An outdoor bar in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College – the magnificent Greenwich Hospital, one of the great sights of England
The ORNC Bar Al Fresco carries no meaningful review score at the time of this survey – too new or too few to judge – so we set the numbers entirely aside and turn to what makes it genuinely special: its extraordinary setting, an outdoor bar in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, the magnificent Greenwich Hospital, one of the great architectural sights of all England.
The un-scored venue
First, honestly: this venue carries no meaningful review score in the data – whether too new, too seasonal, or simply too few reviews to register. This survey never judges a venue on absent or negligible data, and we do not do so here. We pass no judgement on the bar itself, set the (absent) numbers aside entirely, and turn instead to the genuinely magnificent setting that makes it worth celebrating.
The Old Royal Naval College
“ORNC” stands for the Old Royal Naval College – and there could hardly be a more magnificent setting for a bar in all of London. The Old Royal Naval College is the great baroque masterpiece on the Greenwich riverside – originally built as the Royal Hospital for Seamen (the great home for old sailors, the Greenwich Pensioners, whose story we have just told), founded by William III and Mary II, and designed by the greatest architects of the age: Sir Christopher Wren (the genius of St Paul’s), assisted by Nicholas Hawksmoor (whom we met earlier) and John Vanbrugh. It is one of the most magnificent and celebrated architectural ensembles in all of England – the great symmetrical baroque buildings, the domes and colonnades, the sweeping riverside setting, the famous Painted Hall (the “Sistine Chapel of the UK”) and the beautiful Chapel. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the supreme glories of English architecture, and one of the great sights of London. To drink “al fresco” in its grounds is to drink amid genuine architectural magnificence.
Al fresco in magnificent surroundings
“Al fresco” – the Italian phrase, literally “in the fresh (air),” meaning to eat or drink outdoors – captures the appeal perfectly: an outdoor bar in the magnificent grounds of the great college. There are few finer pleasures than drinking outdoors in beautiful surroundings, and few surroundings anywhere are finer than these – the great baroque buildings all around, the sweeping riverside setting, the domes and colonnades of Wren’s masterpiece, the sense of standing amid genuine architectural and historical magnificence. To sip a drink al fresco in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, surrounded by one of the great architectural glories of England, with the Thames flowing by and the whole magnificent history of maritime Greenwich all around, is a genuinely special and memorable experience. The setting alone makes it worth celebrating – drinks amid the magnificence of Wren’s great masterpiece.
Whatever its (absent) review score, the ORNC Bar Al Fresco offers something genuinely special – the chance to drink al fresco in the magnificent grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, one of the supreme architectural glories of England, at the very heart of maritime Greenwich. It closes a great circle in this survey – for here is the very Hospital where Admiral Hardy was Governor, where the Greenwich Pensioners lived, where Nelson lay in state, the great masterpiece of Wren and Hawksmoor, all around the outdoor tables. The Prat’s desk, thoroughly impressed by the setting, orders a drink al fresco, admires Wren’s magnificent domes, and drinks in the glory of Greenwich.
The bar
An un-scored (too new or too few reviews to judge) outdoor bar in a genuinely magnificent setting – the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, the great baroque masterpiece of Wren and Hawksmoor on the Greenwich riverside.
Verdict
Impossible to judge by the numbers, but set amid genuine magnificence – the ORNC Bar Al Fresco, offering drinks in the grounds of the great Old Royal Naval College.
Have a drink al fresco at the ORNC Bar, and enjoy the magnificent setting – the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, the great baroque masterpiece of Wren and Hawksmoor, one of the supreme architectural glories of England, at the heart of maritime Greenwich.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
The layer of specific knowledge here could only come from working in this system or studying it with obsessive desperation. Both indicate damage.
The thing about Peter Cook is he died thinking he’d done enough. He had absolutely no idea what was coming and that’s genuinely merciful.