When the Foundling Hospital admitted the first babies in 1741, it was funded by donations from wealthy benefactors. By the mid-1750s, however, the Hospital was struggling to secure the continual donations needed to maintain its work. Therefore, the Governors petitioned the House of Commons for funding.
In April 1756, Parliament agreed to provide a grant on the condition that the Hospital admit every baby brought to its door. Consequently, the four years between 1 June 1756 and 21 March 1760 are known as the General Reception period, when the Hospital accepted hundreds of babies each month. Just short of 15,000 children were admitted in total during the General Reception.
The Hospital’s established procedure was to send children to live with a nurse in the countryside until they were around five years old. Then, they returned to the Hospital for their education. But the building in London could only accommodate 400 children at a time.
Therefore, six branch hospitals were established across England to house the vast number of children returning from their nurses in the late 1750s and the 1760s. The locations were chosen for their clean air, providing a healthy environment for the children. They were also likely to provide local apprenticeships in agriculture and the textile industries.
Four of the branches were set up in existing buildings, with new buildings constructed in Ackworth and Shrewsbury. All the branches had an infirmary, and most had a workshop or ‘manufactory’ where children learned textile skills, such as spinning wool and flax and weaving cloth.
Ackworth Foundling Hospital (1757-1773)
The Ackworth branch hospital in West Yorkshire was the first to open and the last to close. The large new building could house more children than the Foundling Hospital. More than 2,600 children came through its doors. Today, it is Ackworth School.
Shrewsbury Foundling Hospital (1758-1772)
The London Foundling Hospital funded the construction of a new building at Shrewsbury, Shropshire (also called Salop at that time). It still stands today as Shrewsbury School. The Shrewsbury branch was the second largest branch hospital, caring for almost 1,200 children in total.
Aylesbury Foundling Hospital (1759-1768)
In 1759, John Wilkes, a Governor of the Foundling Hospital, offered to run a branch at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. A house with land was duly purchased. The Aylesbury branch hospital housed 40-100 children at a time. Wilkes became the hospital’s treasurer and was subsequently discovered to be perpetuating a fraud: keeping for himself the money he claimed he was using to pay tradesmen. In the wake of the legal and financial issues he caused, the branch was closed.
Westerham Foundling Hospital (1760-1769)
The National Trust property Chartwell, the home of British prime minister Winston Churchill, was once the Westerham branch hospital in Kent. The branch cared for 469 children in total.
Barnet Foundling Hospital (1762-1768)
The Barnet branch hospital was unusual in that it was managed solely by a woman, Mrs Prudence West, whereas the other branches were run by all-male boards of Governors. The Barnet branch cared for 40 children at a time. It was based in Monken Hadley, which was then in Hertfordshire but is now in the London Borough of Barnet. Mrs West arranged apprenticeships for several Foundlings in her care, including two girls who became servants in her family’s house and beneficiaries in her and her sisters’ wills.
Chester Foundling Hospital (1763-1769)
The Chester branch hospital used an existing building, the Blue Coat School, which still stands today. It cared for 306 children in total, many of whom lived with nurses in the countryside around Chester.