New book tells story of children cared for at Chester’s Foundling Hospital branch
A new book on the hundreds of abandoned children cared for at the Chester branch of the Foundling Hospital has been published by the University of Chester Press.
Left But Not Forgotten: The Children of the Foundling Hospital at Chester is by local historian Dr Anthony Annakin-Smith, an alumnus of the University of Chester.
The book tells the story of 306 children who passed through the Chester branch, including those sent to foster carers in villages across Cheshire and north Wales.
The Foundling Hospital was established in London in 1741 to take in babies who had been abandoned or whose parents could not cope.
Many were born to unmarried mothers or came from families living in poverty.
Children were often left with mementoes such as ribbons, bows and handwritten notes, in the hope their parents might one day return for them.
In 1763 a Chester branch was set up to help cope with the numbers of children admitted in London.
It was based at what is now the Grade II*-listed Bluecoat building on Upper Northgate Street in Chester.
Some of the children were cared for at the building itself, while others were placed with foster carers in surrounding villages on both sides of the border.
Dr Annakin-Smith said: “I first came across the Chester branch of the Foundling Hospital when undertaking research for my book on the Neston collieries on the Wirral Peninsula. I was astonished to discover that extensive records existed concerning the Chester branch hospital, yet no local writer or researcher appears to have explored them.”
The book follows the children’s lives before, during and after their years of care.
Dr Annakin-Smith said: “Ultimately, it is those children who are at the heart of this story. Most will never have been forgotten by their mothers. And, now that their story has been recorded, they are no longer forgotten by us either.”
Left But Not Forgotten is available from the University of Chester Press and through booksellers.
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