The Power of Protest: Black Abolitionists in 19th Century Dewsbury

20 Oct 2022

by Jude Lynn

Two images: Photograph of black Victorian woman, seated. Illustration of black Victorian man.

The movement to end the transatlantic slave trade is well documented however, what local residents may not know is that during the 19th century black abolitionists visited and campaigned in Dewsbury, Kirklees, West Yorkshire.

An exciting discovery

In 2020 I attended a Virtual Black Abolitionist Tour of London by Dr Hannah-Rose Murray where I learned two pieces of information that sparked our project. This was firstly that Frederick Douglass’s book, 'Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave', in the1800s outsold some of his contemporaries in terms of initial sales. Secondly Black Abolitionists during their 19th century tour of the UK visited Leeds, a city not far from Kirklees. Investigating further I was fascinated to find that black abolitionists, during their tour also visited Kirklees. So exciting!

Who were they?

Abolitionists were persons who sought to abolish slavery during the 19th century. Some of the most prominent leaders of the movement were Black men and women who had escaped from bondage. Among the group were Sarah Parker Remond and Henry ‘Box’ Brown who lectured at Centenary Chapel in Dewsbury, known today as Dewsbury Elim Church.

Sarah Parker Remond

It is believed that Sarah was the first woman to speak on a British stage about slavery. Born a free woman in Salem, Massachusetts, USA in 1826, Sarah became a renowned anti- slavery activist, lecturer and abolitionist campaigner.

Sarah Parker Remond gave more than 45 lectures in Britain between 1859 and 1861, urging audiences to boycott cotton and rice from America. She raised large sums of money for the anti-slavery cause.

Old photograph of black Victorian woman, seated by a stone pillar, hair up, full skirted dress with embroidered hems and white collar. — Sarah Parker Remond spoke in Dewsbury in 1860. (© Creative Commons: wikimedia)

Henry ‘Box’ Brown

Born in 1816 and enslaved in Virginia, Southern America, Henry ‘Box’ Brown escaped from slavery by having a trusted White carpenter make him a box, he was placed in it and posted on a 27 hour journey to the free state of Philadelphia.

Mr Brown realised his very dramatic escape lent itself to entertaining audiences and he would travel exhibiting the famous box he travelled in. In 1850 Henry ‘Box’ Brown came to Britain and for two decades re-enacted his escape, also exhibiting a panoramic painting depicting slavery.

Old newspaper illustration of a man emerging from a large box opened by 4 other men. — Henry 'Box' Brown's arrival (by post) at the office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. (© Library of Congress)

Where did they visit?

While some of the locations the Black Abolitionists visited in Kirklees do not remain, Centenary Chapel in Dewsbury still does, and is in active use today as Dewsbury Elim Church. This historic and beautiful Georgian-style Centenary Chapel, built in 1846 to celebrate the centenary of Dewsbury’s first Methodist Society, has proven the perfect venue to visit and celebrate and discover more about a little-known historical aspect of Dewsbury.

Sharing the story

Throughout our work on this project, we have taken a partnership approach enabling us to bring together a broad range of knowledge, experience, and resources to produce a quality research-based tour, relevant to the community of Kirklees. A key partner for the project is Dr Hannah-Rose Murray who continues to generously give her time. The rest of the team was made up of: Kirklees Libraries, Kirklees BAME network, West Yorkshire Archive Service, Kirklees Community Cohesion team, Locala, (a social enterprise focusing on health and wellbeing), and Dewsbury Elim Church.

We have run a series of events to share the story, including an afternoon of reflection and friendship, a libation ceremony followed by a cycle tour of the trail, and school class visits.

Heritage Open Days gave us the perfect opportunity to plan a new event and work with a new partner, Pastor Skett, from Dewsbury Elim Church. The event started at Dewsbury Library with a live screened introduction by Dr. Hannah Rose Murray, giving a well-received overview of both activists who visited Dewsbury and their incredible stories. We then set off on the short walk from Dewsbury Library to Elim Church, giving us a chance to chat and get to know each other while we walked. Many of us shared our connection to Dewsbury plus it was a great chance for us to learn other snippets of local history along the way.

Pale brick building with two red doors. — Elim Church: Behind these doors powerful voices were once raised to end enslavement. (© Kirklees Library)

At Dewsbury Elim Church, we visited an upstairs room, where we believe Henry ‘Box’ Brown spoke on 27 June 1851. it was described as a ‘Large Room behind the Centenary Chapel’. There was additional information displayed in this room for people to read while they enjoyed a coffee and a tasty slice of cake!

It was a lovely way for people to chat and get to know new people, sharing in this collective community history. We hope we made Henry ’Box’ Brown and Sarah Parker Remond a little bit proud as we continue discussions around fairness, equality, and human rights, today.

What next?

Our next big event will be in Local and Community History Month 2023 when we launch our paper copy of the 2020 virtual tour. This will be distributed throughout Kirklees with the addition of guides to walk between the local library and the place visited by these incredible social activists. And you’ll be able to record the number of steps walked as a bonus for our health and wellbeing.

A special e-book collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, including ‘Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass’ by Frederick Douglass, ‘The Poetry of Phyllis Wheatley’ by Phyllis Wheatley and ‘Washington Black’ by Esi Edugyan are all available to borrow from Kirklees Libraries.