This site is dedicated to Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet (1786 - 1845) who was a leading campaigner for the abolition of slavery as an economic system, as well as an MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, a brewer and a Christian social reformer.
During his lifetime, Buxton was a great believer in self help and hard work and dedication to achieve life goals, as may be seen from the quote of the day in the sidebar (left), taken from his biography
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NEWS FLASH: The students are now tackling the most difficult areas of the monument — the carvings on the stones. When we visited today (4th May) we saw Alex with the final touches of his bust of Thomas Fowell Buxton. Here are two views. This stone will find its place in the obelisk
The centrepiece of this montage is a picture of a snuff box presented to Thomas Fowell Buxton when he left Parliament in 1837.
The presentation was by ‘A few Youths of Weymouth as a small token of respect for his unwearied exertions in the cause of Civil and Religious Liberty during a lengthened career as a representative in Parliament, and more particularly having been the happy instrument under Divine Providence of effecting the emancipation of the slave’.
The presentation was made on 1st August 1837
In his memoirs it is related that on losing his Parliamentary seat in 1837, he soon afterwards went to Weymouth to receive from his friends there two pieces of plate; the one a candelabrum from his late constituents; the other, which as he said pleased him, if possible still more, a silver snuff box from their children.
He was exceedingly gratified by these testamonials of regard from the place with which he had been so long connected, and few of his possessions were valued so highly.
About Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
Granville Sharp, William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson were instrumental in getting Parliament to abolish the trade in slaves in 1807. Thomas Fowell Buxton, who entered Parliament in 1818 continued their work and took over the leadership of the movement from Wilberforce in 1823, though Wilberforce remained in Parliament to support him. Buxton succeeded in having slavery abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833 by Act of Parliament.
He represented Weymouth as MP between 1818 and 1837. His younger brother Charles and also his uncle Charles are buried at All Saints, Wyke Regis. In 1829 he gave his support to the motion of Catholic emancipation in Ireland, offending many of his constituents and endangering his seat for Weymouth.
He continued to show an interest on a global scale when he visited Pope Gregory XVI in Rome in 1838. In the previous year, the Pope had written a papal encyclical - a letter under the authority of the Pope to his bishops around the world condemning the continuance of slavery. Thomas Fowell Buxton (C of E) and his Quaker wife commended the Pope for this international aim.
He attended the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840 when a large group of Americans attended. The American Civil War was needed to achieve in America what Thomas Fowell Buxton achieved, relatively peacefully, in the British Empire.
In 1840 he was made "Baronet of Bellfield in the County of Dorset and of Runton in the County of Norfolk", by Queen Victoria. "Bellfield" was the estate he owned in Wyke Regis, Weymouth. The house still stands, though the estate has been extensively built on over the years.
The crest on his coat of arms, shown here, is described in heraldic terms as a 'A Buck's Head, Couped Gu, Attired Or, Gorged With a Collar of The Last, Therefrom Pendent An Escutcheon Arg, Charged with an African's Head Sa'.
Using James Parker's Glossary of Heraldic Terms this translates to "A Buck's Head in Red, Gold Antlers, A Gold Collar round its Neck; hanging from the Collar a Shield in Silver (White) on which is depicted the Head of an African in Black."
The motto 'Do it with thy might' is a shortened version of the family motto, which itself is taken from the Bible (Eccleciastes 9:10).
Thomas Fowell Buxton died at Northrepps Hall, Norfolk in 1845 aged 59. Today, while Sharp, Wilberforce and Clarkson are rightly lauded for their devotion to this cause, Thomas Fowell Buxton's contribution has faded somewhat from the public memory.
He has been virtually forgotten in Weymouth. The only reference to the man who is perhaps Weymouth's most celebrated MP is a section of the main road between Weymouth and Portland, named 'Buxton Road', and it passes near to Belfield House.
There is a statue of him in Westminster Abbey near to that of William Wilberforce and there is a plaque to his memory at the Norwich Friends meeting house in Upper Goat Lane Norwich.
And he can be seen on the back of the current £5 note
as one of the group visiting Newgate Prison in association with Elizabeth Fry. (Thomas Fowell Buxton is at the top left hand corner, a tall man wearing spectacles). Elizabeth Fry was his sister in law and he supported her efforts for prison reform.
This is a stylised drawing of a painting of Elizabeth Fry reading to prisoners in Newgate Prison, 1823. The painting is held by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
The Thomas Fowell Buxton (TFB) Society
The Thomas Fowell Buxton Society was formed on 1st August 2010 with the following aims:
- to make the general public aware of the achievements of Thomas Fowell Buxton, who was MP for Weymouth between the years 1818 and 1837. William Wilberforce had abolished the Slave Trade in 1807. Thomas Fowell Buxton, building on this, achieved the abolition of the institute of Slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833. In recognition of this and other achievements, he was created Baronet in 1840
- to raise funds for a suitable monument, seeking contributions from industry, institutions and local people, and if possible obtaining grant(s) from various awarding bodies
- to organise the procurement of the monument and to negotiate with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Dorset County Council for having it positioned in a prominent place in Weymouth
- to organise a continuing programme of events, presentations and educational initiatives to ensure that the achievements of Thomas Fowell Buxton continue to be remembered
- in pursuance of the above aims, to work with local bodies
- to work also with national organisations promoting racial equality and which share the philanthropic outlook characterised by Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton
The Society held its inaugural meeting on 16th February, the account of which is reported here
The Thomas Fowell Buxton (TFB) Society has now achieved Charitable Status
With the agreement of 86% of the members, the Society adopted a new constitution with the following object:
- To advance the education of the public in general on the subject of the achievements of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (philanthropist and MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis 1818-37) and in particular his achievement of the abolition of Slavery throughout the British Empire by Act of Parliament in 1833.
