Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet (1 April 1786Olwyn Mary Blouet, "Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, first baronet (1786–1845)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., May 201
accessed 25 April 2013
– 19 February 1845) was an English

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 o ...

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...

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 ...

and

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

er. He had connections with the

Gurney family A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

Early life

Buxton was born at

Castle Hedingham Castle Hedingham is a village in northern Essex, England, located four miles west of Halstead and 3 miles southeast of Great Yeldham in the Colne Valley on the ancient road from Colchester, Essex, to Cambridge. It developed around Hedingham ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

. His father, also named Thomas Fowell Buxton, died young, leaving three sons and two daughters. His Quaker mother's maiden name was Anna Hanbury. He completed his education at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, graduating in 1807. Through his mother's influence Buxton became associated with the Gurney family of

Earlham Hall Earlham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It is located just to the west of the city of Norwich, on Earlham Road, on the outskirts of the village of Earlham. For generations it was the home of the Gurney family. The Gurneys were kn ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, especially with

Joseph John Gurney Joseph John Gurney (2 August 1788 – 4 January 1847) was a banker in Norwich, England and a member of the Gurney family of that city. He became an evangelical minister of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), whose views and actions led, ...

and Gurney's sister, the prison reformer

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

. He married their sister Hannah in May 1807. He lived at Belfield House,

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third ...

in the constituency he represented as an MP, and later at Northrepps Hall in Norfolk, where he died aged 57, In 1808, Buxton's Hanbury connections led to an appointment to work at the

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

of Truman, Hanbury & Company, in Brick Lane, Spitalfields, London. In 1811 he was made a partner in the business, renamed

Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co Truman's Brewery was a large East London brewery and one of the largest brewers in the world at the end of the 19th century. Founded around 1666, the Black Eagle Brewery was established on a plot of land next to what is now Brick Lane in London, E1 ...

, and later its sole owner. Although he was a member of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, Buxton attended Quaker meetings with some of the Gurneys, and so became involved in the social reform movement, in which Friends were prominent. He helped to raise money for the weavers of London, who were being forced into poverty by the factory system. He provided financial support for Elizabeth Fry's prison reform work and joined her Association for the Improvement of the Female Prisoners in Newgate. Buxton was elected to Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis in 1818. As an MP he worked for changes in prison conditions and criminal law and for the

abolition of slavery 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 ...

, in which he was helped by his sister-in-law

Louisa Gurney Hoare Louisa Gurney Hoare (25 September 1784 – 6 September 1836) was an English diarist and writer on education, and a member of the Gurney family. She was concerned particularly with standards of education. Early life Louisa Gurney, born on 25 Sep ...

. He also opposed

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

and pushed for its abolition. Although he never accomplished that, he worked to restrict the crimes for which capital punishment could be meeted, whose number eventually fell from over 200 to eight. Other moves for which Buxton argued were the suppression of lotteries and abolition of

suttee Sati or suttee is a Hindu practice, now largely historical, in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting atop her deceased husband's funeral pyre. Quote: Between 1943 and 1987, some thirty women in Rajasthan (twenty-eight, according to offic ...

, the practice of burning widows in India. Thomas and Hannah Buxton had eight children, but four died of

whooping cough Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...

over a five-week period around April 1820. Another died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

some time later. Hannah would send boxes of toys to the missionary

Anna Hinderer Anna Hinderer or Anna Martin (1827–1870) was a British missionary to Ibadan, Yoruba Country which is now part of Nigeria. She is celebrated by a stained-glass window in Liverpool Cathedral. Life Hinderer was born in Hempnall in Norfolk in 1827 ...

in Nigeria in 1855. By 1866 her grandchildren were parcelling them up.

Abolitionism

The slave trade had been abolished in 1807, but existing slavery remained and Buxton joined in the campaign to abolish it. In 1823 he helped to found the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (later the Anti-Slavery Society). In May 1823, Buxton introduced in the House of Commons a resolution condemning the state of slavery as "repugnant to the principles of the British constitution and of the Christian religion", and called for its gradual abolition "throughout the British colonies". He also pressured the government to send dispatches to the colonies to improve the treatment of slaves. Buxton took over as leader of the abolition movement in the British House of Commons after

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 ...

retired in 1825. The petition he presented to the House of Commons bore 187,000 signatures. This had been partly organised by

Priscilla Buxton Priscilla Buxton (25 February 1808 – 18 June 1852) was a British slavery abolitionist. She was co-secretary of the London Female Anti-Slavery Society. In 1833 a petition of 187,000 women's signatures were presented to parliament to end slavery. ...

in 1833; she and Amelia Opie were the first two signatories. He largely achieved his goal when slavery was officially abolished 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 ...

