The Saddest Museum in London: The Foundling Hospital Museum

[@Squeazy999]

My father was a foundling. His mother attempted to get him back a few months after surrendering him only to be told he had been adopted. He hadn't. He grew up in that home, often starving, subjected to abuse and cruelty that he carried his whole life. Thomas Coram had a heart but those who came after him did it for the money and the power.

[@EsmereldaPea]

How terribly sad for him, his mother, and for you. ❤ Did he reunite with his mother as an adult? How did he come to know his mother tried to get him back? Why would they tell her this?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

That’s so devastating. 😢

[@fairlyvague82]

Omg that’s awful 😔

[@blahblah6649]

My mother was put into foster care at 8 hrs old😢

[@rosemaryclarke2348]

OH THAT'S AWFUL!😢

[@greendemon5862]

My employer once booked this museum out as a venue for our staff Christmas party! They took efforts to be respectful but it was jarring in the extreme to have cocktails and canapés while surrounded by all this suffering and sadness. This video has reminded me I need to go and visit it properly.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Upstairs would be lovely!!!

[@TheMuseumGuide]

But in the museum- a bit grim 😂

[@DeidresStuff]

Was your employer ok?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@ they host a lot of events here upstairs in the galleries!

[@musicloverlondon6070]

I understand the incongruity of the event and the setting but it's also worth remembering that the revenue the museum gained from your company's booking will have helped the museum to keep functioning and maintaining this piece of history. It's got to be a better place for the money to go to than a chain restaurant.

[@chrisball3778]

I can look at all kinds of horrible relics in museums and historical places, but some of this stuff just really gets me. All those crushed dreams of being reunited some day, the way that even the 'kindness' shown to these kids was apparently so austere and devoid of affection... it's just nightmarish in a really relatable way.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

It is a crushingly sad place.

[@reubenroo]

Thank you for covering this museum, Jessica. Oddly, my brother and I rather benefitted from Coram too, albeit much later (1975). Our mother had finally decided to escape our violent father but, at that time (in Scotland), she could not be allocated a local authority home in her own right as she was already classed as suitably housed since our father held a tenancy. We opted for London and ended up in the care of the Salvation Army before moving to various homeless family units in the Kings Cross area. Coram’s Field was our happy place. Mum was often depressed, tired, angry so my brother and I spent hours there, every day (during the summer school holiday) and it took us away from the rather grim reality at the time. All ended well. We were housed in Hackney, a year later. My mother found work at the Geffrye Museum for a few years (approx 1976-1978). I think you worked there too, later. Funny world, at times, and strange that, in a different way, Captain Coram was still making kids feel a little better even in 1970s London. Cheers, Jessica❤️

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@reubenroo that’s fascinating! Thank you for sharing.

[@NicholasNappi]

I completely relate to these children. I was in a orphanage in Russia in 1995 and I was abandoned by my mother The only item that I have and was able to come with me when I was adopted was my coat of arms that says I love you in Russian over the family crest and a pin. I still have the items to this day and i miss my mother. I still have a big void of pain and empty feelings. I completely understand i went through similar as a young child.

[@carolinecantelmo3790]

I’m so sorry to hear about your sad childhood . Perhaps your mom did not have much choice but to leave you . I wish you well and hope you have found some happiness .

[@TheRachaelJay]

This is so sad. It's something you carry for life. I hope you find peace 🩷

[@Mindyobusiness999]

Lots of love to you

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@NicholasNappi I’m so sad to hear this, and thank you for sharing. I completely understand why you would feel a void. I’m so sorry.

[@Bethlam]

You don’t have to answer this but did you have a good life after adoption? If so, why would you still feel empty? I’m not trying to sound disrespectful. I want to understand. I was never in an adopted situation but my birth mother hated me growing up so I would have preferred to be adopted out to have a loving mother. (My parents are still married to this day and my father loved me very much so it wasn’t all bad). Also, I had family members that adopted children. I ALWAYS treated the adopted cousins like my blood related cousins, with lots of love and acceptance. Just curious about why many adopted children still need that birth connection. (Again, I’m not trying to say how you feel is wrong. Actually it’s super common to feel like you do. I just want to understand more of your particular story.)

