The bi-centenary of the Abolition of Slavery Act which became law on25th March, 1807 gave us all a chance to reflect on the spoils of Empire and the price paid by so many anonymous people who were sold into slavery in the production of those vast riches. Two of the important figures in the history of Ipswich are Dykes Alexander and his son Richard Dykes Alexander, a noted photographer of the town. The latter built his house on the corner of St Matthews Street and Portman Road; long empty, this distinguished building is extended and refurbished as flats. When Richard Dykes Alexander made land available for housing in the 1850s he stipulated that some of the street names should be those of leading abolitionists. Four British names and arguably four American names appear in the list.
Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846) is the best known of the abolitionists, living for the last thirty years of his life at Playford Hall. William Wilberforce's right hand man, he is said to have travelled 100,00 miles on horseback over twenty years interviewing sailors, lecturing, collecting facts and eyewitness accounts for the movement and for Wilberforce's speeches. There is a memorial to Clarkson in Playford church.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833): independent MP for Kingston Upon Hull, friend of William Pitt (The Younger). The main public face of the activisits, he is buried in Westminster Abbey next to Pitt.
Anthony Benezet (1713-1784): born in France, moved to Holland, London and finally to Philadelphia; he bacame a Quaker. His writing influenced Clarkson's Cambridge essay opposing slavery.
William Dillwyn ([1743]-1824): a Quaker merchant born in Philadephia, he campaigned against slavery in England from 1774. His daughter married Richard Dykes Alexander.
Edward James Eliot (1758-1797): an MP and friend of Wilberforce and Pitt, in whose government he served. An active supporter od abolition.
Samuel Emlen (1789-1828): a Quaker and doctor of medicine. He created a an American institution for the education and maintenance of children of African and Indian descent and he lived in Burlington, New Jersey, whence we get the name Burlington Road.
Abigail Hopper Gibbons (1801-1893): an American Quaker who aided runaway slaves; she also nursed in the American Civil War and became a teacher. Her father, Isaac Hopper, and her new husband, James Gibbons, were disowned by the Society of Quakers for their anti-slavery activities.
Granville Sharp (1735-1813) challenged slavery in law and was the first President of the 1787 Abolition Committee.
We are indebted to the Ipswich Society Newsletter, Issue 168, July 2007 for this information. We are also aware that in the following issue another name was suggested for this list: