A statue of Thomas Coram, an 18th Century philanthropist. The statue is located outside the Foundling Museum on Brunswick Square and was made by William McMillan.

What’s slightly unusual about the statue is that he is sitting. That’s not unique, but it’s a bit unusual, as most statues of grand old men tend to show them standing. This pose though has historical relevance, as it is based on a portrait of the man by William Hogarth, who was also a supporter of the Foundling Hospital.

Indeed, there used to be one of him standing not far from here at the entrance to Corams Fields, erected in 1752, but gifted to Taunton in the USA in 1927, where Coram made his first fortune.

On the side is the maker’s mark – Morris Singer, Founders London.

The statue was unveiled by the President of the Coram charity, Mary, Princess Royal on 8th May 1963.

You can also hear Thomas Coram speak, or well, you can hear Simon Callow speak words written by Kiran Benawra as if it was Thomas Coram speaking, and there’s a small blue sign on the front explaining how to do that with your smartphone.

131 photos taken in November 2018 with a Sony a6000 and processed in Reality Capture.

(text credit)