Inside the Foundling: London's First Orphanage (Part 2)

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

History Hit

Myths, Folklore, Mystery, History, Ghosts, Society & Culture, Murder, Ufos, True Crime, Paranormal, Supernatural, Serial Killers

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2024

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

(2/2) We find out what life inside the Foundling Hospital was like as we complete the heartbreaking and heartwarming history of London's first orphanage. We discover a building that contained so many stories, so much of London's life in all its rich complexity.

Maddy tells Anthony the story this week.

Mixed and produced by Freddy Chick. Senior producer is Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media

After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, we're your host's Anthony Delaney and Maddie Pelling.
0:03.7	And if you would like After Dark myths, misdeeds and the paranormal, ad free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:11.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries with top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:20.7	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. top history presenters and enjoy a new release every week.
0:24.8	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:32.3	So I'm walking up the original staircase from the Foundling Hospital, the original building.
0:39.2	This would have been in the boys' wing. And it's this huge, vast, grand wooden structure. It's got these really thick banisters. And it's this incredibly intimidating architectural space. But it's also one that
0:46.6	has this intimate history. You can just imagine, as you walk up it, very breathily, I might
0:51.3	add, the little feet that would have walked up and down it that would have rushed up to bed at the dormitory at the top of the building at night, but also rushed down in the morning to have breakfast in the food hall.
1:02.1	An amazing survival on this staircase is this metal rod that runs the length all the way down the building.
1:08.5	It's a safety feature and it was put in place because allegedly so goes the story. One of the foundlings actually slid down the building. It's a safety feature and it was put in place because allegedly
1:10.9	so goes the story. One of the foundlings actually slid down the banister and fell to his death, sadly.
1:17.7	And we don't necessarily know if that story was true. It's the kind of story that, you know,
1:21.7	little boys love to tell up and down schools in the country. But I think it's testament to just
1:27.0	what a palpable piece of
1:28.4	history this staircase is. You walk it and you can almost reach out and touch the little
1:33.8	sticky hands that would have been making their way to bed in the evening. You can feel the lives
1:38.3	that lived here, that played out in this space. You're listening to After Dark.
1:45.3	Today, it's part two of the story of London's lost children and the Foundling Hospital.
2:13.4	Music Hello and welcome to After Dark.
2:14.4	My name is Anthony.
2:16.5	And I am Maddie.
	...

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