The earliest British charity schools for poor and orphaned children were founded around the country by local gentry, to support and educate children whose families lived in the vicinity. In the eighteenth century, the number of institutions increased significantly. Arguably the most famous of these is the Foundling Hospital in London established by Thomas Coram in 1741; the charity still exists today as the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. Most of these small samplers were monochrome; made to be included in a book of stitching exercises. This more colorful example might have been made into a pincushion or other decorative item to be sold as a fund raiser for the school.