Wilberforce House

Wilberforce house, High Street, Hull

Wilberforce House is the birth place of William Wilberforce, the famous abolitionist, and is located in High Street, Kingston upon Hull, England. Like the nearby Blaydes House and Maister House, it was formerly a Merchant's house with access to quayside on the River Hull. It is now part of Hull's Museum Quarter incorporating the Nelson Mandela garden.

William Wilberforce was an MP who was most influential in the abolition of slavery, which became his life's work. The house is now a museum, which showcases the life and work of one of Hull's most famous sons. It is also classified as a Grade I listed building. The museum re-opened on 25 March 2007, after a two-year £1.6 million redevelopment, in time for the 200th anniversary of Wilberforce's Act of Parliament abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire. The new exhibition has a broad focus on the history of slavery in addition to materials relating to the life and work of Wilberforce. The front garden to the museum contains a statue to Wilberforce which underwent a £10,000 restoration to preserve it in 2011. Adjoining the site is the University of Hull's Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation which conducts research into historic and contemporary forms of slavery.

Georgian Houses

The two 'Georgian Houses' adjacent to Wilberforce House formerly housed an annexe containing a display of historic costume and period rooms before closing for refurbishment.

External links

• Official site
• Details from listed building database (387615) . Images of England. English Heritage.