| Battersea General Hospital | |
| Location: | Battersea |
| Region: | London |
| State: | England |
| Country: | UK |
| Coordinates: | 51.4751°N -0.164°W |
| Founded: | 1902 |
| Closed: | 1972 |
| Website: | None |
| Map Type: | United Kingdom London Wandsworth |
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.
The hospital was founded by Mrs Theodore Russell Monroe, secretary of the Anti-Vivisection Society as The National Anti-Vivisection Hospital in 1896.[1] 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."[3] In 1908, Herbert Snow was appointed surgeon to the hospital.[4] 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]