3-003-678 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Laying the foundation-stone of the Merchant Seamen's Orphan Asylum, by the Prince Consort: Ladies placing purses on the stone, [at Snaresbrook in London], 1861. 'The spacious pavilion which had been erected, and which accommodated a thousand persons, was crowded...The Bishop of London offered an appropriate prayer, and a hymn was beautifully sung by the children belonging to the institution. The ladies who had collected subscriptions then deposited their purses on the stone, and in a brief space a little hillock of offerings had been raised. It was announced amid loud cheers that Lady Morrison had given a purse containing a thousand guineas. The National Anthem having been sung, three hearty cheers were given for the Queen, and also three cheers for the Prince Consort, who then retired...There are now 120 children (80 boys and 40 girls) in the institution, whose ages vary from seven years, the period prescribed by the rules for their admission, to fourteen, the age at which each child leaves the asylum. The new building is designed with a view ultimately to accommodate 300 children - 200 boys and 100 girls'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.