The Foundling Hospital in London, England was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Year 1739 ( MDCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Captain is the traditional customary title given to the person in charge in command of a Ship at sea Captain Thomas Coram (c 1668 &ndash March 29, 1751) was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, UK It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children. " The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is today, simply indicating the institution's "hospitality" to those less fortunate. A hospital is an institution for Health care providing treatment by specialised staff and equipment and often but not always providing for
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Early history
The first children were admitted to the Foundling Hospital on 25 March 1741, into a temporary house located in Hatton Garden. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. Year 1741 ( MDCCXLI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Hatton Garden is a street and area near Holborn in London, England. At first, no questions were asked about child or parent, but a distinguishing token was put on each child by the parent. These were often marked coins, trinkets, pieces of cotton or ribbon, verses written on scraps of paper. Clothes, if any, were carefully recorded. One entry is, "Paper on the breast, clout on the head. " The applications became too numerous, and a system of balloting with red, white and black balls was adopted. Children were seldom taken after they were twelve months old. On reception they were sent to wet nurses in the countryside, where they stayed until they were about four or five years old. A wet nurse is a woman who breast feeds a baby that is not her own At sixteen the girls were generally apprenticed as servants for four years; at fourteen, boys became apprentices in varying occupations for seven years. Apprenticeship is a system of Training a new generation of practitioners of a skill Maid is also a shortened form of " Maiden " an archaic word for an unmarried woman or a Virgin. There was a small benevolent fund for adults.
In September 1742, the stone of the new Hospital was laid in the area known as Bloomsbury, lying north of Great Ormond Street and west of Gray's Inn Lane. Year 1742 ( MDCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Bloomsbury is an area of central London in the south of the London Borough of Camden, developed by the Russell family in the 17th and 18th centuries into The Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH is a medical institution specialising in the care of children Gray's Inn Road is a major road in central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The Hospital was designed by Theodore Jacobsen as a plain brick building with two wings and a chapel, built around an open courtyard. A chapel is a holy place or area of Worship for Christians, which may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a College, a For alternative meanings of the word "court" see Court (disambiguation. The western wing was finished in October 1745. Year 1745 ( MDCCXLV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a An eastern wing was added in 1752 "in order that the girls might be kept separate from the boys". Year 1752 ( MDCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar for European countries but not Great Britain) of The new Hospital was described as "the most imposing single monument erected by eighteenth century benevolence" and became London's most popular charity.
In 1756, the House of Commons came to a resolution that all children offered should be received, that local receiving places should be appointed all over the country, and that the funds should be publicly guaranteed. Year 1756 ( MDCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords A basket was accordingly hung outside the hospital; the maximum age for admission was raised from two to twelve months, and a flood of children poured in from country workhouses. This article deals chiefly with the English Poor Laws covering England and Wales In less than four years 14,934 children were presented, and a vile trade grew up among vagrants, who sometimes became known as "Coram Men," of promising to carry children from the country to the hospital, an undertaking which they often did not perform or performed with great cruelty. See also Vagrancy (biology for an alternative use of the term Of these 15,000 only 4400 lived to be apprenticed out. The total expense was about £500,000, which alarmed the House of Commons. After throwing out a bill which proposed to raise the necessary funds by fees from a general system of parochial registration, they came to the conclusion that the indiscriminate admission should be discontinued. For other uses see Bill. A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a Legislature that has not been ratified, adopted A parish is a Local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in episcopal or presbyterian churches The hospital, being thus thrown on its own resources, adopted a system of receiving children with considerable sums (e. g. , £100), which sometimes led to them being reclaimed by the parent. This was finally stopped in 1801; and it henceforth became a fundamental rule that no money was received. Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday The committee of inquiry had to be satisfied of the previous good character and present necessity of the mother, and that the father of the child had deserted it and the mother, and that the reception of the child would probably replace the mother in the course of virtue and in the way of an honest livelihood. At that time, illegitimacy carried deep stigma, especially for the mother but also for the child. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the All the children at the Foundling Hospital were those of unmarried women, and they were all first children of their mothers. The principle was in fact that laid down by Henry Fielding in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling: "Too true I am afraid it is that many women have become abandoned and have sunk to the last degree of vice [i. Henry Fielding ( April 22, 1707 &ndash October 8, 1754) was an English Novelist and Dramatist known for his The History of Tom Jones a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a Comic novel by the English playwright and novelist e. prostitution] by being unable to retrieve the first slip. Prostitution is the act of performing Sexual activity in exchange for Money. "
There were some unfortunate incidents, such as the case of Elizabeth Brownrigg (1720-1767), a severely abusive Fetters Lane midwife who mercilessly whipped and otherwise maltreated her adolescent female apprentice domestic servants, leading to the death of one, Mary Clifford, from her injuries, neglect and infected wounds. Elizabeth Brownrigg (1720-1767 was an eighteenth century murderess Midwifery is a Health care profession where providers give Prenatal care to expecting Mothers attend the birth of the Infant After the Foundling Hospital authorities investigated, Brownrigg was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang at Tyburn. History The village was one of two manors of the Parish of St Marylebone, which was itself named after the stream St Marylebone being Thereafter, the Foundling Hospital instituted more thorough investigation of its prospective apprentice masters and mistresses.