, except in India and Ceylon. Buxton held his seat in Parliament until 1837. In 1839 Buxton urged the British government to make treaties with African leaders to abolish the slave trade. The government in turn backed the Niger expedition of 1841 (not including Buxton) put together by missionary organizations, which was also going to work on trade. More than 150 people were part of the expedition, which reached the Niger Delta and began negotiations. The British suffered such high mortality from fevers, with more than 25 per cent of the group dying rapidly, that the mission was cut short in 1841. The Buxton Burial Vault- 'more than conquerors'

The Buxton Burial Vault- 'more than conquerors'

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

was strongly influenced by Buxton's arguments that the

African slave trade Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...

might be destroyed through the influence of "legitimate trade" (in goods) and the spread of Christianity. He became a

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in Africa and fought the slave trade all his life. On 30 July 1840 Buxton was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

. His health failed gradually – according to some, due to disappointment over the failed mission to Africa. He died five years later at his home, Northrepps Hall, near

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, ...

, Norfolk and was buried at

Overstrand Overstrand is a village (population 1,030) on the north coast of Norfolk in England, two miles east of Cromer. It was once a modest fishing station, with all or part of the fishing station being known as Beck Hythe. In the latter part of the 19t ...

, Norfolk.

Founding RSPCA chairman

On 16 June 1824 a meeting was held at Old Slaughter's Coffee House, St Martin's Lane, London, that created the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – it became the RSPCA when

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

gave royal assent in 1840. The 22 founding members included William Wilberforce, Richard Martin,

Sir James Mackintosh Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...

Basil Montagu Basil Montagu (24 April 1770 – 27 November 1851) was a British jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist. He was educated at Charterhouse and studied law at Cambridge. He was significantly involved in reforms to bankruptcy laws of Britain. H ...

and Reverend

Arthur Broome Arthur MacLoughlin Broome (18 February 1779 – 16 July 1837) was an English clergyman and campaigner for animal welfare. He was one of a group of creators of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in 1824. Broome wa ...

. Buxton was appointed chairman for the year 1824.

Legacy and honours

*A monument to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton stands 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 Unite ...

. *A memorial to the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranch ...

of slaves, dedicated to Buxton, was installed in

Victoria Tower Gardens Victoria Tower Gardens is a public park along the north bank of the River Thames in London, adjacent to the Victoria Tower, at the south-western corner of the Palace of Westminster. The park, extends southwards from the Palace to Lambeth Brid ...

. Commissioned by his son

Charles Buxton Charles Buxton (18 November 1822 – 10 August 1871) was an English brewer, philanthropist, writer and member of Parliament. Personal life and architectural legacy Buxton was born on 18 November 1822 in Cromer, Norfolk, the third son of Sir Tho ...

MP, the Buxton Memorial Fountain was designed by

Samuel Sanders Teulon Samuel Sanders Teulon (2 March 1812 – 2 May 1873) was an English Gothic Revival architect, noted for his use of polychrome brickwork and the complex planning of his buildings. Family Teulon was born in 1812 in Greenwich, Kent, the son of a ...

and installed in

Parliament Square Parliament Square is a square at the northwest end of the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster in central London. Laid out in the 19th century, it features a large open green area in the centre with trees to its west, and it contai ...

. In 1940 it was removed during the German bombings of London in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It was installed at its present location in 1957. *A plaque is dedicated to him in

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

and another at the Norwich Friends Meeting House. *A bust of him by John Bell appears in

St. George's Cathedral, Freetown St. George's Cathedral is an historical Church Mission Society Anglican church in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The church was one of the grandest churches in Freetown, and had one of the highest attendance ratings for a church. It is now the Cathedral C ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. *Fowell Close in

is named after him. *A representation of Buxton was printed on the English Sterling banknotes, five-pound note used between 2002 and 2017. He is the figure wearing glasses in the group to the left of

. *In

, which he served for 19 years as MP, the main route to the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...

is named Buxton Road. It runs past Belfield House, his former home in

Wyke Regis Wyke Regis is a village in south Dorset, England. The village is part of the south western suburbs of Weymouth, on the northern shore of Portland Harbour and the south-eastern end of Chesil Beach. Wyke is south of the county town, Dorchester ...

