Social

Fostering the Foundlings

The governors of the London Foundling Hospital recruited an external network of nurses to care for children. For many, the bonds established endured.

Hawk this Way

London used to ring with the cries of street sellers. Changes for the city brought changes to their way of life.

Stealing a Living

Theft in East Germany was so common as to be nicknamed ‘the people’s sport’. Why were citizens of the GDR so light-fingered?

On the Ballot

Before the secret ballot, voting in Britain was a theatrical, violent and public affair. The Act that made democracy private turns 150 this year.

Charity Begins at Home

The ‘emigration’ of thousands of poor London children in the 19th century was seen by its organisers as an act of Christian deliverance, but the experience of the young people sent to Canada tells a different story. 

Take me to the Church

The medieval parish church was the meeting point of many different things, both sacred and secular.