[@scribbleknit]

I visited this museum in 2019, just before Covid. It was an incredible experience. Especially seeing the works of Handel. The whole museum brought me to tears. It also filled me with great joy that all of these tragedies could be remembered and shown in such a strong light. It’s when we forget that these sorrows become a real tragedy.

[@OnsceneDC]

Such an interesting and heart-wrentching story. As a single mother who has struggled immensely, this tugs at my heartstrings.

[@babiegirl526]

i started to cry at the walnut like omg this is so sad like alot of them didnt even reunite and its already hard to let alone in the old days without internet or the ability to read or call.. thomas coram had a good heart.. what a lovely channel you have! :-)

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@babiegirl526 thank you so much!

[@jetodessa5484]

My wife was abandoned on the steps of an orphanage aged 1 year and a few months. It saved her life as she had lung problems. She was clearly traumatised. She didn't laugh, cry, or speak and didn't smile or interact in any way. A young worker at the orphanage was drawn to her and wanted to adopt her but was too young. The authorities at the orphanage allowed her to take her home to her parents' house, and her father was a doctor. He knew of an older couple in their forties who wanted to adopt, and they did. My wife and the orphanage worker stayed in contact and my wife knew at a young age that she was adopted and she always has felt grateful of the way her adoption story was told to her and that she was special because she was chosen. Funnily enough, I have the same birthday as the orphanage worker and her biological mother (we are researching how to find out more).

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Poor little sweetie. That’s heartbreaking! I hope your family enjoyed the video.

[@jetodessa5484]

@TheMuseumGuide We did, thank you

[@elizabethwilkinson2635]

This Coram's field foundling hospital is a stones throw fron Great Ormond Street Children's hospital. A wonderful play area for parent and child so close to the hospital. I taught my children about the foundling hospital as we awaited treatment. Sad but encouraging.

[@crencottrell7849]

God bless Thomas Coram for seeking to help so many orphans almost 300 years ago 🥲

[@paigeandmiamagicbeautygirl2988]

he had good heart but people used his original idea for bad

[@Gjigfvniyf]

The number of tokens shaped like hearts is devastating. It’s clear most of these children were wanted and loved, to the point that their parents were willing to take on the grief of losing them to ensure a better life

[@TheMuseumGuide]

It’s heartbreaking. 💔

[@lynncheng4094]

I was one of the volunteers on the recent digital archive for the first ~50 years of the hospital records. Having to go through every single line and read each child’s name and fate was sobering. It’s a testament to the strength of the people who survived and those who took care of them. Check the archive out if you get the chance, the tokens are some of the most valuable items in the collection, and tell a story that’s often overlooked.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you so much for volunteering and for watching. ❤️

[@jenniferd6242]

A terribly sad, yet informative watch. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You are very welcome.

[@amb163]

Absolutely wonderful video as always! I knew about the foundling system (and museum) in the UK, but I didn't expect it to hit my heart so hard this evening. I teach grade 3 (8 year olds) in your home country of Canada -- the idea of any child going through all of this trauma has me weeping. A fair few our students don't have their parents in their life, being raised by relatives or the foster system, and one of them was crying the other day because a song reminded them of their mom who died last year from early onset dementia. I am so glad she has a supportive family, and school family, around her.

[@joannedonaldson5818]

History against women was shocking, to this day they are blamed for unwanted babies, where in hell were the men it takes 2 people to make a baby? This continues today women arent recognised for anything good always bad, i think its about time Men took more rresponsibly.this is a very sad stories for the women and the children,when i think of it history really hasnt changed, foster care, adoptions,single mothers homeless all around the world.

[@soilofk]

Absolutely! And the hipocresy that exist until today that abortion is wrong because it’s a life, but when women (and teens) get pregnant without being married (than and even today!) they are shunned by family and society. So in reality, they are not considering that life at all as they treat the woman who is carrying it. And of course, men are not accountable for ANYTHING!

