In 1730 Thomas Coram approached aristocratic women with a petition to support the establishment of a Foundling Hospital, which he would present to King George II. [1] [2]
The women who signed were of aristocratic backgrounds, and Coram kept a list in his pocket memorandum book, captioned 'An Exact Account when each Lady of Charity Signed their Declaration'. [2] In several cases, he had already approached the women's husbands several years earlier, and been turned away. Their involvement is widely regarded as the gateway to wider support of his philanthropic cause. In an essay in the catalogue of an exhibition celebrating women's roles in the Foundling Hospital, Elizabeth Einberg states that:
"Coram could see that securing the approval of a group of right-thinking women, of wives and dowagers at the pinnacle of society would highlight the Christian, virtuous and humanitarian aspects of such an endeavour and make it socially acceptable. In the events, it became not only that, but one of the most fashionable charities of the day." [3]
These female signatories are listed here in chronological order of date of their signature:
Name | Title at the time of Signature | Date of Signature | Image |
---|---|---|---|
Charlotte Seymour | Duchess of Somerset | 9 March 1729 | |
Ann Vaughan | Duchess of Bolton | 22 April 1729 | |
Henrietta Needham | Dowager Duchess of Bolton | 25 April 1729 | |
Sarah Lennox | Duchess of Richmond | 22 December 1729 | |
Isabella Montagu | Duchess of Manchester | 6 January 1730 | |
Ann Russell | Duchess of Bedford | 7 January 1730 | |
Elizabeth Knight | Baroness Onslow | 6 April 1730 | |
Anne Pierrepoint | Dowager Baroness Torrington | 14 April 1730 | |
Frances Byron | Baroness Byron | 14 April 1730 | |
Selina Shirley | Countess of Huntingdon | 21 April 1730 | |
Juliana Hele | Duchess of Leeds | 24 April 1730 | |
Frances Finch | Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham | 25 April 1730 | |
Frances Hales | Countess of Lichfield | 27 April 1730 | |
Dorothy Boyle | Countess of Burlington | 19 May 1730 | |
Elizabeth Brudenell | Countess of Cardigan | 19 May 1730 | |
Frances Thynne | Countess of Hertford | 26 May 1730 | |
Mary Tufton | Countess of Harold | 6 November 1733 | |
Anne Lennox | Countess of Albemarle | 6 November 1734 | |
Anne Weldon Barnard | Baroness Trevor | 2 December 1734 | |
Anne King | Dowager Baroness Ockham | 21 January 1735 | |
Margaret Cavendish Harley | Duchess of Portland | 7 May 1735 |
In 2018 the Foundling Museum held an exhibition to raise awareness of the role of women in founding and running the Foundling Hospital, called "Ladies of Quality and Distinction". [4] [5] [6] By their actions, these women succeeded. [2] [5]
The Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London, tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain's first home for children at risk of abandonment. The museum houses the nationally important Foundling Hospital Collection as well as the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, an internationally important collection of material relating to Handel and his contemporaries. After a major building refurbishment, the museum was reopened to the public in June 2004.
The Foundling Hospital was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" was used in a more general sense than it is in the 21st century, simply indicating the institution's "hospitality" to those less fortunate. Nevertheless, one of the top priorities of the committee at the Foundling Hospital was children's health, as they combated smallpox, fevers, consumption, dysentery and even infections from everyday activities like teething that drove up mortality rates and risked epidemics. With their energies focused on maintaining a disinfected environment, providing simple clothing and fare, the committee paid less attention to and spent less on developing children's education. As a result, financial problems would hound the institution for years to come, despite the growing "fashionableness" of charities like the hospital.
Captain Thomas Coram was an English sea captain and philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, to look after abandoned children on the streets of London. It is said to be the world's first incorporated charity.
Anne van Keppel born Lady Anne Lennox, was a British court official and noble, the daughter of the 1st Duke of Richmond and Anne Brudenell. Her father Charles was an illegitimate child of King Charles II, thus making her the king's granddaughter.
Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond, was Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Caroline from 1724 to 1737. She was the mother of the famous Lennox sisters.
Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland was the richest woman in Great Britain of her time, styled Lady Margaret Harley before 1734, Duchess of Portland from 1734 to her husband's death in 1761, and Dowager Duchess of Portland from 1761 until her own death in 1785.
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon was an English Christian and religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She founded an evangelical branch in England and Sierra Leone, known as the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.
Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Burlington and Countess of Cork was a British noble and court official, as well as a caricaturist and portrait painter. Several of her studies and paintings were made of her daughters. Through her daughter Charlotte, who married the 4th Duke of Devonshire. A collection of 24 of her works of art descended to the Duke of Devonshire and kept at Chatsworth House.
Anne Vaughan, Duchess of Bolton, formerly Lady Anne Vaughan, was the wife of Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton. Although her married name was Powlett, she is generally known by her maiden name of Vaughan, under which name she was a signatory to Thomas Coram's petition of 1729, which led to the foundation of the Foundling Hospital.
Isabella Montagu, Duchess of Manchester, formerly Lady Isabella Montagu, was the wife of William Montagu, 2nd Duke of Manchester.
Elizabeth Brudenell, Countess of Cardigan, formerly Lady Elizabeth Bruce, was an English noblewoman and a petitioner for the foundation of the Foundling Hospital in London. Her husband was George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan, and she was the mother of the 4th Earl, who later became 1st Duke of Montagu.
Charlotte Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, formerly Lady Charlotte Finch, was the second wife of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset. Lady Charlotte was the first of twenty-one 'ladies of quality and distinction' who signed Thomas Coram's first petition, presented to King George II in 1735, calling for the establishment of the Foundling Hospital.
Elizabeth Onslow was an English aristocrat and social reformer.
Anne Newport, Baroness Torrington was an eighteenth-century aristocrat and social reformer.
Frances Juliana Finch, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham was an English aristocrat and social reformer.
Lady Mary Tufton was an English aristocrat and philanthropist.
Anne Weldon Bernard was an English aristocrat and philanthropist.
Anne King was a Welsh aristocrat and philanthropist.
Frances, Baroness Byron, was the second daughter of William Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley of Stratton, and his wife Frances Temple. She was the third wife of William Byron, 4th Baron Byron and a great-grandmother of the poet Lord Byron.
Hannah Aldworth was an English philanthropist and inspector in charge of supervising the care of foundling children in the Newbury area of Berkshire for the Foundling Hospital in London.