum is not otherwise open to the public, and a Pensioner guide takes you through the Queen's Parade Chair, the impact of the Napoleonic Wars and both World Wars on the Royal Hospital, and a large collection of regimental cap badges. Tickets are £15 for adults and £7.50 for children.
Later in the month, on Thursday 30 July, an evening tour from 6pm to 8pm takes in the Great Hall, the Chapel and Figure Court as the light softens, finishing at the Chillianwala Memorial. It costs £35, begins with an informal chat with your Pensioner guide, and spaces are limited.
The free option
With only an hour to spare, head for the Soane Stable Yard. Sir John Soane, the Royal Hospital's Clerk of Works for 30 years, built the Grade II listed yard between 1814 and 1817, and it has since been restored with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It now holds a free interactive exhibition on the history of the hospital and the lives of its Pensioners, open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm with no ticket needed, alongside a shop, a post office and a café run by Heidi Bakery.
Getting there
Enter through Chelsea Gate on Royal Hospital Road. Sloane Square, on the District and Circle lines, is the nearest Tube station, and the 170 bus stops right outside. Book tours ahead. For more ideas close to home, see our things to do guide.
Lead image: HerryLawford via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