Music and art
The musical service, which was originally sung by the blind children only, was made fashionable by the generosity of George Frideric Handel, who frequently had the Messiah performed there, and who bequeathed to the hospital a fair copy (full score) of his greatest oratorio. Messiah ( HWV 56 is an Oratorio by George Frideric Handel based on a Libretto by Charles Jennens. An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera Handel's involvement had begun on 1 May 1750 when he directed a performance of the Messiah to mark the presentation of the organ to the chapel. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 1750 ( MDCCL) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard That first performance was a great success and Handel was elected a Governor of the Hospital on the following day, a position he accepted. In 1774 Dr Charles Burney and a Signor Giardini made an unsuccessful attempt to form in connection with the hospital a public music school, in imitation of the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, Italy. Year 1774 ( MDCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Charles Burney ( 7 April 1726 &ndash 12 April 1814) was an English music historian and father of author Frances The Ospedale della Pietà is a convent orphanage and music school in Venice. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest In 1847, however, a successful juvenile band was started. Year 1847 ( MDCCCXLVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The educational effects of music were found excellent, and the hospital supplied many musicians to the best army and navy bands. A military band is a group of personnel that perform musical duties for military functions usually
The early connection between the hospital and the eminent painters of the reign of George II is of interest. George II (George Augustus 10 November 1683 &ndash 25 October 1760 was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg ( The exhibitions of pictures at the Foundling Hospital, which were organized by the Dilettante Society, led to the formation of the Royal Academy in 1768. For a definition of "dilettante" see the Wiktionary entry. This article refers to an art institution in London For other meanings of Royal Academy see Royal Academy (disambiguation. Year 1768 ( MDCCLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a William Hogarth, who was childless, had a long association with the Hospital and was a founding Governor. William Hogarth (10 November 1697 &ndash 26 October 1764 was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic He designed the children's uniforms and the Coat of Arms, and he and his wife Jane fostered foundling children. A coat of arms or armorial bearings (often just arms for short in European tradition is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people Hogarth also decided to set up a permanent art exhibition in the new buildings, encouraging other artists to produce work for the hospital. Art exhibitions are traditionally the space in which Art objects (in the most general sense meet an Audience. Indeed, several contemporary English artists decorated the walls of the hospital with their works, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and Francis Hayman. Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 &ndash 23 February 1792 was the most important and influential of 18th century English painters Thomas Gainsborough (christened 14 May 1727 &ndash died 2 August 1788 was one of the most famous portrait and landscape painters of 18th century Britain. Francis Hayman ( 1708 - 2 February 1776) was an English painter and Illustrator who became one of the founding members of Hogarth painted a portrait of Thomas Coram for the hospital. He also donated his "March of the Guards to Finchley. " Another noteworthy piece is Roubiliac's bust of Handel. Louis-François Roubiliac (more correctly Roubillac) ( 1695 - January 11, 1762) 18th century French sculptor. The chapel's altar-piece was originally "Adoration of the Magi" by Casali, but deemed to look too Catholic by the Hospital's Anglican governors, it was replaced by Benjamin West's picture of Christ presenting a little child. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Benjamin West RA ( October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was an Anglo - American painter of historical Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The Foundling Hospital art collection can today be seen at the Foundling Museum. The Foundling Museum in London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital and houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Art Collection
Relocation
In the 1920s, the Hospital decided to move to a healthier location in the countryside. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada A proposal to turn the buildings over for university use fell through, and they were eventually sold to a property developer called James White in 1926. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He hoped to transfer Covent Garden Market to the site, but the local residents successfully opposed that plan. Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest Nonetheless, the original Hospital building was demolished. The children were moved to Redhill, Surrey, where an old convent was used to lodge them, and then in 1935 to the new purpose-built Foundling Hospital in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Redhill is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, England and is part of the London commuter belt. Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Berkhamsted is a historic town of some 19000 people It is situated in the west of Hertfordshire, between the towns of Tring and Hemel Hempstead. Hertfordshire (ˈhɑːtfədʃə(r, abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of When, in the 1950s, British law moved away from institutionalisation of children toward more family-oriented solutions, such as adoption and foster care, the Foundling Hospital ceased most of its operations. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a Parent or parents other than those to whom they were born Foster care is a system by which a certified stand-in "parent(s" cares for minor Children or young peoples who have been removed from their birth parents The Berkhamsted buildings were sold to Hertfordshire County Council for use as a school, and the Foundling Hospital changed its name first to the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children, and later to its current name, Coram. Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local authority for the Non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Coram is a large Charitable organization in the United Kingdom officially called the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children.
Today
The Foundling Hospital still has a legacy on the original site. Seven acres (28,000 m²) of it were purchased for use as a playground for children with financial support from the newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere. Viscount Rothermere, of Hemsted in the County of Kent is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. This area is often used by children who are in- or out-patients at the nearby Great Ormond Street Hospital, and is owned by a separate charity called Coram's Fields. The Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH is a medical institution specialising in the care of children Coram's Fields is a large Open space in the London borough of Camden in central London, England. The Foundling Hospital itself bought back 2. 5 acres (10,000 m²) of land in 1937 and built a new headquarters and a children's centre on the site. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Although smaller, the building is in a similar style to the original Foundling Hospital and important aspects of the interior architecture were recreated there. It now houses the Foundling Museum, where the art collection can be seen. The Foundling Museum in London tells the story of the Foundling Hospital and houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Art Collection The Coram charity operates in adjacent buildings, constructed in the 1950s. Coram is a large Charitable organization in the United Kingdom officially called the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive
Bibliography
- Enlightened Self-interest: The Foundling Hospital and Hogarth, exhibition catalogue, Thomas Coram Foundation for Children, London 1997.
- The Foundling Museum Guide Book, The Foundling Museum, London 2004.
- Jamila Gavin: Coram Boy: London: Egmont/Mammoth: 2000: ISBN 1-4052-1282-9
American Edition: New York: Farrar Straus Giroux: 2001: ISBN 0-374-31544-2
- Marthe Jocelyn: A Home for Foundlings: Toronto: Tundra Books: 2005: ISBN 0-88776-709-5
- Ruth McClure: Coram's Children: The London Foundling Hospital in the Eighteenth Century: New Haven: Yale University Press: 1981: ISBN 0-300-02465-7
- R. H. Nichols and F A. Wray, The History of the Foundling Hospital (London: Oxford University Press, 1935).
- Christine Oliver and Peter Aggleton: Coram's Children: Growing Up in the Care of the Foundling Hospital: 1900-1955: London: Coram Family: 2000: ISBN 0-9536613-1-8
- Lisa Zunshine: Bastards and Foundlings: Illegitimacy in Eighteenth Century England: Columbus: Ohio State University Press: 2005: ISBN 0-8142-0995-5
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
See also
External links
- The Foundling Museum
- Old Coram Association
- The Foundling Museum section at the Survey of London online
- BBC British History: The Foundling Hospital
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