Government minister visits Regent’s Park College to speak about modern slavery

30 April 2014

Karen Bradley MP, Minister for Modern Slavery & Organised Crime, is to speak at Regent’s Park College at the University of Oxford about the growing problem of new forms of slavery in the modern world. Among those attending the event will be University academics and representatives from church organisations, charities, Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council.

Regent’s Park, a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford, was founded by the Baptists. It is home to the internationally important Angus Library and Archive, which includes a wide-range of material relating to issues and controversies in which Baptists were involved, such as the movement to abolish slavery in the Jamaica—including the poignant story of Sam Sharpe, a slave and member of a Baptist congregation in Jamaica who led a peaceful uprising which cost him his life but which was decisive in gaining emancipation.

During the minister’s visit, there will be the opportunity to view the exhibition by The Angus Library and Archive held in Regent’s last term, entitled ‘Slavery: The Historical and Modern Perspectives’. This includes original manuscripts and texts and other sobering artefacts documenting the horrors of the slave trade and the efforts of the abolition movement to suppress it. Local schoolchildren have already had the opportunity to view some of the exhibits on display, and access online lesson starters from the Archive on Slavery, which are now available for KS3 KS4 and post 16 History.

The core of The Angus collection was left to Regent’s Park College by Dr Joseph Angus who was the college principal from 1849 to 1893. The Angus now comprises over 70,000 printed books, pamphlets, journals, church and association records, church histories, manuscript letters and other artefacts from the late fifteenth century to the present day. The collection relates to the life and history of Baptists in Britain and the wider world.

Commenting, the Principal of Regent’s Park, Robert Ellis, said: 'The problem of slavery was highlighted by the Baptists who founded this college so we are pleased to be able to host an event that focuses on an issue that is still pertinent today.'

For further information, contact the University of Oxford News Office on [email protected] or telephone 01865 280534.

Notes for Editors:

About Regent’s Park College
There are five Permanent Private Halls (PPH) at Oxford and its students are members of the University just like students at colleges, with access to exactly the same University facilities and activities. Regent’s Park is the largest PPH, and accepts applications from men and women of any age. It contains 200 students (undergraduates and postgraduates).
Regent’s Park College traces its roots to the formation of the London Baptist Education Society in 1752. This venture led to the development of the Stepney Academy in East London in 1810 - the impetus for the creation of the Academy arose from the fact that only members of the Church of England were given places at ancient universities. In 1856 it moved six or seven miles across London to the then rural Regent's Park, and adopted its current name. In 1927 the college moved to Oxford and became a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford in 1957.