Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known simply as Dartmouth, is the initial officer training establishment of the British Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in Dartmouth since 1863, the buildings that are seen today were finished only in 1905, and previous students lived in two wooden hulks moored in the River Dart. Since 1998, BRNC has been the sole centre for Royal Naval officer training.

History

The training of naval officers at Dartmouth dates from 1863 when the wooden hulk HMS Britannia was moved from Portland and moored in the River Dart. In 1864, after an influx of new recruits, Britannia was supplemented by HMS Hindostan. Prior to this there had been a Royal Naval Academy (later Royal Naval College) at Portsmouth from 1733 to 1837. The original Britannia was replaced by the Prince of Wales in 1869, which was renamed Britannia.

The foundation stone for the new building was laid down by King Edward VII in March 1902. Sir Aston Webb designed the shore-based college at Dartmouth, which was built by Higgs and Hill and practically completed in 1905. The first term of cadets entered at the R.N. College Osborne were transferred to Dartmouth in September 1905.