[@patbowman6723]

I found this so interesting. It gives a good insight into the sad lives of many children many from years ago. thank you so much for sharing.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You're very welcome

[@skp7577]

I visited this museum two months ago. I was lucky enough to hear an introduction by a brilliant volunteer. Unfortunately, I don’t remember his name but he was so engaging and informative. He took us to see the Tracey Emin sculpture. I find it so apt and poignant. I did go to the top floor to see the Handel exhibit. I love his music and knew of his connection with Coram and the Foundling Hospital. But I also knew Gerald Coke a little when I was a child. (Pronounced Cook btw, he’s related to the Coke’s of Norfolk, Holkham Hall and all that. But I digress). His amazing collection of Handel manuscripts was given to the museum. Gerald Coke was a governor of the public (in the British sense I.e. elite) boarding school I attended. Amongst other pupils, they also took children from difficult circumstances, if they gained a scholarship and passed an entrance exam. I was one of them. It’s a slight philanthropic link between Coram, Handel and Coke, but it’s a link. And a link with names. And the importance of your name. Before we started at the school, you had to go to an intimidating room in London to be interviewed by a panel of governors. Amazingly, after this one interview, Gerald Coke may not meet you in the school corridor until years later, but he always remembered your name and greeted you by it.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Wow, that is absolutely fascinating- thank you so much for this added insight! ❤️

[@Oakleaf700]

What a lovely man Coram was. Thanks to him kids had a better life. {better than starving to death on the streets at any rate..}

[@SConArt87]

As a primarily toddler childcare provider this is so heartbreaking.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Isn't it just?

[@dawnbowra8885]

Your voice is amazing narrating the history of the foundling museum. I got to visit London but only for a day. So these vlogs are treasures for me. I will probably never get to visit again. Thank you.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Glad you like them!

[@jennaolbermann7663]

I have not heard of this museum before and I found this video about it to be extremely interesting and the stories about the foundlings are so poignant. Thank you for this wonderful piece.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You’re so welcome.

[@TheRachaelJay]

I love your videos. I'm from England, UK and am a real history and museum buff. I always take in the aura of museums and always leave them feeling happy, sad or mentally drained if its a sad one like this. Jeep up the good work!

[@jenniferryersejones9876]

Thank you, Jessica. This one was indeed, heartbreaking.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You are very welcome.

[@Newyorkyankey8]

you say it so well as ... and you take dignity with it as well xxx big fan

[@janicefortney590]

You do an amazing job with these videos going right to the heart of the matter.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you so much

[@Tormekia]

A society cannot be called great when children suffer.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Hear hear

[@Christineakaminniewinnie]

Great channel Jessica.Thanku so much for sharing.🩷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🌸

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You are so welcome!

[@angelajakob1257]

Very interesting and moving documentary, thank you very much for your great work.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You’re very welcome.

[@petnurser]

I live in the next town from Dighton, MA. Next time I'm in London I will see this museum!

[@Newyorkyankey8]

love your blogs so real love it.... thankyou

[@TheMuseumGuide]

So glad!

[@nancydurch7645]

I found this museum more poignant than sad and even a bit uplifting. At least some people were trying to help. I found the Imperial War Museum more devastating. An entire floor devoted to the Holocaust with piles of eyeglasses, shoes, etc.

[@paulineiqbal5948]

This is so sad. This practice is still being done today in Britain to children who have loving parents. It is heartbreaking.

[@nicolad8822]

Is it? If a child is well loved and looked after why ever would social services come into contact with them or want to spend public money taking them away if they can avoid it? Too often we see cases where action should have been taken and wasn’t.

[@jennifersimon4066]

Thank you for another informative tour. As I live about a half hour from Deighton Ma I so want to delve deeper into Corams history there. I wonder if there was ever a connection made between these poorhildren brought up with so many life changes at an early age and what may have happened to them in adulthood. I would think it would be hard to be kind and empathetic adults if you haven’t learned it in childhood. So sad. On another subject I watched a video about the Wallace Collection recently and was wondering if you had been there. Maybe not your cup of tea but the video I watched was no where near as informative as yours always are.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I plan to go in 2025! I think Fragonard’s “The Swing” is there…

[@AlexisAngelb6n]

Amazing video and ive never heard of this museum i must visit ❤

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You should!

[@NeighborhoodOfBlue]

I love how roccoco style makes architecture look like fancy cake frosting.

[@MyWithnail]

The book Jane Eyre describes a charity 'hospital' or orphanage during this time. It was harsh and I guess if 75%of children died you got 'hardened' to the situation. We have moved on but in some ways we are sliding back

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I need to re-read Jane Eyre!

[@PamPoarch-ht5qn]

Fascinating🤗

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Glad you think so!

