Exhibition & Galleries

Handel

Gerald Coke Handel Collection

The composer George Frideric Handel was a Governor and benefactor of the Foundling Hospital, and annual performances of Messiah provided vital sources of income for the Hospital. In addition to the score and parts of Messiah bequeathed to the Hospital by Handel, the Museum now holds the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, an internationally important collection of material relating to Handel and his contemporaries, including manuscripts, printed books and music, libretti, paintings and engravings, memorabilia, art works and ephemera. The materials were collected by Gerald Coke over a period of 60 years and left by his widow to the Thomas Coram Foundation (now Coram Family) in the care of the Handel Institute; the endowment accompanying the Collection is now managed by the Gerald Coke Handel Foundation. The new home for the collection includes a public exhibition gallery, collection store, reading room and a small meeting room.

The full cataloguing of the collection is currently in progress, and the catalogue can be viewed online.

Please note that this is only a partial catalogue at present.

Library facilities

In addition to the public exhibition room, open during normal Museum hours, The Gerald Coke Handel Collection is open Wednesday-Friday for research purposes.

For enquiries or appointments please telephone +44 (0)20 7841 3606 or email handel@foundlingmuseum.org.uk.