When
Captain Thomas Coram retired after a life spent as a successful ship-builder
and sailor, he was horrified by the sight of poverty on London’s streets. He
decided to enlist the support of noble and fashionable ladies after discovering
the important role of women in the Paris Foundling Hospital.
Subscriptions
poured in and the King signed a Royal Charter on 17th
November 1739. The governors and guardians met to receive the charter on 20th
November at Somerset House. The group included many of the important figures of
the day; dukes, earls, magnates, merchant bankers, Dr Richard Mead (the
foremost physician), William Hogarth (the artist) and Captain Coram. Thus the Foundling Hospital was established for
the ‘education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children’.
The first
children were admitted on 24th March
1741, into a temporary house in Hatton Garden. Scenes of drama
followed as the cries of the departing mothers and children echoed through the
night.
The governors
began a search for a permanent site and the purpose built hospital was built in
the area known as Bloomsbury Fields, the Earl of Salisbury’s estate, lying
north of Great Ormond Street and west of Gray’s Inn Lane. It consisted of 56
acres of land amidst green fields. The cost was £7000, the Earl donating £500
of this to the Hospital.
Hogarth
personally contributed paintings to decorate the walls and many other
contemporary British artists to donate works, creating the first British art
gallery, The Foundling Hospital, which was the catalyst for the Royal Academy. At the time, there
was little exhibition space available for artists in London and the walls of the
Hospital served this purpose.
The rich and
powerful were encouraged top come and view the pictures as well as the
children, with the hope that they might commission works from one of the
exhibiting artists and contribute to the work of the Hospital.
George
Frederick Handel also supported the Hospital’s charitable work by giving
benefit performances of his work in the chapel.
In the 1920’s
the Foundling Hospital was pulled down, but
the treasures were saved and moved to 40 Brunswick Square. The work with very
vulnerable children continued with the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children,
known today as Coram Family. The Foundling Museum was established in
1998 as a separate but closely linked charity that will develop and manage the
collection.
When the
children were accepted into the hospital, a list was made of their belongings.
Each child christened with their new name at the hospital, despite the fact
that they may already have been christened. The children were cared for and at
the appropriate age, were apprenticed in London. These apprenticeships
were vetted before the children were allowed to leave the hospital.
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