Child Abandonment in England, 1741–1834: The Case of the London Foundling Hospital

Phillips Phillips

doi:10.3390/genealogy3030035

Abstract

The prevailing view of abandoned children in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries comes from Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Twist was born and raised in a workhouse in nineteenth-century London. However, the workhouse was not the only, or even, the main place to which children were abandoned. The London Foundling Hospital opened in 1741 and, although admission rules were often strict, between the years 1756 and 1760, any child presented to the Hospital was admitted. This article examines the ways in which children were abandoned to the Foundling Hospital and how these children were cared for in the period 1741–1834. It charts the children’s journeys through the Hospital, from their initial abandonment and admission to their eventual discharge—either through death, apprenticeship, or marriage—or their continued residence at the institution. This article provides insights into the multiple experiences of childhood abandonment and details the utility of the Hospital’s surviving records. It argues that children admitted to the London Foundling Hospital received life chances they would otherwise not have received. The Hospital provided nursing, clothing, medical care, both an academic and vocational education, and a living space for those unable to survive alone in adulthood.

Highlights

The prevailing view of abandoned and orphaned children in nineteenth-century London is that perpetuated by Charles Dickens with the character Oliver Twist
It argues that children admitted to the London Foundling Hospital received life chances they would otherwise not have received
When the Foundling Hospital admitted an abandoned child, it vowed to provide the necessary care and education to nurture that child into a productive, moral member of British society

Summary

Introduction

The role played by the nurses in the care of children at the Foundling Hospital was vital to the success of the Hospital in general They provided a family environment for the first five years of a foundling’s life, which often created enduring relationships between nurse and child. Careful cross-referencing with petitions written by women who left their children, and the admissions records which record the name and number of each child accepted by the Hospital, permit researchers to trace children throughout their time at the institution. This work consists of an introduction by Clark, which places the letters in context, and a reproduction of all the letters in their original format Their publication allows those unable to travel to London access to some of the original documentation of the Foundling Hospital, and in particular provides the researcher with evidence of the relationships that emerged between the nurses and their foundling children

Acceptance of Children

Foundlings at Nurse

Education and Apprenticeship

Medical Care

Conclusions