I spent much of yesterday being shown around the fascinating Foundling Museum.
The Foundling hospital was set up to take in children who could not be cared for by their mothers. The children were mostly illegitimate, and social attitudes meant that they had little chance of surviving without being taken in by the Foundling Hospital.
The art collection is impressive and fascinating, especially as the Hogarths and Gainsboroughs also serve as a narrate of the history of the Foundling hospital
There are also strong connections to Handel, who staged the first performance of The Messiah at the hospital as a fundraiser.
The museum is currently showing an exhibition called In The Picture, part of a campaign to get more children with disabilities represented in children's books. All children tend to respond well to characters in stories that they can identify with, and it can also help to 'normalise' attitudes if all children are exposed to disability as just being part of everyday life.
But the most poignant exhibit that I saw yesterday was a collection of the tokens left with the children by their mothers. The tokens were kept as a secret so that should a mother come back to reclaim their child, they could offer proof that they were the mother. This was to prevent people coming and claiming children in order to use them as labour.
Obviously the tokens in the collection are all from children who were never recalimed, and laid out together they make a very powerful sight.
It's always nice to find new stories and treasures. And London has such a rich diversity of stories to discover, and it is a delight that even after forty years I can frequently find something new just around the corner...
The Foundling hospital was set up to take in children who could not be cared for by their mothers. The children were mostly illegitimate, and social attitudes meant that they had little chance of surviving without being taken in by the Foundling Hospital.
The art collection is impressive and fascinating, especially as the Hogarths and Gainsboroughs also serve as a narrate of the history of the Foundling hospital
There are also strong connections to Handel, who staged the first performance of The Messiah at the hospital as a fundraiser.
The museum is currently showing an exhibition called In The Picture, part of a campaign to get more children with disabilities represented in children's books. All children tend to respond well to characters in stories that they can identify with, and it can also help to 'normalise' attitudes if all children are exposed to disability as just being part of everyday life.
But the most poignant exhibit that I saw yesterday was a collection of the tokens left with the children by their mothers. The tokens were kept as a secret so that should a mother come back to reclaim their child, they could offer proof that they were the mother. This was to prevent people coming and claiming children in order to use them as labour.
Obviously the tokens in the collection are all from children who were never recalimed, and laid out together they make a very powerful sight.
It's always nice to find new stories and treasures. And London has such a rich diversity of stories to discover, and it is a delight that even after forty years I can frequently find something new just around the corner...
Since reading this I've been wondering just how you'd cope with handing over your small child to possibly never see them again.
I just can't imagine it.
I guess in those days you'd have to see it as a better option for your child than living on the streets.