Coram Fields & Handel’s Messiah
Once visiting the Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street in London, I came across a beautiful story about a retired sea-captain Thomas Coram (1668-1751). He is linked to Handel and to the painter William Hogarth (1697-1764).
New Bond Street near the Handel House
When Thomas Coram retired, he came back to London and was appalled by the sight of the many abandoned children dying in the streets of the most impoverished areas of London. The poor and single mothers had no chance to feed and bring up their illegitimate babies.
Gin was distilled in every fifth house in the area of St. Giles and the abuse of gin made the situation so much more miserable.
William Hogarth shows the horrors in his etching and engraving “Gin Lane”.
Gin was cheap and used by the poor women and caused an increase in child mortality and deformity and lack of care and protection for the children.
Thomas Coram started to raise money for a hospital called “The Foundling Hospital” which was inaugurated in Bloomsbury 17 years later in 1748.
Handel’s “Messiah” was performed there many times to help raise money as well as William Hogarth and other fine artists were involved.
Already at the first opening day, a long queue of unhappy mothers wanting to leave their children at the hospital and waiting to get help.
The children got an excellent education in beautiful surroundings. At the museum, you can see a lot of small amulets that were given as a token from the mothers to get back their children in a brighter future. But that never happened at that time.
You can hear stories live on headphones from people who have attended the school, and they have stuck together with each other their entire lives.
Where the “Foundling Hospital” once stood you have “The Coram Fields” today. A beautiful playground where children are welcome in company with an adult.
The Coram organisation is still helping children today, and they are celebrating 275 years of this kind of charity. During these many years, tens of thousands of abandoned children’s lives were saved.
It struck me that already in the time of the start of the Foundling Hospital, educated people were aware of the dangers of alcohol like gin. They knew the grave consequences in health, social life and the ability to survive.
G.F. Handel
Categories: Baby care, Biography, Favorites, Historical issues, Travelling
From one Heart to Another 
Great write! Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you for reading and commenting. I enjoy to find our digital pictures and written memories from travels and recollect them here on the blog. It takes us one hour to fly to London and two by bus to get to the central of London. Hotels are expensive though
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You’re welcome. That’s cool. It sounds exciting. That sucks it’s expensive. Is London by Italy or Ireland?
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I live in Denmark so we fly over the North Sea to the one airports of London.
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Cool. Flying scares me. I’m planning to move to Ireland after college. I don’t know how I’m going to get there though. I might take a cruise. I love seeing the photos and reading your posts. Can’t wait to see what’s next. :-).
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i never knew this wonderful story. i am enjoying your blogs and photos of many subjects.
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I am so pleased to hear that you like to read them. I have many subjects in drafts so that I wont forget. I get many ideas while doing my work out
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Interestingly, that Hogarth print of The so-called Gin lane in St Giles also happens to be where an ancestor of mine lived around 1800. ☺ Nice article ☺
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Thank you for commenting. I will never forget when I saw a serie on his etchings at the British Museum and later at Soane’s Museum at Lincoln’s Inn in Bloomsbury close to where Dickens lived
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Wow! What a powerful sketch. My other career is in Early Childhood Education and I love historical lessons regarding the well-being of children. I look forward to learning more.
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Excellent! There was a fabulous programme on BBC at Christmas on this very subject. I cant remember the name of the programme , but it gave in depth view which you would like. Your knowledge is fantastic.
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Thank you so much for this. I love to travel and to look up for hidden things and to hear about people in the past who has done something special for man kind and to combine my love for children and historical issues
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If you find it on the BBC I would like to watch the transmission
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Perhaps try and do a search on BBC Maria Christmas 2014 programmes, London?
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Of course it might be a available as pod cast still or what it’s called
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Hi Maria, I cant find that documentary yet BUT found this. It has just started and thought you might be interested as very eclectic.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/story-of-now
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I thank you so much for your help. I will look at the link when I come home
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Pleasure.Hope it helps! Let me know how you get on:)
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I found a very good link to More facts about this remarkable Thomas Coram on the BBC home site and I linked to the end of my story. Thank you for showing me. (I wish I was native English)
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Wish I was from Scandinavia!..We’ll get there:)!
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Very neat. Thanks for the information, I had never heard of this!
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A beautiful and well written story
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Thank you for reading and commenting Donna
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