Take this Token: John Aldus and The Foundling Museum

Look down. The pavement of Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury, is studded with curious objects. Artist John Aldus created these to highlight the area's historical links with the Foundling Hospital, an early children's home.

Between the 1740s and 1760s, parents leaving their babies at the Foundling Hospital would also leave a small object as a means of identification. The hope was that one day they'd be able to reclaim their child. For the public artwork 'Tokens', John Aldus recreated a selection of these tiny, poignant objects.

Follow the tour to reveal the original token and find out more. You can explore the token collection and discover more about the Foundling Hospital, and the children raised there, at the Foundling Museum, 5 minutes' walk away in Brunswick Square.

This tour forms part of the Take this Token project, which also includes an online exhibition, podcast series, Museum display and publicly accessible database. Find out more via the Museum's website foundlingmuseum.org.uk. Take this Token is supported by the Woven Foundation, previously the Artisa Foundation, and the Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation.