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In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, seamen returned to their homes and families, often to find difficulty finding work and lodging. Many of these men continued to suffer from illness and disease resulting from their time at sea, including scurvy, smallpox, cholera and venereal disease. Two men, Zachary Macaulay and William Wilberforce, observed this growing problem and in 1817-1818 established a fund from contributions of the general public for the relief of distressed mariners. This fund led to the plan of a hospital solely for seamen, to treat them and to help them to find employment on other ships once discharged. This became known as The Seamen's Hospital Society. The first meeting of the society took place in 1821 and was accorded Royal Patronage from the start.
From this meeting a ship, the Grampus was loaned by the Admiralty as a hospital ship and Greenwich was chosen as its moorings. The first patients were taken on board on 25th October 1821, and were accepted without subscribers' letters of recommendation. By 1831 it was clear that the Grampus was not large enough and so was replaced by The Dreadnought, which was capable of accommodating 250 patients and 150 convalescents. In 1835 the Seamen's Hospital Society took over the running of the ship from the Admiralty. The Dreadnought in its turn became too small for the task and was replaced by The Caledonia a 120-gun ship, however the name 'Dreadnought' was now so well known that special permission was granted by the Admiralty for use of the name to continue.
From 1860 it was felt that the Hospital should be moved, either to a more convenient mooring or on-shore. This was a lengthy process and finally in 1869 formal application for the loan of the Infirmary at Greenwich was made. By 1870 this was agreed, and by April of that year the patients were moved to the new buildings. Now the Society was able to expand and a Dreadnought Training School was established in 1877. By 1880 two dispensaries were also established, and the hospital began to make its name as a centre of research for tropical diseases, this worked was moved to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases near Euston in the 1920's. The Seamen's Hospital was taken over by the NHS in 1948, and closed in 1986.