The Foundling Museum
40 Brunswick Square
London
Greater London
WC1N 1AZ
England
Website
enquiries@foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Telephone
020 7841 3600
Fax
020 7841 3601
Captain Thomas Coram lived in an age that cared little for the plight of unwanted children, who were often left to die on the streets of London. When Coram retired after a life spent as a successful ship-builder and sailor, primarily based in the New World of America, he was horrified by the spectacle of poverty on London's streets. He spent the remainder of his life striving to fulfil his grand design, which was to establish a refuge for abandoned children. In this endeavour he was assisted by his friend, the artist William Hogarth, who like Coram himself was childless. Their efforts were rewarded in 1739, when George II granted a Royal Charter for the establishment of a Foundling Hospital.
Hogarth personally contributed paintings to decorate the walls of the new building. His example inspired many other contemporary British artists to donate works to this pioneering and philanthropic institution, creating the first British art gallery, The Foundling Hospital, which is now seen as the catalyst for the Royal Academy. At that 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 to 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 Frideric 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 Foundling Museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection. The work with vulnerable children continues and the charity is now known as Coram. The Foundling Museum was established in 1998 as a separate but closely linked charity.
Venue Type:
Museum
At the Museum you can see:
* Poignant social history gallery telling the story of London's first home for abandoned children, including personal histories, artefacts, photographs and recordings;
* London's first art gallery featuring works by Hogarth, Rysbrack, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Roubiliac, Hudson, Ramsay and Wilson;
* Fine eighteenth-century, Rococo and Georgian interiors; and
* Gerald Cook Handel collection of Handel memorabilia.
Collection details
Archives, Decorative and Applied Art, Fine Art, Music, Personalities, Social History
Key artists and exhibits
- London's first children's home
- Rococo interior
- Georgian interior
- Coram
- Hogarth
- Rysbrack
- Gainsborough
- Reynolds
- Roubiliac
- Hudson
- Ramsay
- Wilson
- Handel
Fate, Hope & Charity
Tokens, small everyday objects, were left by mothers with their babies at the Foundling Hospital, which continues today as children’s charity Coram, between c.1741-1760. These tokens, which include coins, jewellery, buttons, poems, playing cards and a simple nut, were a means of identification should the mother ever return to reclaim her child. Hundreds of these small items were removed from the Foundling Hospital’s admission records in the 1860s, severing links with their history – until now.
Now, over 250 years later, Fate, Hope & Charity reunites the tokens with the foundlings to whom they belonged, bringing to light untold stories that are testaments to the grief of separation and the timeless bond between a mother and child. Each heart-wrenching story offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary women in the eighteenth century. The accounts reveal fascinating information about the tokens themselves, the circumstances surrounding the mother’s decision to give up her baby and the moving stories of the individual foundlings to whom the tokens belonged.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
The Foundling Museum
Admission
Free with Museum admission.
Website
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/view/fate-hope-and-charity/
Fate, Hope & Charity
These tokens, which include coins, jewellery, buttons, poems, playing cards and a simple nut, were a means of identification should the mother ever return to reclaim her child. Hundreds of these small items were removed from the Foundling Hospital’s admission records in the 1860s, severing links with their history – until now.
Now, over 250 years later, Fate, Hope & Charity reunites the tokens with the foundlings to whom they belonged, bringing to light untold stories that are testaments to the grief of separation and the timeless bond between a mother and child. Each heart-wrenching story offers a glimpse into the lives of ordinary women in the eighteenth century. The accounts reveal fascinating information about the tokens themselves, the circumstances surrounding the mother’s decision to give up her baby and the moving stories of the individual foundlings to whom the tokens belonged.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free with Museum admission. Booking not required.
Website
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/view/fate-hope-and-charity/
In Focus Display: Handel’s operas 'Teseo' and 'Imeneo'
In December 1712 Handel completed his opera Teseo, and its first performance took place at the Queen's Theatre in the Haymarket, just three weeks later in January 1713. A display in the Handel Gallery includes the earliest surviving manuscript of the opera, which has suffered fire damage at some point in the last 300 years but remarkably has no damage to the music. Other exhibits include early manuscripts and a contract signed by the impresario Heidegger and several singers, relating to their benefit concerts, which was acquired by the Gerald Coke Handel Foundation in 2011.
Suitable for
- Family friendly
Where
The Foundling Museum
Admission
Free with Museum admission.
Website
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/view/In-focus-display-Handels-operas/
Sunday Afternoon Concert
Žak Ozmo director
Free with Museum admission.
Flights of Fancy
In the early seventeenth century there was a widespread belief in the magic of music, and in music's power to control human passions - now harsh, now sweet, now cheerful, and now sad - in accordance with the will of the performer. This programme features entertaining, imaginative, and uncommonly beautiful music composed with these goals in mind. Included will be striking chamber works by Biagio Marini and Tarquinio Merula, haunting vocal monodies by Claudio Monteverdi, sprightly dances by Gasparo Zanetti and Santino Garsi, inspired improvisations on seventeenth-century grounds, and much more.
Join the University of Hull Early Music ensemble for the London part of their spring tour!
Follow us on Facebook on https://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Hull-Early-Music-Ensemble/360763057367437?ref=tn_tnmn
‘Music-making with flair, passion, and pizzazz!’
About the University of Hull Early Music Ensemble
The University of Hull Early Music Ensemble is a period-instrument group comprised of some of the best music students from the University's Department of Music and Drama. Now under the direction of Žak Ozmo, the University’s Director of Early Music, the ensemble is dedicated to the exploration of repertoire from the 16th-18th centuries with flair, passion, and pizzazz! The University of Hull Early Music Ensemble gives three concerts a year at off-campus venues. It has taken part in the prestigious Early Music Festivals in York, Beverley and East Riding and has presented concerts at Gilling Castle, Burton Constable Hall, Harlaxton Manor (the University of Evansville) and other historic venues. The ensemble varies in size based on its current project, occasionally numbering up to forty singers and players.
Suitable for
- Any age
When
3-5pm
Admission
Free with Museum entry
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