Thank you very much!
The law denied unmarried mothers any rights over their children when the children reached the age of seven, and they were obliged to hand them over to the father if he so desired. He might be rich enough to offer the child a better chance in life and there are instances of wealthier fathers taking their children away from mistresses with whom they had broken.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en...acy_in_England