[@bobcalderon2534]

What a wonderful video, thanks, happy Thanksgiving to you and your family 😊

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you! I am Canadian, so my Thanksgiving was a month or so ago, but enjoy your turkey!

[@janeanf123]

Well done Jessica! America will be heading this way once again I fear.

[@jesalyn84]

How ignorant.

[@janeanf123]

@ oh really? Buckle up sweetie! Ignorant indeed.

[@janeanf123]

ignorance is not seeing it coming. You have no clue - buckle up if you live in America. Ignorance indeed.

[@ginmar8134]

​@@jesalyn84Wait till the tariffs hit.

[@jhamps4806]

Bloody Hell…! That mitten really upset me… Im crying. Heartbreaking

[@TheMuseumGuide]

It’s a hard place to visit.

[@MrBenmanning]

Wonderful tour you really have the best channel out there i used to do guided tours of Coleridge cottage years ago. It's gone a bit too commercial now sadly. But my fave poet. Might i say the homeless children problem in London in 2024 is worse than ever ! So its ironic

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I’d love to go to Coleridge Cottage! I didn’t even realise it existed.

[@MrBenmanning]

@TheMuseumGuide I wish I could show you it sometime !

[@ElsieJoy39]

Had to smile....my midday meal is dinner, not lunch. Evening meal is tea, and supper just before bed,...😁😁

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I wanted to make sure my American audience understood! ;) in my house growing up (in Canada with an Irish grandfather) we said, breakfast, lunch and supper.

[@ElsieJoy39]

@TheMuseumGuide So many different words for the same meals. Thank you for your tours, they are all enjoyable, many thought provoking.

[@WildWinterberry]

@@TheMuseumGuidewhy does everything have to be Americanised?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@WildWinterberry because most of my viewers are American.

[@WaiferThyme]

My Grandfather was a foundling. He and his twin sister were taken away from their widowed Mum when they were 5 in 1915. The Parish said it was sinful for a widow to keep her own children. My Auntie was given over to the nuns and Grandad was put into the care of a foster mother. Grandad never saw his sister again or learned of her whereabouts in later years.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

That’s so devastating:(

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

So sad.

[@catherinerickard699]

That is so heartbreaking. Do you know what happened to your great grandmother? I cant imagine losing your husband then being made to hand over your children .

[@WaiferThyme]

@catherinerickard699 Sadly, no. Grandad always wanted to find her and learn about their past but it never happened. He found her grave 6 years after she died. Actually, Grandad and another lady from Australia and a handful of others are the reason the Child Migrant's Trust was started in England. All the kids who were shipped out as slave labour were returning as adults wanting to find their families and getting ripped off by scammers. The trust was created as a way to match the children with any records that may exist . Grandad and the others - the OG searchers- were featured in a book called Lost Children of the Empire. When Grandad found his mums grave , a reporter was with him and my Gran. Grandad cried and said - I was wondering, Mother, about you. Who you were, who I am. That's what I wanted to know. Who I am.

[@PlanetImo]

Very interesting. Thank you :)

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

The conditions for infants farmed out were often brutal and many did not survive. Some folks undoubtedly loved the children they took in, but others saw them as a pay check and money intended for food and clothing never found its way to the children. The problem, even today, is not enough money to hire inspectors to make sure people taking children are actually caring for them. The tokens are heartbreaking.

[@honeybadgergrrl77]

Why would the hospital have changed the children's names? I don't understand the reasoning behind that. Really great video as usual, Jessica. This was particularly sad, especially going into the holidays. I can't imagine how desperate you would have to be to leave your child there.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

To cut the ties and prevent children from going to find their families when older.

[@honeybadgergrrl77]

@TheMuseumGuide OMG. So cruel!

[@Squeazy999]

It was all about monry

[@honeybadgergrrl77]

@@Squeazy999 How so? The parents certainly weren't paying. The policy of having to pay back the hospital was only in place for 10 years, let they continued changing the names.

[@DeidresStuff]

It was done in America too. My great grandfather was apparently named Jamus James Westover when he was born. He was in an orphanage for a short period, after which he was called Wayne Arthur Westover. No one has any clue why. Apparently, he never spoke about it.

[@ronhuhn7562]

I now know where "John Doe" came from. So many kids...

