Wilberforce House

Wilberforce House is part of the award winning Museums Quarter, one of Hull’s must sees for any visitor to the city. Its importance rests on the fact that it was the birthplace and residence of the city’s most celebrated son, William Wilberforce, the Hull Member of Parliament who campaigned against the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Wilberforce family were wealthy traders importing hemp and timber from the Baltic states and iron ore from Sweden. In return they exported products such as Sheffield cutlery. Their High Street residence shows a notable Dutch influence and is similar in design to Crowle House further down High Street. Built sometime in the 1660s, it was originally owned by the Lister family of merchants and was reputed to have been built on the site where John Lister entertained King Charles I on his visit to the city in 1639. This cordial reception was not shown the next time the King came to Hull, shortly before Civil War hostilities broke out in 1642.

By 1732, the house had passed into William Wilberforce’s possession. This William Wilberforce was grandfather of the slave trade campaigner, though was in many ways his grandson’s equal, becoming Mayor of Hull twice, 20 years apart for each other and substantially building up the family business. As the Wilberforce family’s fortune grew through trade, they also began to make alterations to the house, one of which was the addition of the family crest, an eagle, which can still be seen on the ceiling of the main staircase.

William Wilberforce was born here on August 24th 1759 and lived the majority of his formative years in the city. The font where he was baptised in Holy Trinity Church can still be seen as can the nearby Old Grammar School where he spent two years as a young boy.  Wilberforce’s early life and in particular his time at Cambridge University were largely carefree, and with a sumptuous family income he was able to enjoy himself as a man about town. His substantial income was to come in useful as a means of getting into Parliament, as he became MP for Kingston upon Hull in 1780 at the tender age of 21.

However, he became increasingly interested in spiritual matters and began to regret his previous lifestyle. This went alongside his growing concern about the transatlantic slave trade, an interest which led to his championing of the abolitionist’s cause in Parliament. By April 1791 Wilberforce had introduced a bill in parliament aiming to ban the slave trade in the British Empire. However, with the chaos unleashed by the French revolution still fresh in MPs’ minds, the motion was easily defeated in the House of Commons. It wasn’t until nearly 20 years later, in 1807, that a bill outlawing the slave trade was finally passed, and not until 1833 that slavery itself was declared illegal in the British Empire, all supported by Wilberforce’s tireless campaigning. 3 days after this final act, on July 29 1833, Wilberforce died.

With his Parliamentary work in London, William Wilberforce had continued to rent out 25 High Street, but by 1830 he had decided to sell the house to pay off the debts of his eldest son, William. For the remainder of the 19th century, the house had a number of owners, and, like many properties in High Street, eventually became the offices of corn merchants. With little investment, the building began to fall into disrepair and was finally bought by the town’s authorities in 1896. By 1906, and largely through the dedicated collecting of its first Curator Thomas Shepherd, it was turned into a museum commemorating Wilberforce’s achievements, therefore making it Hull’s oldest museum.

Wilberforce House is open Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm on Sundays.