Coram+Hospital

Coram Hospital By Danielle White

[|Coram Hospital] was founded in 17th of March 1741 by sea captain Thomas Coram in London, England. At first children were admitted to a small temporary house in Hatton Garden. But, in 1742 the first brick was laid in Bloomsbury, London for the new hospital lying north of Great Ormond Street Hospital and west of Grey's Inn Lane. By now applications to the hospital became so numerable that a ball ballot system was put in place. A basket of different coloured balls was placed in front of applicants and depending on what colour they chose they were or were not allowed access to the hospital. White meant that you had been successful and red meant that you would be put forward if another child was deemed unfit. Black meant you were unsuccessful.

George Frederic Handel frequently performed his 'Messiah' with the children at the hospital. To find out more visit Adam's page here...

In the 1920s, the Hospital decided to move to a location in the countryside. A proposal of a university using them fell through, and they were eventually sold to a property developer called James White in 1926. He hoped to transfer Covent Garden Market to the site, but the local residents successfully opposed that plan. Nonetheless, the original Hospital building was demolished. The children were moved to Redhill, Surrey, where an old convent was used to lodge them, and then in 1935 to the new purpose-built Foundling Hospital in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. When, in the 1950s, British law moved toward more family-oriented solutions, such as adoption and foster care, the Foundling Hospital ceased most of its operations. The Berkhamsted buildings were sold to Hertfordshire County Council for use as a school and the Foundling Hospital changed its name to the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children and currently uses the working name Coram.

To find out more about the hospital and what it does today visit [|http://www.coram.org.uk]

Copyright 2010 of [|www.oceansbridge.com] Original Image [] Infomation courtesy of [|Wikipedia] 2010

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