[@moiracneill6478]

The Gutenberg library has a book the Underground of London. Published in mid 1880s, he write, working to make matches, you see a child's bofy being taken out, as a baby is being born. Then live, work 15 hours a day, in a tiny flat, with no bathrooms, kitchens but chamber pots, and buying their meals, paying huge rents, the lived in abject terrible poverty. But movies of our day, never ever show how truly horrible life was for the workers!

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I think Call the Midwife does a good job of showing the conditions a few decades later!

[@victoriawebber7184]

Such sad horrific times 😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@gothikgrlblack1733]

This is an excellent video. I looked through your list to see if you had visited the museum of making in derby. The museum of making is a fascinating place!

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I will check it out! Thank you.

[@cupidwxings]

I remember watching the hetty feather series after school on bbc!

[@stephaniegoddard6935]

I just finished reading a fictitious book called MURDER IN THE FOUNDING HOSPITAL. Talked about many of the facts that you mentioned in this video. Especially discussed the tokens associated with the child when it was given up by the parent, very interesting book and I was surprised to see this video on the subject because I wasn’t sure if it was fictitious or based on facts. Although the artwork was very interesting, I wish your video focused more on the children’s life while at the foundling Hospital.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I covered all of the displays about the children’s lives- there just isn’t that much on display.

[@melissacoulter708]

How could she know information like that?

[@catherinejukes4923]

My husbands ancestor was bought up here, he was found on the steps of the corn exchange and so given the surname Exchange.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@catherinejukes4923 that’s so interesting! Poor little guy

[@alisonbrowning9620]

Hetty Feather by Jaquiline wilson tells a good story aimed at young people, about a girl in the foundling hospital

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I do mention the books about 2/3 through the video!

[@lsmith6840]

You're right this is very sad.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@lsmith6840 😞😞😞

[@sophiegeorge2816]

We still have foundlings today so really nothing has changed in the 300 years since

[@EsmereldaPea]

Nothing has changed??? So much has changed! Yes, we still have foundlings, but SO many fewer!

[@Behappyalways609]

We also have mums and dad’s wishing to adopt these precious babies 👶 now.

[@EsmereldaPea]

@@Behappyalways609 - not enough. Still plenty who fall through the cracks or get abused. :(

[@TracyMcCool-jo8tk]

My mom had a baby at 16....she had to give her baby up. The Edna agency sold her baby. She wanted to keep her daughter. We still don't know where she is. Its heart breaking

[@ambermchugh9381]

What a sad museum. I went to a very well done famine museum in ireland and upon exciting you were on a little path in the woods. Silent and lovely with little fairy and gnome dies in the trees and benches to sit and decompress and reflect. Then boom you were in the car park.

[@shonamcwilliam2842]

Ive been reading a lot recently on Zora about Borderline Personality Disorder. It develops because of fear of abandonment, neglect or abuse while young. Just how many of these children grew up having this condition is scary to think about. How many killed themselves or spent their lives in prison i wonder.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

It’s truly devastating

[@rangerhorsetug3149]

In Florence, there is The Ospedale degli Innocenti, or the Hospital of the Innocents. It was designed by one of the men who started the Renaissance and inventor of first point perspective: Fillipo Brunelleschi. The colorful details in the roundrels are made by another artist. It is in Piazza SS. Annunziata, and was paid for and maintained by Florence's Silk Guild. You can even see where people could drop oof their children. You can see all the artifacts and they also hold other artistic exhibitons. It is haunting and sad knowing how many kids weren't reunited.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@rangerhorsetug3149 I’ll look it up when I next go to Florence!

[@rangerhorsetug3149]

@TheMuseumGuide it's amazing in there. A jarring juxtaposition to the very ornate church near it: the ornate basilica Della santissima annunziata. There's also the archeological museum and a ghost story about the always opened window in one of the homes. It is also the end point of the Rificolona holiday parade which celebrates the birth of the virgin mary! There's a statue there by giambologna, who did the race of the sabine women statue, of grand Duke Ferdinando 1 de medici. If you can count all of the bees without touching or marking them, you are blessed with luck! The whole piazza is super significant and a must visit!

[@paulrobbjacobs]

First rate video. Touching.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you!

[@annazaman9657]

Those tokens are heartbreaking. You can tell the mothers were desperate yet hoping to get their child back. Poverty is a b***h

[@toniclarke118]

In Egypt there are 1.4 million orphans wandering the streets this very day. Some of them less than 2 years old. Heartbreaking. I was told the are 460 orphanages, which of course hold only 40.000 children. The other 1.360 million fend for themselves.

[@WildWinterberry]

I don’t understand why they were so cruel to make it so difficult to reunite parents and children. It’s heartbreaking. If I had a Time Machine I would rescue the kids

[@TaintedGenre]

Breaks my heart about them being taken away from their wet nurse - they would assume they were their mothers at that point. I have a 2 year old and just can't imagine 😢

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I have a 15 month old and it just breaks my heart.

[@LaurieValdez-zk3dy]

Thank you very much. God bless always Philadelphia USA 🇺🇸 🙏🏥🌎⚡️

[@TheMuseumGuide]

You are so welcome

[@stephanie06-9]

Interesting video. I wonder if this is how Dickens arrived at the name Tatty Coram for the character in Little Dorrit (IIRC). It seems likely as she was abandoned by her mother at a foundling home, and taken in by a family to serve as a companion/ servant for their daughter of a similar age. I believe her real name was Agnes, but they decided to rename her Tatty Coram, which she always resented. I’ll have to give it a reread.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@stephanie06-9 oh, that’s a great catch! I bet it was his inspiration.

[@LinzYoutube]

Hi Jessica, My boyfriend and I really loved your Tour By Foot street art/ graffiti videos! Any chance of you doing more of those on this channel?✌🏼

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I have a Banksy one!

[@chloe412]

i watched this bc i read hetty feather as a kid!

[@OddLeah]

The residential schools in Canada seem to have been direct copies of this method of 'caring' for children. Religion, discipline, and absolutely no affection or compassion.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Absolutely.

[@Bethlam]

Were there any children left without tokens? I’m not sure if that would be documented or not but I would assume, at least, some mothers knew that they would never come back for their child. I wonder if they were forced to leave a token.

[@amynicholsonjones2349]

Have you done a trip to Vienna? I have been binge watching your videos for the past couple of days, and I keep wondering what your response for the Central Friedhof (the Central Cometary) or the 90+ museums would be. Thanks for your insights!

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I have been to Vienna, but not for the channel! Soon, hopefully!

[@StarryScribbles]

The fact that the wall at the start said that "Rapunzel was fostered" like UH NO SHE WAS KIDNAPPED???? ahhhah 😅 Jesting aside, my mother was adopted after her bio mother was unable to care for her as she was young, so it's really special to see where a lot of early fostering and adoption began and to be alive because of the efforts of these people. (my mum has known her bio mum for years now and she's lovely and of course we know her too we still see each other to this day)

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I didn’t even notice the Rapunzel reference 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

[@francischarlesmoyer5277]

very good

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@astewart4045]

Very interesting.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thank you!

[@cw4608]

Were these monitored and children tracked better than those in “baby farms”? I have heard so many horror stories about baby farms.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@cw4608 not monitored or tracked at all, really.

[@helenablanks255]

Not the only park, Highbury Park you must have a child with you too

[@Angelicwings1]

Hey Jessica, I hope you can see this but another KZbinr I really like called Justin Scarred just put up a video on the Paris Catacombs! I think you would like his channel because he is super into delving into history. He’s even done some stuff on museums of all kinds. Mostly American. I reckon a collab between you guys would be so cool!

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Thanks! I’ll check him out.

[@Angelicwings1]

@ I’m so excited you saw my recommendation! I really recommend his stuff on route 66, his trip from sea to sea, his visits to the monster museum and such. He really does his research and has some really cool interviews as well as connections. His stuff is pretty eclectic but I think you’ll like most of it.

[@slytheringingerwitch]

Its terribly sad but also good to understand what happened. The really heartbreaking part is that these children were the lucky ones, some fell foul of certain unsavoury characters who abused the need for money and care for their children.

[@kellybarr5224]

First time to your channel ❤

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Welcome!!

[@cath_matson]

I visited this museum and couple of years ago

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Did you enjoy it?

[@alisonbrowning9620]

us british of working class backgrounds still call the mid day meal dinner

[@TheMuseumGuide]

In some parts of the country, yes! Not usually in the south east, where I have always lived.

[@robertwoods-dc4wo]

❤the ink ❤ darling

[@noelwilcox9989]

What about doing one on the Bristol hospital that also did the same thing?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@noelwilcox9989 we’re heading to Bristol this summer!

[@noelwilcox9989]

Very cool! And this was a hard one to watch. Brings tears of sorrow even today. Thanks for the video

[@amyk3328]

While I have no doubt that there was abuse, I think we in modern times have no idea what it was like to live in a society with no social/governmental safety nets. These women handed over their children knowing that they would most likely die if they didn't. These mothers sacrificed their feelings for the sake of their children in hopes they would actually live and be educated. We simply must look at this from a historical perspective and not with the modern lens of a utopian dream.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

That doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking.

[@amyk3328]

@@TheMuseumGuide Heartbreaking yes but I choose to admire these mothers for making a decision that most likely saved their children's lives. England's literacy rate was only around 40 percent at that time and the fact these children were educated gave them an advantage that many other children didn't have. While we look back at these homes/orphanages and wonder at the lack of emotional support given, I encourage people to study the 18th century and really imagine how enormous the task of housing, clothing, feeding and educating thousands of children all on the charitable donations. Letting the wealthy watch them eat may seem horrid by today's standards but I see the same methodology used in children's homes that I've had experience with that train children to sing at wealthy donor functions, video their lives and post online or put them on floats in Christmas parades all in the hope that people will donate to their 501c charity. I may not agree but if the majority of your charities funds come from public donations then people will come up with ingenious ways to raise funds.

[@avon1243]

There’s a Museum of the Home in London that I wanted to go to but wasn’t able to. Have you been there?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Yes, and I have a video on it! I also used to work there. I’ll find the link.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

A Virtual Christmas Tour of The Museum of the Home (fka The Geffrye Museum) 2022 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gX_cnoZ7jNVsn6s

[@user-randi1987]

What a very sad place

[@Oakleaf700]

Ouch regarding the mothers having today the costs.... That's so sad. Awful.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

Truly awful!

[@Oakleaf700]

@@TheMuseumGuide How many woman would have been able to have paid the care for their children - probably amounting to what would be the equivalent of thousands of pounds in today's money. Had the woman ''met a wealthy man'' {unlikely} he wouldn't be wanting to pay for the release of another man's child. I agree- it is a terribly sad museum. The squashed silver thimble was the one that upset me. The hazelnut was also very poignant.

[@jodowse1918]

So sad 😢

[@swmotteralaska]

that was me. abandoned at 4 yrs 1 month. I am now 72

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I’m so sorry. 😔

[@cindymichaud7111]

They were ahead of their time, albeit, with morays out of sync with ours, nonetheless, they considered social welfare before it was fashionable or of personal benefit.

[@Supersquishyawesomeness]

Calling Rapunzel fostered is an interesting choice.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@Supersquishyawesomeness fostered, orphaned or foundling. But I see your point. 🤣

[@Supersquishyawesomeness]

@@TheMuseumGuide she was kidnapped so none of those would apply.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

@@Supersquishyawesomeness didn’t her parents trade her for a radish?

[@Agathanagatha]

I live near coram field and when my children were small we was always there and they loved spying to make sure no adults were there without children Unfortunately my grandchildren aren’t so keen on it.i suppose it’s a sign of the times they prefer to be at home playing computer games 😞

[@TheMuseumGuide]

What a lovely area to live!

[@livinglife8333]

Those places were was just a living hell for most children. Awful people

[@TheMuseumGuide]

In their defense, they thought they were doing the right thing.

[@L.Schulze]

Coming to the USA soon 😢

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I hope not. 😞

[@MarilynMcphail]

Were any of these foundlings sent as labourers to Canada or Australia ( British Home Children )?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I don’t think so.

[@pammulholland3107]

What was the point of renaming the children? Why not keep their names so the parents have an easier time reuniting? Or the children, once they reach adulthood, could look for family members?

[@TheMuseumGuide]

It was specifically done to prevent children from running away to find their families and to give them a “fresh” start.

[@LeahCary78]

❤

[@julieschoolcraft1503]

All the while there were “ royalty “ in the palace who did nothing to help.

[@robertn2]

They could have a least keep the child's name.

[@TheMuseumGuide]

I agree.