St Peter's Parish News
Thursday 1 January 1970
Remembering slavery
Last Sunday (23 August) was UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. It’s a suitable moment to remember William Cowper (1731–1800), the son of Rev John Cowper, rector of St Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted. William grew up here in Berkhamsted at the Old Rectory on Rectory Lane.
Cowper became friends with John Newton, a cleric from Olney, Buckinghamshire. Newton (most famous for writing the hymn Amazing Grace) influenced Cowper’s poetry and hymn-writing. Newton also influenced Cowper to become involved in the Abolitionist movement, both led by their Christian faith. Cowper wrote a number of anti-slavery poems. The most famous was The Negro’s Complaint (1788) which rapidly became very famous, and was often quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 20th-century civil rights movement.
“Skins may differ, but affection
Dwells in white and black the same!”
Several memorials in St Peter’s commemorate Cowper and his family. Pick up a history guide card at the back of church to learn more about Cowper’s life in Berkhamsted. You can also visit The Cowper and Newton Museum in Olney, just 30 miles north of Berkhamsted.
www.unesco.org 
