The Royal Berkshire Hospital was opened in 1839. One reason for the building of the hospital was the large number of serious injuries occurring during the construction of the Great Western Railway. King William IV took an interest during the construction of the hospital and his arms appear on the central pediment at the front of the hospital.
In the 1860s, the original building was extended with east and west wings. In the 1880s, a new chapel was added to the rear of the main block, together with long side wings.
In 1931, the famous fighter pilot Douglas Bader had both legs amputated in the hospital by the surgeon Leonard Joyce, after an aircrash at Woodley Aerodrome. The hospital features in the film Reach for the Sky, where these events are shown.
In February 2006, The Queen accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh opened the new buildings of the Royal Berkshire Hospital. This was to celebrate the completion of an eight year project to move the Battle Hospital services onto the Royal Berkshire Hospital site.