A remarkable discovery has been made within the University of Chester’s archives: 4 early Nineteenth-century letters, including two written by distinguished abolitionist William Wilberforce, have been unearthed during an alumni archive project.
The letters were addressed to Reverend Henry Raikes, a key religious figure who served as Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester and was a founding father of what would evolve into the University of Chester.
Wilberforce, best known for his relentless efforts to finish the British transatlantic slave trade, wrote to Raikes in 1830 from his home in Highwood Hill, Middlesex.
In these letters, Wilberforce outlined plans to construct a chapel near his estate – a vision that sadly never materialised during his lifetime.
An extra pair of letters, written in 1808 and 1809, were also uncovered.
One was sent to Henry Raikes by his uncle, and the opposite to Thomas Raikes, Henry’s father and a former Governor of the Bank of England.
The discovery of those helpful letters got here during a project overseen by University of Chester’s Alumni Assistant Amy Hultum, in collaboration with Dr Lisa Peters.
The initiative goals to organise, preserve and showcase many years’ price of alumni relic and archival materials that had been stored away.
Ms Hultum expressed: “We didn’t expect to come back across anything like these letters but we were very excited to search out them in a box amongst our University collections.”
The Head of Humanities, Cultures and Environment, Dr Hannah Ewence, commented: “These two letters, between William Wilberforce and his friend and fellow Evangelist Henry Raikes, were written towards the tip of Wilberforce’s life.
“By 1830, failing health had caused Wilberforce to retire from politics and from London life, moving from Grove House in Brompton to the relative tranquillity of Mill Hill, Middlesex (now within the north London borough of Barnet).
“It was from Highwood House that Wilberforce sat right down to pen his replies to Raikes, then Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester.
“Their affectionate correspondence ranged across personal, political and spiritual matters, and offers a way of the paternal regard through which Wilberforce held the younger man.
“Certainly, his efforts to steer Raikes that he should take a living as curate in Mill Hill because he knew him to be ‘a promotor of peace and good will’ reveals that Wilberforce’s fame for showing great take care of friend and stranger alike had not diminished, even in his final years.”
Wilberforce’s legacy is well-known – his campaign helped pass the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which banned the buying and selling of slaves contained in the British Empire.
Though the whole abolition of slavery wouldn’t occur until the 12 months of his death in 1833, these letters offer rare insight into his personal convictions and late-life aspirations.
One of his final hopes – to determine a chapel at Mill Hill – remained unfulfilled while he was living there.
Financial hardship, brought on by his son’s failed business, forced Wilberforce to depart Highwood House.
He spent his remaining years living with family and friends. Ironically, the chapel he envisioned was finally dedicated the 12 months he died.
