CHRIST'S HOSPITAL (the Blue Coat school) was origi nally one of three royal hospitals in the city of London, founded by Edward VI. Christ's hospital was specially devoted to father less and motherless children. The buildings of the monastery of Grey Friars, Newgate street, were appropriated to it ; liberal pub lic subscription added to the king's grant endowed it richly, and the mayor, commonalty and citizens of London were nominated its governors in its charter of 1552. Not long after its opening Christ's was providing home and education (or, in the case of the very young, nursing) for 40o children. The popular name of the Blue Coat school is derived from the dress of the boys—orig inally (almost from the time of the foundation) a blue gown, with knee-breeches, yellow petticoat and stockings, neck-bands and a blue cap. The petticoat and cap were given up in the middle of the 19th century, and thereafter no head-covering was worn. In 1902 the buildings on the Newgate street site were vacated by the school, which was moved to extensive new buildings at Horsham. It includes a preparatory school for boys, established in 1683 at Hertford, where the buildings have been greatly enlarged for the use of the girls' school on the same foundation.