Battle Hospital began its life in 1867 as a
workhouse, the
Reading Union Workhouse. Between 1889 and 1892 an infirmary was added with 185 beds for
vagrants. During the
First World War it became the
Reading War Hospital. In 1930 it became a municipal hospital, taking the name Battle Hospital for the first time. In 1948, by now with 384 beds, Battle Hospital became a general hospital under the new National Health Service. In 1952 a new maternity unit, Thames Block, opened. In 1972 the new single storey Abbey block opened. By 1993, Battle Hospital had 280 beds, compared with 760 beds at Reading's other general hospital, the
Royal Berkshire Hospital. Both hospitals were administered by the
Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust. ==References==