by Ethel Smith

Created on: April 10, 2007   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

POTTED HISTORY OF WILBERFORCE HOUSE.

Wilberforce House was built around 1660 and as such is one of the oldest buildings in Kingston-Upon-Hull. Hull, as it is more commonly known, lies on the north bank of the River Humber in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Wilberforce House can be found along the High Street in Hull where there are other fairly old buildings. Some of the lack of old buildings around Hull, in general, is due to the severe bombings Hull experienced during the Second World War.

Wilberforce House was the birthplace and childhood home of William Wilberforce the English anti-slavery campaigner. He was born in 1759 and died in 1833. The council bought this property in 1903 and in 1906 it became a museum.

WILLIAM WILBERFORCE MAN AND BOY.

As a child William lived a privileged lifestyle having wealthy parents. The family occupied the upstairs of the house whilst downstairs there was a busy counting house and offices. William would watch the sailors loading and unloading cargo, at the back of the house, onto the ships on the River Hull. William was elected to parliament in the 1780's and became interested in the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. He made his first abolition speech in 1789 and, after many defeats, in 1807 the Abolition of the slave trade act was passed in England. The campaign to end slavery in Britain, and the colonies, continued until 26th July 1833, three days before Wilberforce's death on the 29th. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.

WILBERFORCE HOUSE MUSEUM.

Over the years Wilberforce House has undergone many changes. Two adjoining Georgian Houses were acquired and opened as an addition to Wilberforce House quite a few years ago now. These had many local history and period displays. The bulk of the Wilberforce museum has undergone a radical revamp, only reopening in March 2007, to tie in with the Bicentennial slavery celebrations. As a visitor, on and off since the 1950's, I found some of the changes disappointing and not for the better. However there is still a lot of interesting things to see.

The house itself still has pleasant gardens, is in a nice setting and has a lot of history. As the anti-slavery displays now dominate the house it has become a bit characterless. Many of the rooms seem small now the furniture displays have been removed and replaced with written material. However if you are in the area and have not visited before it is still well worth a visit. The story of the History of the house and the slave trade is well laid out and interspersed with computer screens. At this moment in time the Georgian Houses are still closed to the public as they are being revamped now.

Hull has in addition a Transport Museum adjacent to Wilberforce House, the Hull and East Riding Museum, the Ferens Art Gallery and the Town Docks Maritime Museum. There is also the Arctic Corsair, an old trawler, and the Spurn Lightship which can be explored. Entry is free to them all but donations are welcome.

Worth Noting is:-
The museums and galleries are open 7 days a week at varying times and most bank holidays.
They can be busy in school holidays.
For a small city with problems the museums and galleries are one of it's best areas.

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