The abolitionist you’ve probably never heard of

I’ve been preparing for an upcoming walk about the slave trade and the city of London. Until recently, it wasn’t something institutions really wanted to talk about, but in recent years, and perhaps after the Bank of England’s exhibition about their links, it’s beginning to realise that saying something, is better than saying nothing at all.

In reading and researching, there are the abolitionists that we’ve all heard of, John Newton (who may have given us Amazing Grace but he was probably vile before he found salvation), and of course, there’s William Wilberforce. Both advocated for the abolishment of the slave trade believing that it was too soon to push for a complete end of slavery and that it was bound to end anyway.

It was rather refreshing to come across Elizabeth Heyrick. She was a prominent English philanthropist and radical activist who played a crucial role in the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century. Born in Leicester to a Unitarian family, Heyrick became a Quaker after her husband's death in 1795 and dedicated herself to social reform.

Heyrick is best known for her uncompromising stance on the immediate abolition of slavery. In 1824, she published her influential pamphlet "Immediate, not Gradual Abolition," which challenged the prevailing gradualist approach advocated by leading abolitionists like Wilberforce. Her work was widely distributed and sparked intense debate, helping to shift public opinion towards immediate emancipation.

Beyond her anti-slavery efforts, Heyrick campaigned on various social issues. She organised sugar boycotts to protest slave-produced goods, founded the world's first ladies' anti-slavery society in Birmingham in 1825, and advocated for prison reform, animal welfare, and workers' rights.

Heyrick's activism extended to her personal life. She lived among Irish migrant workers, visited prisons, and even purchased a bull to prevent a bull-baiting contest. Although she died before the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, her work significantly influenced the abolitionist movement and paved the way for more radical approaches to social reform.