Thomas Coram - Foundling Hospital

Foundling Hospital

In 1742-1745, the Foundling Hospital was erected in Bloomsbury. William Hogarth was among the first governors of the hospital. He painted a famous portrait of Thomas Coram (1740; now Foundling Museum, London; reproduced in stipple by William Nutter for R. Cribb in 1796), and, together with some of his fellow artists, decorated the Governors' Court Room, which contains paintings by Francis Hayman, Thomas Gainsborough and Richard Wilson. He contributed paintings for the benefit of the Foundation, and the Foundling Hospital became the first art gallery open to the public.

George Frederic Handel allowed a concert performance of Messiah to benefit the foundation, and donated the manuscript of the Halleluja Chorus to the hospital. He also composed an anthem specially for a performance at the Hospital, now called the Foundling Hospital Anthem.

The hospital site is now a children's play area, Coram's Fields, which refuses entry to adults unaccompanied by children.

In 2000, Jamila Gavin published a children's book called Coram Boy about the Foundling Hospital. The book was adapted into a play by Helen Edmundson, which had its world premiere at the Royal National Theatre in London in November 2005 and recently had a brief run on Broadway.

The Foundling Hospital is now officially the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children.