. *A permanent memorial to him was unveiled in 2017 on Bincleaves Green in Weymouth. ''The memorial on Bincleaves Green:'' Thomas Fowell Buxton Monument Weymouth 2021aa.jpg Thomas Fowell Buxton Monument Weymouth 2021bb.jpg Thomas Fowell Buxton Monument Weymouth 2021cc.jpg Thomas Fowell Buxton Monument Weymouth 2021dd.jpg Thomas Fowell Buxton Monument Weymouth 2021ee.jpg

Descendants

Buxton had a number of notable descendants through his five sons and six daughters:

Sir Edward North Buxton, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward North Buxton, 2nd Baronet (16 September 1812 – 11 June 1858) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. He was the son of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton and his wife, Hannah Gurney (1783–1872). He married Catherine Gurne ...

(1812–1858) married Catherine Gurney (1814–1911). They had seven sons and five daughters. :: Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet (1837–1915) married Lady Victoria Noel (1840–1916). :::: Sir Thomas Fowell Victor Buxton, 4th Baronet (1865–1919) :::: Noel Edward Noel-Buxton, 1st Baron Noel-Buxton (1869–1948) :::: Charles Roden Buxton (1875–1942) ::::

Harold Jocelyn Buxton Harold Jocelyn Buxton (20 June 1880 – 13 March 1976) was a British Church of England cleric. He was Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe, Bishop of Gibraltar from 1933 to 1947. Buxton was born into a noble family, the son of Sir Thomas Buxton, 3r ...

(1880–1976) ::::Leland William Wilberforce Buxton (1884–1967) ::Samuel Gurney Buxton (1838 – February 1909) of Catton served as

High Sheriff of Norfolk The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other imp ...

in 1891–1892. :: Edward North Buxton, MP (1840–1924) ::Henry Edmund Buxton (1844–1905) ::Charles Louis Buxton (1846–1906) :: Francis William Buxton (1847–1911) Thomas Fowell Buxton (1822–1908) married Rachel Gurney (1823–1905) and had six sons and five daughters. ::Elizabeth Ellen Buxton (later Barclay) (1848–1919) ::John Henry Buxton (1849–1934), director of Truman, Hanbury, Buxton Brewery, chairman of the London Hospital ::: Arthur Buxton (1882–1958), Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place, and

Chaplain to the Forces The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army. History The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...

:::Margaret Katherine Buxton (1885–1974) :::: David Charles McClintock (1913–2001), natural historian, botanist, horticulturist and author ::Geoffrey Fowell Buxton (1852–1929), a director of Barclays Bank :: Alfred Fowell Buxton (1854–1952), chairman of London County Council :: Barclay Fowell Buxton (1860–1946), missionary ::::Murray Barclay Buxton (1889–1940) ::::Alfred Barclay Buxton (1891–1940) ::::George Barclay Buxton (1892–1917) :::: Barclay Godfrey Buxton (1895–1986)

, MP (1823–1871) married Emily Mary Holland (1824–1908) and had two sons and four daughters. ::Bertram Henry Buxton (1852–1934) ::

Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton Sydney Charles Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton, (25 October 1853 – 15 October 1934) was a radical British Liberal politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He also served as the second Governor-General of South Africa from 1914 to 1920 ...

, MP (1853–1934)

(1808–1852) married Andrew Johnston, MP (c. 1798–1862)Clare Midgley, "Buxton, Priscilla (1808–1852)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed., September 201
accessed 25 June 2017
/ref> and had two sons and four daughters. :: Andrew Johnston, MP (1835–1895) ::Fowell Buxton Johnston (1839–1914), army officer, married Alice Douglas (1846–1891). ::::

Edward Johnston Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the particular form of the broad-edged pen as a writing tool. He is most fa ...

(1872–1944), calligrapher Thomas Mark Buxton (born 1874)

Writings

*''An Enquiry, Whether Crime and Misery are produced or prevented by our present system of Prison Discipline'' (1818) *''The African Slave Trade and Its Remedy'' (London: J. Murray, 1839)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Fowell 1786 births 1845 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Burials at Bunhill Fields Fowell English abolitionists English brewers English businesspeople Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies People from Castle Hedingham British social reformers UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 Verderers 19th-century British businesspeople Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge