George Steward (1798 - 1823) George Steward, aged just 16 and an Anglican, married Mary Courts by banns on 18 Jul 1814 in Deptford St Nicholas. The witnesses were George Lolling, Elizabeth Taylor and James Blackshaw. Deptford St Nicholas was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of the Church of St Paul's, Deptford, constructed by the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches to meet the demands of the growing population. The ancient parish of Deptford was split in 1730 with the southern part around the new church becoming Deptford St Paul. St Nicholas parish included the old maritime settlement and the dockyard adjacent to the River Thames. George Steward died at the age of 25. His burial record states that his abode was Greenwich Hospital prior to death. This is less than a mile (1.15km) to the east of the church where he was married. Greenwich Hospital was a permanent home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy, which operated from 1692 to 1869. Its buildings, in Greenwich, London, were later used by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich and the University of Greenwich, and are now known as the Old Royal Naval College. The word "hospital" was used in its original sense of a place providing hospitality for those in need of it, and did not refer to medical care, although the buildings included an infirmary which, after Greenwich Hospital closed, operated as Dreadnought Seaman's Hospital until 1986. The original plans for the hospital would have blocked the riverside view from the Queen's House. Queen Mary II therefore ordered that the buildings be split, providing an avenue leading from the river through the hospital grounds up to the Queen's House and Greenwich Hill beyond. This gave the hospital its distinctive look. Greenwich Hospital closed in 1869, with the buildings being taken over by the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1873.