'The Bluecoat Boys to Walk and Sing an Anthem before the Corpse': The children of christ's hospital in London funerals of the 18th century

This chapter examines how the schoolchildren of Christ’s Hospital participated in funerals on the streets of 18th-century London. The children attended the funerals of benefactors whose financial contributions supported their education and their presence was organized by the school. Participation served the needs of both the institution and the benefactor because it placed the schoolchildren at the heart of the well-spectated funeral procession and presented them to the people of the city. For Christ’s Hospital, the children were a visual reminder of the work that it did and a prescribed reading of its success in creating future members of the City guided by discipline and morality. For the benefactors, the children were evidence of philanthropic activity which had occurred in life and at death. The institution had been supported by their money, often guided by their governance and in the funeral this relationship was communicated to the friends and neighbours of the deceased.