The story begins in the 1700s, at a time of great social upheaval and the creation - after years of campaigning by Thomas Coram - of the Foundling Hospital - the UK’s first children’s charity. Its radical purpose was to care for London’s most vulnerable children and offer safer, kinder options for mothers facing impossible decisions. Artists and musicians were central from the start, helping to change public attitudes and raise funds to create and sustain the Hospital.
Handel led fundraising concerts at the Hospital while Hogarth and his peers donated works of art, creating the the UK’s first public art gallery and laying the foundations for a collection of national significance, encompassing art, music and the personal tokens left by mothers. Many regard this as the birthplace of modern cultural philanthropy in Britain.
From 1741, when the first babies were admitted, to 1954 when the last pupil was placed in foster care, the Foundling Hospital cared for and educated around 25,000 children.
We will have a one hour guided tour of the Museum at 11 am and, for those who wish, lunch afterwards, at our own expense. Venue tba.
The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ
Cost £18
Booking opens at the lecture on 17 September and thereafter via
visits.tasch@gmail.com
Picture credit Will Scott