Battersea General Hospital
Hospital in England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battersea General Hospital (founded as the National Anti-Vivisection Hospital) known locally as the "Antiviv" or the "Old Anti," was a hospital in Battersea, London.
| Battersea General Hospital | |
|---|---|
Battersea General Hospital | |
  Location within Wandsworth | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Battersea, London, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51.4751°N 0.1640°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Closed | 1972 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
History
In the 1890s the National Anti-Vivisection Society had organized a charitable trust with Lords Coleridge, Lord Hatherton, Ernest Bell, Abiathar Wall and Rev. Augustus Jackson as trustees to raise money for the creation of an anti-vivisection hospital.[1] The hospital was founded by Mrs Theodore Russell Monroe, secretary of the Anti-Vivisection Society as the National Anti-Vivisection Hospital in 1896.[2][a] The hospital was founded "for the relief of human suffering by physicians and surgeons who are opposed to vivisection".[2]
The hospital was notable for not allowing animal experiments to take place in its facilities, and for refusing to employ physicians who were involved in or approved of animal research.[2]
Based at 33 Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea Park, it first opened for in-patients in 1903, with 11 beds for adults and 4 for children. It faced opposition from the medical establishment, who regarded the hospital's existence as "a great slur upon the profession."[4] In 1908, Herbert Snow was appointed surgeon to the hospital.[5] The hospital registered as a business in 1910 and adopted the motto Delenda est Crudelitas — Cruelty Must Be Destroyed.[1] In 1911, a new twelve bed cancer research department was opened under the direction of Robert Bell.[1]
Because of difficulties attracting funding – its stance made it ineligible for grants from the King Edward's Hospital Fund – it lost its anti-vivisection charter in 1935. It joined the new National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, was closed by the NHS in 1972, and its building was demolished in 1974.[2]
