An early heatwave marked the fourth Annual Cowper and Newton Day, held on Saturday 24 April. In brilliant sunshine and temperatures of up to 22 C, a record number of well over one hundred participants attended lectures, tours and exhibitions in various venues around the town. We were especially pleased that the English weather belied its overseas reputation, as this year we welcomed a party of sixteen from Pennsylvania, led by one of the main speakers for the day, Judge Tom Martin.

The theme was 'Olney - a Cradle of Emancipation?', and provided an opportunity for three distinguished speakers to examine Olney's contribution to the campaign for the abolition of the slave trade, which culminated in an Act of Parliament in 1807 forbidding the trade throughout the British Empire.

Judge Thomas Martin of the John Newton International Center
for Christian Studies, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, USA

Tom Martin's opening lecture, intriguingly titled 'Two Curates, Two Baptists, and a Poet', outlined the history of the abolition movement and then looked at the work of five men prominent in the history of Olney who were tireless workers for the cause: John Newton (curate and former slave trader), Thomas Scott (curate from 1781-4 and noted Biblical commentator), Willam Carey (whose tracts inspired the modern missionary movement, undertaken partly in penance for Britain's involvement in the slave trade), John Sutcliffe (for 40 years Minister of Olney Baptist Church, whose vision inspired the London Anti-Slavery Committee, and who ran a seminary for the training of missionaries next his home in Olney's High Street), and William Cowper.

Historian Professor James Walvin of the University of York

Professor James Walvin of the University of York - well known for his many books and articles on the history of the slave trade - followed with a fascinating examination of slavery, highlighting its crucial role in underpinning the economy of the British Empire, and concluded with an illuminating assessment of how much the slaves themselves contributed to their eventual emancipation. In the afternoon, David Johnson of the Open University complemented the earlier lectures by contrasting John Newton's narrative of his years in the slave trade (and later reflections on them) and William Cowper's campaigning poetry, with the slave autobiographies of Ottobah Cugoano and Robert Wedderburn, showing how they absorbed current ideas in philosophy, religion and politics and then applied them to their own plight.

The morning sessions were followed by a delicious lunch provided by the Olney Women's Institute Market Stall, and time to view the exhibitions put on in the Olney Centre by Marilynn Rouse, David Pott, and Rachel Lintern and Rena Partridge. These were concerned with, respectively, the multi-volume edition of John Newton's Collected Works currently being edited for publication (initially online); the Lifeline Expedition, a Christian initiative designed to heal the wounds left by the slave trade by walking to its major centres and performing acts of penance and reconciliation; and the Olney-Newton Link, which works to provide housing for victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Visiting Newton's vicarage

In the early afternoon there was a choice of tours: to the parish church and churchyard, with readings by Jeremy Cooper from Newton's letters and diary; to the Old Vicarage, where Newton's study could be viewed by kind permission of the owners, Mary and John Wallace; and to the Museum, where visitors were able to see a special exhibition on slavery and abolition, as well as the recent improvements to the facilities, the newly acquired facsimile portrait of Mary Unwin by Arthur Devis, and the gardens at their Springtime best.

Singing 'Amazing Grace' in Newton's study

Listening to readings in the Parish Church where Newton preached

By Newton's tomb and that of his wife Mary

In the evening, the now-traditional sherry reception and dinner took place in the Olney Centre. Melon with berries and jus, rack of lamb, and berry tart were enjoyed by all including our American visitors, bravely fighting jetlag at the end of a long day. Over coffee, Tony Seward provided some after-dinner light relief by evoking the 1783-4 craze for hot-air ballooning and Cowper's bemused reaction to it in his letters.

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that this year's single day's attendance almost equalled that of the Cowper Bicentenary in 2000, which stretched over four days. This is partly no doubt because slavery is such a powerful and unfortunately still relevant subject, but it also reflects continuing efforts by the Museum to reach a wider audience, including other voluntary groups, students and a more varied cross-section of the general public.

Tony Seward

All photos © J.C.S.Pople

• Return to "Events"