The film, No Place Like Home: The Story of the Foundling Hospital, was created as part of Coram’s ‘Voices Through Time: The Story of Care’ programme, made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It reveals fascinating details of the lives of some of the 27,000 children who grew up at the Foundling Hospital between 1741 and 1954, exploring their admission, their daily life, the education they received, and their lives beyond the Hospital. Foundling pupils who forged successful careers in music and art, fought in battle, and inspired one of the characters in Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, are just some of the rich stories uncovered.
It also tells the stories of the desperate mothers who came to the Foundling Hospital seeking a better life for their child, and of philanthropist Thomas Coram, who was appalled by the conditions facing children abandoned on the streets of London and campaigned for 17 years for the Hospital’s creation. Through interviews, contemporary images and archival records, the film explores the Hospital’s unique place in the history of social care and the work of its successor, Coram, the national children’s charity that continues to create better chances for children today.
View the film, created by production company Northern Town, below. If you can’t see the film, you will need to enable ‘Marketing’ cookies by using the icon in the bottom left. You can also view the film directly on YouTube.