The Old Royal Naval College are buildings that serve as the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich,[1] a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding universal value" and reckoned to be the "finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles".

[5] The site is now managed by the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College, established in 1997 to conserve the buildings and grounds and convert them into a cultural destination.

[6] This was originally the site of Bella Court, built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and subsequently renamed Palace of Placentia by Queen Margaret upon its confiscation by the Crown in the 15th century.

In 1692 the Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich was created on the site on the instructions of Mary II, who had been inspired by the sight of wounded sailors returning from the Battle of La Hogue.

The area is used by visitors, students, local people and film crews in a traffic-free environment that provides a variety of coffee shops, bars and restaurants, all incorporated within the old buildings, as part of a unique "ancient and modern" blend that support 21st century life in Greenwich.

[10] The Old Royal Naval College and the "Maritime Greenwich" World Heritage site are becoming focal points for a wide range of business and community activities.

Trinity College of Music provide a wide range of musicians and ensembles on a subsidised commercial basis to play at events throughout East London and beyond, part of their business and community "out-reach" policy encouraged and part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council.

[12] Productions have included The Bounty, where captain William Bligh portrayed by Anthony Hopkins is brought in a Chariot at the start of the film, and judged during subsequent scenes.

Patriot Games, where an attack on a fictional royal family member, Lord Holmes, was filmed, as well as Shanghai Knights, and a 2006 television advertisement campaign for the British food and clothing retailer Marks & Spencer.

Other films include Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Madness of King George, The Mummy Returns, The Avengers (1998), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and Guy Ritchie's Revolver (2005).