Why did the Foundling Hospital close?
Originally set up in Bloomsbury, London, in 1739 by a retired sailor called Thomas Coram, the Foundling Hospital moved to “healthier” premises at Berkhamsted in the 1920s. It closed in 1954 after its Victorian methods were finally condemned. Tom, who left at 15, was one of its very last foundlings.
What is a foundling home?
Homeless children may find a home in a foundling hospital. A foundling hospital is an institution that cares for abandoned, abused, or neglected children and is sometimes called an orphanage.