Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It was established in

Holloway, London Holloway is an inner-city district of the London Borough of Islington, north of Charing Cross, which follows the line of the Holloway Road ( A1). At the centre of Holloway is the Nag's Head commercial area which sits between the more residentia ...

, in 1860 and moved to

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

in 1871.'' The non-Government funded organisation cares for an average of 240 dogs and 145 cats across all three centres at any one time. The charity has cared for more than 3.1 million dogs and cats over its history.

History

Battersea was established in Holloway in 1860 by

Mary Tealby Mary Tealby (; 30 December 1801 – 3 October 1865) was an English animal welfare campaigner. She is noted for founding the Battersea Dogs' Home. It was founded in Holloway, London in 1860 and moved to Battersea in 1871. Life Tealby was born ...

(1801–1865). She called it "The Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs". Initially the home was in her scullery but as the number of dogs delivered to her grew she hired some nearby stables funded by herself, her brother and Sarah Major. In 1860 the RSPCA agreed to assist and the committee meetings were held at the RSPCA offices at 12 Pall Mall. ''The Times'' ran a story ridiculing the idea of opening a "home" for dogs when there were homeless people in London. It accused Tealby of "letting her zeal ...outrun her discretion". Its most impressive supporter in the 1860s was

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. He wrote about a "remarkable institution" that had saved "over a thousand" dogs in 1860. He noted that the dogs were cared for but if necessary humanely disposed of. By 1864 the finances were sound and they were handling 2,000 dogs that year. Battersea started taking in cats from 1883, but its name remained Battersea Dogs Home until 2002. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, then manager Edward Healey-Tutt advised against people euthanising their pets because of fear of food shortages. Throughout the war Battersea fed and cared for over 145,000 dogs. In 1979, Battersea acquired Bell Mead Kennels, which is now known as Battersea Old Windsor in Berkshire and in 1999, Battersea bought a centre in Kent, now known as Battersea Brands Hatch. In 2002, the name was changed from Battersea Dogs Home to include cats in its name - Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. In June 2010,

Claire Horton Claire Ellen Horton (born 20 May 1962) is a British executive and charity worker. Since January 2021 she has been Director General of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the body responsible for the care and upkeep of the graves and me ...

joined Battersea in the role of Chief Executive. In 2016, she was named Charity Chief Executive of the Year at the Third Sector Awards for turning around Battersea. Horton was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to animal welfare. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, New Barnet

To mark its 150th anniversary in 2010, the charity's London Cattery was opened by HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.

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released a set of stamps featuring a series of dogs and cats that had been adopted by staff. It also launched a commemorative book, ''A Home of Their Own'', which charts the history of the Home. This includes a look at prominent people who have adopted animals such as

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, who credited his dog Thomas with helping him through a rough period. Starting in 2011, Battersea implemented the "Staffies. They're Softer Than You Think" campaign to educate the public on the misconceptions about the

Staffordshire Bull Terrier The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also called the Staffy or Stafford, is a dog breed, purebred dog of small to medium size in the Terrier Group, terrier group that originated in the northern parts of Birmingham and in the Black Country of Staff ...

. On 17 March 2015,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

unveiled a plaque to officially open the intake kennels named after their founder, Mary Tealby kennels. In 2016, a new state of the art Veterinary Hospital was opened at the London centre. In 2018 the charity rebranded as just "Battersea" "to be here for every dog and cat". The charity's public affairs work involved spearheading the campaign to increase maximum sentences from six months to five years for the worst animal cruelty crimes in England and Wales. Battersea has been campaigning since 2017. The charity also launched the Battersea Academy, and launched a campaign "Rescue Is My Favourite Breed" in 2019.

Patronage

In 1885,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

became patron of the home, and it has remained under royal

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

ever since. The Queen Consort is the current patron, and

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first ...

is the President.

Media

In 1862,

published an article about the home for the magazine '' All the Year Round''. He called it an "extraordinary monument of the remarkable affection with which the English people regard the race of dogs".

TV programmes

Battersea has featured on many television programmes and documentaries. The

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

programme '' Pet Rescue'' which aired in 1997 featured Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

programme ''Animal Rescue Live'' was broadcast live for a week at Battersea in July 2007. The programme was presented by

Matt Baker Matthew James Baker (born 23 December 1977) is a British television presenter. He co-presented the children's television show ''Blue Peter'' from 1999 until 2006, BBC One's ''Countryfile'' since 2009 and ''The One Show'' from 2011 to 2020, wit ...

and

Selina Scott Selina Mary Scott (born 13 May 1951) is an English television presenter who co-hosted the first dedicated breakfast television programme in the UK before crossing the Atlantic to join '' West 57th'', a prime-time current-affairs show broadcast f ...

. Since 2012, ITV's '' Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs'' has been filmed at Battersea. The show won multiple awards including three

National Television Awards The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...

for 'Factual Entertainment' and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2013. The show is now in its ninth series.

Ambassadors

David Gandy David James Gandy (born 19 February 1980) is an English male fashion model who began his career after winning a televised model-search competition. For several years, Gandy was the lead male model for Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana who featur ...

(2012–) *

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady Order of the British Empire, MBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his d ...

MBE (2012–) *

Dame Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

(2013–) *

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

(2013–) *

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...

and Sarah Fisher (2018–) * Tom Hardy (2019–)

Notable alumni

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence (given name), Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American arti ...

–

Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office is the title of the official resident cat at 10 Downing Street, the residence and executive office of the prime minister of the United Kingdom in London. There has been a resident cat in the British government ...

(2011–) *

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...

– Chief Mouser of the

Foreign & Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...

(2016–2020) *

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

– Chief Mouser of

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

(2016–)

Transport

Battersea Power Station tube station Battersea Power Station is a London Underground station in Battersea, London, which forms the terminus of the Northern line extension to Battersea. Partially funded by the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, the station serves the redeve ...

is located adjacent to the site on Battersea Park Road, and is served by the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

. Battersea Park station for

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the p ...

and Queenstown Road station for National Rail services are located 3 minutes and 7 minutes walk away respectively.

References

External links

Official Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battersea Dogs And Cats Home 1860 establishments in the United Kingdom Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Animal rescue groups Animal welfare organisations based in London Battersea Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Cats in England Dogs in the United Kingdom Domestic cat welfare organizations Organizations established in 1860