1720 Captain Thomas Coram begins campaigning to raise funds to finance a hospital dedicated to rescuing London’s abandoned children. One of his first supporters is artist William Hogarth.

King George II grants a royal charter to help set up the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first ever children’s charity.

Composer George Frideric Handel lends his support, writing Coram’s anthem – Messiah – and raising funds and awareness through a series of concerts. He also leaves a fair copy of the Messiah in his will. Coram celebrates this with an annual concert that honours Handel’s birthday.

Oliver Twist, the novel by Charles Dickens, is published. It is believed to be inspired by the Foundling Hospital, which was a short distance away from his home.

The Foundling Hospital relocates from London to Berkhamstead.

The Old Coram Association is established to help former pupils stay in touch and provide them with ongoing support.

The Foundling Hospital ceases to exist when all boarding pupils leave The Thomas Coram School. By this time more than 27,000 children have benefited from the Hospital’s pioneering care.

The School is renamed Ashlyn’s School, and the Hospital  becomes known as The Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. It plays a pioneering role in fostering, adoption, early years provision and parenting programmes over the next half century.

Novelist Jamila Gavin pens Coram Boy. It is later adapted for the stage and in years to come is performed in London’s West End and on Broadway.

The Foundling Museum opens. Curated by experts to tell the Coram story and promote the charity’s work, it also exhibits historically important artworks.

Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visit Coram to celebrate its 270^th birthday.

Coram extends its support to children by acquiring children’s charity Life Education. It calls this new area of expertise Coram Life Education.

Hetty Feather, a novel by Dame Jacqueline Wilson, is published, relaying the story of a young girl’s experience of being brought up by the Foundling Hospital from a tender age.