What Was A Foundling?

A foundling was a child born in Victorian times and then abandoned because its mother was single or too poor to bring it up. Foundlings were often abandoned in the church porch or in a market place – somewhere they would be found quickly and then taken to be cared for by someone else.

The churchwardens of the parish where the baby was found would arrange a baptism and the children were often named after the saint of the parish church as a first name. Their second name was chosen after the place they were actually found – so a child named Mary Castle may have been found in Castle Street and baptized at St Mary's Church.

The Foundling Hospital in London was established in 1741 to look after foundlings and later branches were formed in several towns in the UK. Thousands of children were left with the hospital, which found them foster mothers in rural areas.

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