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.

[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.