The Children of Outcast London
Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, Exit 2 (meet outside the Dominion Theatre)
Guided by Charlie
Adult: £20 · Students & Seniors: £15 · Children: £5
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 April 2026 | Special | 10.45 am | 12.45 pm | Winter |
This walk starts in St George’s Bloomsbury where in the 1850s only six in every ten children lived to see their fifth birthday. A century earlier things were worse – the artist William Hogarth pictured the desperation as a drunken mother drops her baby in Gin Lane. It wasn’t all despair. In revisiting these streets we follow the story of Thomas Coram whose long struggle led to the setting up of a hospital for Foundlings. He was one of a small band confronting the devastating range of iniquities children were subjected to. There were boys still in the chimney, children in the workhouses for the destitute, acutely sick children with not a hospital bed to be found, boys in the prisons and for most ‘school’ was a word they would never spell. Between the slums of St Giles and the hills of Hampstead were campaigners who cared for the Foundlings, stopped the chimney sweeps, provided the hospital beds, improved the prisons, changed the workhouses, opened the schools. It’s a terrible story, it’s a moving story, it will grip you. Created and guided by Charlie.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE GUIDING
Paige Newby –
The plight of children and those who sought to remedy and relieve their sufferings is recounted during this informative and interesting walk. Charlie draws together a complex social history using buildings, images and places. He is a delightful and knowledgeable person and craftily engaged my teenage grandchildre. I highly recommend this walk.
Anton Baker –
This really was an excellent walk which opened everyone’s eyes to the subject. I thought I knew quite a bit but Charlie’s expertise and passion for the subject showed me otherwise. History coming alive in the best possible way .
Suzane Leblanc –
I’ve learned a lot, thanks to Charlie. He’s passionate, knowledgeable and is a perfect guide for this delicate topic.
Rosemary Barrell –
Very enlighten story regards the children of long a go. Charlie our guide was excellent at delivering the facts on how the children had to survive Years ago in London.