Coram’s Fields and the Harmsworth Memorial Playground is a children’s charity located in the heart of Bloomsbury, London. Our park is steeped in history and for almost 90 years Coram’s Fields has existed solely for children and young people as noted by our well-known policy that ‘no adult can enter without a child‘.
Our Safeguarding Policy is central to our charitable mission, a cornerstone of our commitment to ensuring the utmost safety for all young visitors. This policy strictly prohibits the entry of unaccompanied adults, embodying our dedication to creating a protective environment where children up to 16 years can thrive.
In addition to the playground, we offer a range of programmes tailored to support and enrich young lives, including after-school and holiday activities, sports development, a youth centre for up to 19-year-olds, and an Early Years services; a Nursery and Under 5s Drop-In.
Captain Thomas Coram (c. 1668 – 1751) was a philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital to look after unwanted children in Lamb’s Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury. It is said to be the world’s first incorporated charity.
As a great philanthropist Coram was appalled by the many abandoned, homeless children living in the streets of London. On 17 October 1739 he obtained a Royal Charter granted by George II establishing a “hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children.” When, in the 1920s the hospital was relocated outside London, the land was sold to a developer who demolished the hospital building itself leaving only the single storey colonnaded Georgian buildings. Following a campaign and lengthy fundraising by local people the land was turned into London’s first public children’s playground.
A plaque outside the park reads:
The site of the Foundling Hospital established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram were offered for sale as building land in 1926 when owing to changing social conditions the old Hospital was sold and demolished’
After eight years anxiety as to its fate, the site was eventually preserved for the use and welfare of the children of Central London by the generosity and vision of Harold Viscount Rothermere, by the efforts of the Foundling Site Appeal Council, by the co-operation of the Governors of the Foundling Hospital and of the Education Committee of the London County Council, and by the enthusiasm of many thousands of donors, large and small, who contributed their money or their toil to the saving of these seven acres, henceforth to be known as Coram’s Fields.
The park was re-opened under its new name in 1936. Since then it has continued to flourish, often in very difficult circumstances, to become the jewel it is today. Coram’s Fields continues to celebrate diversity and to promote a safe yet stimulating environment for London’s children to enjoy.
You can find more information on the history of Coram’s Fields as well as the local surrounding area in ‘Tales of Brunswick Square: Bloomsbury’s Untold Past‘ by Ricci de Freitas, published by The Marchmont Association
Captain Thomas Coram (c. 1668 – 1751) was a philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital to look after unwanted children in Lamb’s Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury. It is said to be the world’s first incorporated charity.
As a great philanthropist Coram was appalled by the many abandoned, homeless children living in the streets of London. On 17 October 1739 he obtained a Royal Charter granted by George II establishing a “hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children.” When, in the 1920’s the hospital was relocated outside London, the land was sold to a developer who demolished the hospital building itself leaving only the single storey colonnaded Georgian buildings. Following a campaign and lengthy fundraising by local people the land was turned into London’s first public children’s playground.
A plaque outside the park reads:
‘The site of the Foundling Hospital established in 1739 by Captain Thomas Coram were offered for sale as building land in 1926 when owing to changing social conditions the old Hospital was sold and demolished’
After eight years anxiety as to its fate, the site was eventually preserved for the use and welfare of the children of Central London by the generosity and vision of Harold Viscount Rothermere, by the efforts of the Foundling Site Appeal Council, by the co-operation of the Governors of the Foundling Hospital and of the Education Committee of the London County Council, and by the enthusiasm of many thousands of donors, large and small, who contributed their money or their toil to the saving of these seven acres, henceforth to be known as Coram’s Fields.
The park was re-opened under its new name in 1936. Since then it has continued to flourish, often in very difficult circumstances, to become the jewel it is today. Coram’s Fields continues to celebrate diversity and to promote a safe yet stimulating environment for London’s children to enjoy.
You can find more information on the history of Coram’s Fields as well as the local surrounding area in ‘Tales of Brunswick Square: Bloomsbury’s Untold Past‘ by Ricci de Freitas, published by The Marchmont Association
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