Grave of James Stephen

Image: © Natasha Ceridwen de Chroustchoff Taken: 27 Jul 2009

James Stephen (1758-1832) was a lawyer and anti-slavery campaigner and a close associate of William Wilberforce. He became aware of the inequities of slavery when he watched a trial of four slaves in Barbados who had been accused of a murder they clearly had not committed. He was outraged by both the trial and the verdict which condemned the men to death by burning. This experience was to shape his beliefs and his career. Stephen practised law in St Kitts for some years, and on his return to England in the 1790s he became actively involved in the Clapham Sect, a group of prominent abolitionists which included Wilberforce. He was instrumental in drafting the 1807 Abolition Act and worked with Wilberforce to provide the legal knowledge (also married his sister Sarah.) Both Stephen and Wilberforce lived in Stoke Newington, which was a centre of anti-establishment thought. Following the 1807 Act Stephen established the African Institution to encourage legal and humane trade with Africa, served as an MP, and wrote a book which became the chief text for anti-slavery campaigners. He is considered one of the unsung heroes of abolition, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolitionists_gallery_07.shtml He was also the great-grandfather of Virginia Woolf. His grave at St Mary's Old Church is a handsome Neo-Classical chest tomb with restrained detailing on the fluted legs and frieze, and is now a Grade II listed monument.

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