Thomas John Barnardo

From the foundation of the first Barnardo's home in 1867 to the date of Barnardo's death, nearly 60,000 children had been taken in.

Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people.

In the 1860s, Barnardo opened a school in the East End of London to care for and educate children of the area left orphaned and destitute by a recent cholera outbreak.

Dubliner Thomas John Barnardo came to the London Hospital, Whitechapel to train for medical missionary work in China.

In 1870 he founded a boys' orphanage at 18 Stepney Causeway and later opened a girls' home.

A very influential philanthropist of the era was Thomas John Barnardo, the founder of the charity Barnardos.

Another daughter, Gwendolyn Maud Syrie (1879–1955), known as Syrie like her mother, was married to wealthy businessman Henry Wellcome, and later to the writer Somerset Maugham, and became a socially prominent London interior designer.

She was the daughter of Thomas John Barnardo, the founder of the Barnardo's charity for destitute children, and his wife, Sarah Louise "Syrie" Elmslie.

In 1870 he founded a boys' orphanage at 18 Stepney Causeway and later opened a girls' home.

The street is particularly associated with Thomas John Barnardo, who opened his first shelter for homeless children at No 18.

Another daughter, Gwendolyn Maud Syrie (1879–1955), known as Syrie like her mother, was married to wealthy businessman Henry Wellcome, and later to the writer Somerset Maugham, and became a socially prominent London interior designer.

In 1924, Wellcome consolidated all his commercial and non-commercial activities in one holding company, The Wellcome Foundation Ltd. In 1901 Wellcome married Gwendoline Maud Syrie Barnardo, a daughter of orphanage founder Thomas John Barnardo.

Ragged School Museum

The museum was opened in 1990 in the premises of the former Dr Barnardo's Copperfield Road Ragged School.

The Likes of Us

It is based on the true story of Thomas John Barnardo, a philanthropist who founded homes for destitute children.

A memorial stands outside Cairn's House.

Thomas John Barnardo (4 July 184519 September 1905) was an Irish philanthropist and founder and director of homes for poor children.

Although Barnardo never finished his studies at the London Hospital, he used the title of ‘doctor’ and later secured a licentiate.

He was the fourth of five children (one died in childbirth) of John Michaelis Barnardo, a furrier who was of Sephardic Jewish descent, and his second wife, Abigail, an Englishwoman and member of the Plymouth Brethren.

In the early 1840s, John emigrated from Hamburg to Dublin, where he established a business; he married twice and fathered seven children.

The Barnardo family "traced its origin to Venice, followed by conversion to the Lutheran Church in the sixteenth century".

In the 1860s, Barnardo opened a school in the East End of London to care for and educate children of the area left orphaned and destitute by a recent cholera outbreak.

Following societal changes in the mid-20th century, the charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to fostering and adoption, renaming itself Dr Barnardo's.

Following societal changes in the mid-20th century, the charity changed its focus from the direct care of children to fostering and adoption, renaming itself Dr Barnardo's.

This merited an apology by PM Gordon Brown in 2010.

H.M. Queen Elizabeth II is the current patron of Barnardo's.

Its chief executive is Javed Khan.

In June 1873, Barnardo married Sara Louise Elmslie (1842–1944), known as Syrie, the daughter of an underwriter for Lloyd's of London.

The couple settled at Mossford Lodge, Essex, where they had seven children, three of whom died in early childhood.

Another child, Marjorie, had Down syndrome.

Another daughter, Gwendolyn Maud Syrie (1879–1955), known as Syrie like her mother, was married to wealthy businessman Henry Wellcome, and later to the writer Somerset Maugham, and became a socially prominent London interior designer.

Barnardo died of angina pectoris in London on 19 September 1905, and was buried in front of Cairns House, Barkingside, Essex.