Faith, Hope & Charity

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Corinthians 13:13 (King James Version)

Please meet our Guide in the City of London at 10-30am for morning refreshments at the beautiful café in the new Salvation Army International Headquarters, a stone’s throw from the Millennium Bridge. We begin our day on foot for a short walk in the lanes and yards between the river and St. Paul’s. From the great monastic houses, such as the London Blackfriars came the terms pittance and dole. The guilds and livery companies emerged as burial and benefit societies and founded almshouses for aged craftsmen.

The City, the East End and the West End each contribute to our story, so next by coach to hear of a panoply of philanthropists including George Peabody, Dr. Barnardo, Fred Charrington and General Booth. Charitable work was a rare way for middle class women, especially in the nineteenth century, to undertake useful and challenging work so we also learn about Clara Grant’s Farthing Bundles and the prison work of the Quaker Elizabeth Fry. 

For lunch we set down by Lambs Conduit Street in Bloomsbury where there is a good choice of pubs and cafes for lunch. Eighteenth century London was a swirling mass of contrasts. A rowdy gin-swilling public rubbed shoulders with gentlefolk keen to do good work. The sight of dead and dying babies abandoned on the streets horrified Captain Thomas Coram. In 1739 he established the Foundling Hospital which looked after more than 27,000 children until its closure in 1953.

Poverty stricken mothers would leave their babies with an identifying token as simple as an acorn or feather to enable them to retrieve their children should their circumstances improve. They rarely did in those harsh times and very few children were ever reclaimed. In perhaps the earliest example of celebrity fundraising William Hogarth and Frederic Handel laboured for the benefit of the Foundlings leaving behind a remarkable art and music collection which is today shown in the elegant Rococo rooms of the museum.

We’ll stay on site where you can buy tea before returning to the coach to head home at 4-45pm.

Walking is kept to a comfortable minimum to enable maximum participation.

Available Tuesdays to Sundays throughout the year and ideal for the colder months.

At weekends we start at St. Paul’s Crypt Café.

Price: £14.95

Coach Mileage: 10

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