The Clarkson Memorial in

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures th ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the ...

, England commemorates

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

(1760–1846), a central figure in the campaign against the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in the

British empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, and a former native of Wisbech. It was erected in 1880–1881 and is a

Grade II* listed building 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 Ir ...

. The memorial consists of a statue mounted on a high platform. Above this rises a canopy, in the form of a

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires a ...

. The whole structure is 68 feet (20.6 m) high. On three of the four sides are carved

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s, representing

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 ...

and

Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...

, both prominent figures in the campaign against the slave trade, and a manacled slave in a beseeching attitude. The fourth side bears an inscription to the memory of Clarkson.

History

Clarkson was born in the town in 1760, the son of the Rev. John Clarkson (1710–1766). He attended

Wisbech Grammar School Wisbech Grammar School is an 11–18 mixed, Church of England, independent day school and sixth form in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. Founded by the Guild of the Holy Trinity in 1379, it is one of the oldest schools in the co ...

where his father was headmaster before going on to St Paul's School in London in 1775. His prize winning essay "Is it right to make slaves of others against their will?", written whilst at St John's College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

was a turning point in his life, culminating in him turning the abolition campaign into "one of the major issues of the day". The

Wisbech & Fenland Museum The Wisbech & Fenland Museum, located in the town of Wisbech in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, is one of the oldest purpose-built museums in the United Kingdom. The museum logo is W&F. History Initially a member-based organisation ...

houses Clarkson's chest which contains examples of 18th century African textiles, seeds and leatherwork which he used to illustrate his case for direct trade with Africa in place of the slave trade. The memorial is near his former home in Bridge Street, on the South Brink of the

River Nene The River Nene ( or : see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in Northamptonshire.OS Explorer Map sheet 223, Northampton & Market Harborough, Brixworth & Pitsford Water. The river is about long, about of w ...

. It is on the site of the old

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

, built in 1801, which itself replaced the Buttermarket. In 1856 the Old Bridge was rebuilt, and the Customs House pulled down to make way for the bridge improvements. In 1880, when work started on the Clarkson Memorial the location was chosen because of its central position. The Clarkson Memorial cost £2,035, and was paid for primarily by a large donation from the Peckover family, local Quaker

philanthropists Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. The shortfall was made up by public subscriptions. Work started on 28 October 1880 and the statue was unveiled on 11 November 1881 by Sir Henry Brand, speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Cambridgeshire. The design was an adaption of one by

Sir George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

RA, who first put forward his design in 1875. He was a brother of the Rev John Scott, vicar of St Peter's, Wisbech, 1867–86. The monument falls into a tradition of Gothic monuments for which Scott was largely responsible; his work in this line included the

Martyrs' Memorial The Martyrs' Memorial is a stone monument positioned at the intersection of St Giles', Magdalen Street and Beaumont Street, to the west of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It commemorates the 16th-century Oxford Martyrs. History The monu ...

(1841–3) in Oxford, and the

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

(1876) in Hyde Park. Responsibility for the execution of the monument was assumed by

John Oldrid Scott John Oldrid Scott (17 July 1841 – 30 May 1913) was a British architect. Biography He was the son of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott) and his wife Caroline (née Oldrid). His brother George Gilbert Scott Junior and nephew Sir Giles G ...

after his father's death. The stone carvings were by Farmer & Brindley of Westminster Bridge Road. A four-year renovation project was completed in 2011 and a new supplicant panel installed to coincide with the 130th anniversary of the building of the monument.Wisbech Standard August 2011 The monument is used as the saluting point for the town's

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

parade.

References

External links

Clarkson Memorial at Night
{{coord, 52.66469, N, 0.15841, E, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Wisbech Monuments and memorials in Cambridgeshire Buildings and structures completed in 1881 George Gilbert Scott buildings and structures Grade II* listed buildings in Cambridgeshire 1881 establishments in England