Clapham Sect

The so-called Clapham Sect ( Clapham Sect ) was an influential group of members of the Church of England, which was active 1790-1830 as a social reformer in England.

The members who were prominent and wealthy Anglicans, argued for the abolition of slavery and the slave trade as well as for a reform of the prison system.

The name of the group, which was conferred as a nickname by their opponents, derives from the village of Clapham, located south of London here, which is a district in south-west London today. Here lived the two most prominent members of the " cult", William Wilberforce and Henry Thornton.

Support the group took place at London's Bishop Beilby Porteus. Other prominent members were Granville Sharp, a lawyer and founder of the British abolitionist movement and William Smith, Mayor of Norwich and grandfather of Florence Nightingale.

The group issued its own magazine, the Christian Observer. Editor in chief was Zachary Macaulay, who later colonial governor of Sierra Leone. Some members were also involved in the establishment of various missionary organizations, including the British Bible Society and the Church Mission Society.