Foundling Museum

Free with membership

Facilities

Accessible loos
Easily accessible without car
Facilities for children
Mostly wheelchair accessible
Shop

Accessibility

The museum is fully accessible.

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The Foundling Museum has more than 275 years of history permeating its objects, stories, and spaces. It tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, which was established in 1739 by the philanthropist Thomas Coram, to care for babies at risk of abandonment.

The Foundling Hospital was the UK’s first children’s charity and became its first public art gallery. It was transformed into one of London’s most fashionable venues by the artist William Hogarth, who encouraged leading artists to donate their work and by the composer George Frideric Handel, who held annual benefit concerts of Messiah in its chapel.

Today the collection includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, clocks and ceramics. Highlights range from tiny, touching identifying tokens left by mothers with their babies to composer George Frideric Handel’s Will. Artworks on display include work by outstanding contemporary artists like Yinka Shonibare, Tracey Emin and Michael Craig-Martin, as well as those made and donated nearly three centuries earlier by William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds.

Our Gerald Coke Handel Collection is a major research resource for study of the composer and philanthropist George Frideric Handel and his contemporaries. More than 14,000 items include manuscripts, printed music, books, artworks, sound recordings and ephemera.

During its two centuries in operation, the Foundling Hospital looked after a remarkable 25,000 children. The Museum opened in 2004, fifty years after the Foundling Hospital placed its last pupil in foster care. The Museum building is situated in the grounds of the old hospital at 40 Brunswick Square in Bloomsbury (near to Russell Square tube station). It was constructed in the 1930s, and incorporates many architectural features from the original eighteenth-century hospital building.

Visit the Museum to discover the story of the Foundling Hospital, the children who lived there, and its vibrant community of artists, musicians and supporters through its galleries and historic rooms.

Opening Times

Important information: opening info is generated by artificial intelligence; check specific attraction details before travelling.

The indicator above will show ‘open’ when the public have any kind of access to any part of this property. That could be the park, a shop, or a special event, and may not reflect regular admission times to the main attraction. Always consult the website of the house or garden you intend to visit before travelling to check that the attraction you are interested in is open.

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Regular Opening Hours

The Foundling Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.

Seasonal and Special Closures

Please note the following amended opening hours:

5 November: Closed from 2pm
14 November: Closed from 1pm
24–25 December and 28–29 December: Closed all day
1 January: Closed all day

Enquiries

Phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 11am to 5pm.

Guided Tours

Guided Museum Tours are available during regular opening hours (Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 11am–5pm) and can also be arranged out-of-hours on Mondays. Tours last approximately one hour, and we recommend booking at least three weeks in advance. Please note that tours booked during July and August 2026 may be subject to change due to building works.

Self-Led Group Tours are also available during regular opening hours. These are similarly subject to change during July and August 2026.

Out-of-Hours Tours are available on Mondays when the museum is closed to the public, subject to availability. Evening and breakfast history tour packages can be arranged on any day of the week, subject to availability.

Sunday Drop-In Tours are offered on Sundays, providing a casual way to explore the museum.

Family Activities and Workshops

Family Workshops run during school holidays and are particularly popular during these periods. Details of upcoming workshops are listed on the museum's website.

Free Creative Activities are available in the Introductory Gallery, launching on 18 May.

Foundling Libraries offer free art and music activities on a drop-in basis with no booking required.

Seasonal Family Activities including Christmas, Easter, and Halloween activities are available year-round as downloadable resources.

Permanent and Ongoing Features

The Hetty Feather Trail is available during regular museum opening hours.

Friends Membership is available as an ongoing scheme.

Exhibitions and Events

Mikhail Karikis – We are together because… runs from 2 June to 30 June 2026.

Voices in the Room is on display from 16 June to 1 November 2026.

Several talks and events are scheduled for June and July 2026, including Spotlight Talk – Leaving London (24 June), Morals, Manners & Mirth – William Hogarth's Humour (26 June, online), and Spotlight Talk – Hogarth's March of the Guards to Finchley (1 July).

Building Works

The museum will undergo building works in July and August 2026. Any tours booked during this period are subject to change until the museum confirms how the works will affect visitors.

Admission

Historic Houses members visit free

Adult: £14.50
Concessions: £13.00
Under-21s: Free

Group Visits

Guided tour up to 20 people: £11.50 per adult, £7.50 per student + £96 for the guide (incl. VAT)

Self-Led tour for 8-20 people: £11.50 per adult, £7.50 per student

Book a group visit here

Educational Visits

Schools visit free.

University groups wishing to visit must book a group tour.

Accessibility

The museum is fully accessible.

Does our information need updating?

Let us know here

Getting here

40 Brunswick Square, London WC1N 1AZ

Four-minute walk from Russell Square tube station, 10 minute walk from Euston and Kings Cross mainline stations. The nearest buses are the 7, 59, 68, 91, 98, 168 and 188 from Russell Square Station. Cycle docking stations for Santander Cycle Hire are located at Brunswick Square and Russell Square Station. For visitors wishing to travel by car there is an NCP carpark at The Brunswick Shopping Centre.