An 11-year-old boy is sent to sea to earn his fortune. For ten years he works as a shipbuilder in Massa- chusetts, before mounting debts force him to return to England. Back home, a reversal of fortune turns the penniless sea captain into a wealthy philanthropist who establishes a home to save thousands of abandoned children on the streets of 18th-century London.
This is the tale of Captain Thomas Coram, founder of England's oldest children's charity, Coram Family.
Coram Family has worked with disadvantaged children since 1739. In those days poor children were dying at an alarming rate with epidemics such as typhus, dysentery, measles and influenza, and families affected by the Gin Craze.
Today, Coram Family promotes children's emotional health and life prospects. It runs services in adoption, family contact and housing.
This summer it celebrates its 265-year history with the opening of its newly refurbished museum in Bruns- wick Square, London. The 4.2m museum houses an impressive collection of art and music memorabilia, collected by Thomas Coram.
Pioneering work
When Thomas Coram decided to set up his refuge for abandoned infants, there was a distinct lack of interest. But Coram was a trailblazer. His work was more than 100 years ahead of the 19th century orphanages of Dr Barnardo.
Coram spent 17 years lobbying before he obtained a Royal Charter to establish a Foundling Hospital for the 'maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children'. Once it was set up, he turned to his wealthy and influential friends for financial support, including composer George Handel and artist William Hogarth.
Hogarth donated many of his paintings to the hospital to decorate the walls and introduce children to culture, and persuaded other great artists and sculptors to do the same. Before long the hospital owned work by Reynolds, Gainsborough and Ramsey, and the first British art gallery was created. The collection acted as a lure for rich people, and the hospital was patronised by royalty and high society.
The work of the Foundling Hospital continued after Coram's death in 1751. Babies admitted were baptised with new 'hospital' names, and then placed with foster families. At the age of five the children returned to the hospital, where they were educated until age 14 and then apprenticed into the army or domestic service.
In the 1920s the hospital moved to the country to escape London's pollution. The original hospital in Bloomsbury was demolished and the art and treasures moved to Brunswick Square.
Foundling museum
For decades the collection lay hidden from public view. Then in the 1990s it came under threat. The possession of such a rich body of art was claimed to go beyond the charity's aims of caring for children, and demands were made for it to be sold.
The dispute was solved by the creation of the Foundling Museum, a separate charity to protect and manage the collection. The refurbished museum opens on 15 June.
Perhaps the most fascinating items on show are those belonging to children the hospital helped over the years. As well as traditional uniforms, menus and school reports, there is a touching display of trinkets left by mothers as proof of identification if they ever came to reclaim their children. In the 1750s, a hundred babies were left at the hospital gates every week, many with jewellery, embroidered hearts and other tokens of affection.
Alice Mayers, education manager for the Foundling Museum, encourages visits from children and families. 'Admission is free for children, and there are workshops designed to help them explore the history of the collection,' she says. 'We have fuzzy-felt versions of the paintings and replica costumes so children can learn more about the 18th-century foundlings.'
They can also play in Coram's Fields, a seven-acre park with animal enclosure and playground. 'We have created a child-friendly space in which to uncover the past,' Alice says. 'The museum continues the belief of Ho-garth and Coram that art and culture should be accessible for children.'