In 1571, Lord Robert Dudley bought the buildings from the United Guilds of Warwick and founded, under a charter from Queen Elizabeth I, a hospital for disabled or aged soldiers and their wives. The charter gave the Master of the Hospital and the 12 Brethren residents an income of 200 pounds a year, and parts of the buildings were turned into living quarters. These remained unchanged until 1950, when it was cleared and the number of Brethren residents was reduced to five.

It was not until 1956 when Parliament passed an act that dismissed the Master and Brethrens and replaced them with Board of Governors. The Board decided to restore the buildings and modernize the living quarters. Queen Elizabeth, Queen mother opened the hospital in November 1996.

Currently, the place is occupied by 8 ex-servicemen in exchange for their services of running the hospital.