Britain’s original home for abandoned children and London’s first public art gallery reopens as the Foundling Museum today.

The museum, located in the heart of Bloomsbury, tells the story of the Foundling Hospital and its founders and displays works of art by its early supporters in rooms and interiors preserved from the now demolished Foundling Hospital building in nearby Coram’s Fields.

The museum is housed in a restored 1930s building in Brunswick Square with a new extension built by architects, Jestico + Whiles.

As well as its art collection, the museum will trace the history of the hospital through objects including personal items left with children when they were abandoned.

The centre includes a Clore Education Centre offering a programme of school group sessions, pre-school and family workshops, drop-in sessions and art and music therapy workshops. It also provides special activity packs for families and children to borrow while the explore the museum and its collections

The museum will also work closely with the existing children’s charity, Coram Family, which is based in the building next door.

The £7.2m project received funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund – which gave £99,000 for the feasibility study – and the National Heritage Memorial Fund – which gave £3m for the Endowment Fund. Leading donors provided £3.9m towards the remaining £4.2m needed to refurbish the building and conserve the collections.

An additional £3.9m was received from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and £100,000 from the National Art Collections Fund to purchase William Hogarth’s March of the Guards.

Hogarth was one of the founders and governors of the original Foundling Hospital – along with philanthropist Thomas Coram and composer George Frederic Handel.

It was Hogarth’s idea to donate works of art to the hospital and he encouraged other artists of the day to do the same – including Gainsborough, Reynolds, Roubilliac, Rysbrack, Hudson, Ramsay and Wilson.

Composer, Handel, used to give annual performances of his Messiah at the hospital chapel to raise funds and in his will left a copy of the score of the Messiah to the hospital. Details: www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk