An informal but powerful group of conservative social reformers and intellectuals, the Clapham Sect formed in the village of Clapham, a pleasant and wealthy new suburb south of the Thames (now absorbed by Greater London), initially among the congregation of the Anglican vicar, the Reverend John Venn. The Sect became very influential in propagating an evangelical and strictly moral Christian world view which rested upon ideas of improved education, respect for the individual moral self and for established social hierarchies. The Sect owed much of the impetus for its ideas from a felt-need to counteract the revolutionary ideas being promulgated by enthusiasts for the French revolution, notably William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Paine.
The chief personalities — sometimes called the “Saints” — comprised William Wilberforce, the leader of the movement to abolish slavery and...
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Clapham Sect". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5492, accessed 09 June 2026.]
