Clapham's History
This week we’ll look a little more closely at the history of original Clapham Sect and how they exemplified Salt and Light.
Clapham’s History
The historical Clapham Sect, was an 18th-century community based in London, England spearheaded by Hannah More and William Wilberforce who worked closely together on Wilberforce’s two 'great objects’ (the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners) for many years. Surrounding themselves with other like-minded co-belligerents such as Thomas Clarkson, Olaudah Equiano, Henry Thornton, John Newton, Granville Sharpe, Josiah Wedgwood, William Cowper, and Henry Venn, they labored for many years to abolish slavery and reform the manners (what today we would call “morals”) of both the upper and lower classes.
Both of these worthy goals had deeply spiritual and religious undertones for More, Wilberforce and their cohort. They each underwent a deepening of their once nominal Christian faith before undertaking these causes and continued to grow in their faith as they labored together for many years. Their work, which so clearly exemplifies Christ’s teaching in the Beatitudes, has shaped our understanding of how to be salt and light in the world today.