Clapham Sect

Clapham Sect, group of evangelical Christians, prominent in England from about 1790 to 1830, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery and promoted missionary work at home and abroad. The group centred on the church of John Venn, rector of Clapham in south London. Its members included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, and others. Many were members of Parliament, where, in addition to their abolitionism, they worked for prison reform, prevention of cruel sports, and the suspension of the game laws and the lottery. They supported several missionary and Bible societies, financed Hannah More’s schools and pamphlets, and published their own journal, The Christian Observer. The Claphamites, mostly wealthy Anglicans, were politically conservative and appealed to the rich as the Methodists did to the poor. They believed in the preservation of the ranks and orders within society and preached philanthropic benevolence from above. To the poor they offered religious instruction and improvement in manners. Though their espousal of several “sentimental” causes brought upon them the derisive nickname of “Saints,” they were responsible in large part for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in England.