Thomas Coram

Coram's long campaign led to the charter for London's Foundling Hospital in 1739. Influential women who backed the project, donors and the people who cared for children were part of making it function. Today's Coram charity continues a much-changed body of work for children and families. Reading the founding story alongside the later organisation shows how continuity can survive a profound change in practice, while the experiences of the children and mothers remain central to judging that history.