Definition of foundling hospital:
(N) :
The (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram.
(N) :
A foundling hospital was originally an institution for the reception of foundlings, i.e., children who had been abandoned or exposed, and left for the public to find and save.