The Wilberforce Monument is a monument honoring English politician and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

Kingston Upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

, England. The

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

structure consists of a

Doric column The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

topped by a statue of Wilberforce. Construction on the monument began in 1834 and was completed the following year. In 1952, it was designated a

Grade II listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Creation

was born into a wealthy family in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

in 1759. In 1780, he became a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), a position he would hold until 1825. In 1787, following a conversion to evangelical Christianity, Wilberforce became a vocal

and championed anti-slavery causes in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. He died in 1833, several days after the passage of the

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provided for the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. It was passed by Earl Grey's reforming administrati ...

, and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. Within five days of his death, the mayor of Kingston upon Hull was petitioned to erect a monument in his honour. The monument would be paid for through donations, and as a result, fundraising efforts quickly commenced. The total cost for the monument would be approximately £1,250. W. H. Clarks of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

was selected to design the monument as a

. While Clarks was also responsible for overseeing the erection of the monument, the actual building was carried out by Myers and Wilson. On 1 August 1834, the date on which the Slavery Abolition Act went into effect, the monument's

cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...

was laid by Richard Bethell MP. While several locations in the city had been considered (including Kingston Square and several locations near the banks of the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

), the location that had ultimately been selected was

Whitefriargate Whitefriargate is a pedestrianised street in the ''Old Town'' area of Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. During the 20th century, it was one of the main shopping streets in the city centre, but some of the major store ...

, near the Princes Quay

dock A dock (from Dutch language, Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The ex ...

. A statue, initially only an afterthought of the monument committee, was also commissioned and created by Feort, a local sculptor. Construction was completed with the placement of the statue on 12 November 1835.

Relocation and later history

In the 1930s, the dock near the monument closed and new traffic plans for the area were drafted. The monument was viewed as a traffic hazard for the area between Whitefriargate and

Queen Victoria Square Queen Victoria Square is a public square located in the centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. The square is dedicated to Queen Victoria, and contains numerous buildings including Hull City Hall, the Maritime Museum and Ferens Art Gallery. A sta ...

, and arrangements were made to relocate the monument. A new location was selected for the eastern end of Queen's Gardens. In early 1935,

Hull City Council (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

voted to approve an offer from Councillor

Robert Greenwood Tarran Robert Greenwood Tarran (25 April 1892 20 September 1955) was a British civil engineering contractor and managing director of Tarran Industries, Ltd. – undated clipping shown during 'How We Won the war' He was an elected member of Hull City C ...

to move the monument using his construction company, Tarran Industries Ltd, with the total cost of the move estimated at £1,500. Work started in April and lasted for four months. At the new location, a

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...

was prepared that included articles from the ''Hull Times'' and ''

Hull Daily Mail The ''Hull Daily Mail'' is an English regional daily newspaper for Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The ''Hull Daily Mail'' has been circulated in various guises since 1885. A second edition, the ''East Riding Mail'', covers ...

'', a detailed explanation of how and why the monument was moved (including photographs and maps of the two locations), several coins (including a Jubilee Crown), a Wilberforce House Medal and papers relating to the history of Tarran Industries. During the move, tourists could pay to climb the scaffolding at both locations as an

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed ...

, with the money raised going to a local charity. The original location of the monument is now part of the Princes Quay shopping centre. On 19 September 1925, the gardens were opened by Herbert Morrison and the monument was rededicated by the wife of Arnold Reckitt, Wilberforce's great granddaughter. On 13 October 1952, the monument was designated as a

, with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

noting that the monument represents "an early use of the commemorative column in England". In 2020, during the

George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom Protests were held across the United Kingdom following the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, by police officers while under arrest in the United States on 25 May 2020. Immediately following his murder, protests and r ...

, Professor

Trevor Burnard Trevor Graeme Burnard (born 15 October 1961) is professor of history at the University of Hull. He is a specialist in the history of slavery in the Atlantic world. He was formerly at the University of Warwick. and the University of Melbourne ...

, director of the

Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation The Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation is a research institute at the University of Hull, in Kingston upon Hull, England. Housed in Oriel Chambers in Hull City Centre, since 2005, its aim is to research slavery in the ...

Hull College Hull College is a Further Education and Higher Education establishment based in Kingston upon Hull, England. It provides vocational courses, apprenticeships, Higher Education and adult learning courses, with a focus on equipping young peopl ...

, defended the monument and stated that while other monuments were under review due to their subjects' connections to the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and i ...

, Wilberforce stood in direct opposition to slavery and, according to Burnard, he "knew that

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

ed".

Design

The monument is made of

blocks that form a

fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) * Fluting (firearms) * Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the first album by avant-garde band Kin ...

. This column stands atop a cubic

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

that is moulded with a plain

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. At each corner of the top of this pedestal is

acroteria An acroterion, acroterium, or akroteria is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the ''acroter'' or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style. An acroterion placed at th ...

and an

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

. Each face of the plinth bears an inscription surrounded by a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle . In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...

, with those inscriptions reading "Erected by Voluntary Subscription", "First Stone Laid, 1 August 1834", "Negro Slavery Abolished, 1 Aug. MCCCXXXIV", and "Wilberforce". At the top of the column is a square

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

carrying a corniced

tholobate In architecture, a tholobate (from el, θολοβάτης, tholobates, dome pedestal) or drum is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised. It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. In the earlier Byzanti ...

atop which a statue of William Wilberforce, carved out of

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...

, stands. The total height of the monument is approximately . Historian Marcus Wood notes that the monument as a whole "mimics

Nelson's column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Wilberforce monument 1834 establishments in England Buildings and structures completed in 1835 Buildings and structures in Kingston upon Hull Grade II listed monuments and memorials Monumental columns in England Stone buildings Tourist attractions in Kingston upon Hull