Trace Your Foundling

The Foundling Hospital Archive

The Foundling Museum not only showcases the Foundling Hospital art collection and the Gerald Coke Handel Collection but most importantly tells the story of the 27,000 children who passed through the Hospital between 1739 and 1954. While some important documentation dealing with the children's lives is on display at the Foundling Museum most is contained in the Foundling Hospital Archives.

The Foundling Hospital Archives are held by London Metropolitan Archives at 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB. The archive consists of over 800 linear feet of shelving, an estimated 8 tons of paper, and over 1,000 plans. Records cover many elements of the children's lives and the activities of the Hospital and include the General Registers, Petitions, Baptism Registers, Inspection Books, Nursery Books and Apprenticeship Registers. For information on opening times and the services provided by the London Metropolitan Archives please visit their website www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma. Researchers tracking down foundlings for the purpose of family history should also see the information leaflet produced by London Metropolitan Archives called Finding Your Foundling. The catalogue of the Foundling Hospital archive can also be viewed online here.

Registers containing personal information about named individuals remain closed for 110 years. However Former Pupils of the Foundling Hospital and their relatives can request information from closed records by contacting Coram on 020 7520 0300 and asking for Val Molloy or the Duty Officer in the Adoption and Permanent Families Service.