WHO WAS WHO

Samuel Wilberforce (1805-1873)

Wilberforce, the son of William Wilberforce the anti-slavery campaigner, was made Bishop of Oxford in 1845 before becoming Bishop of Winchester in 1869. He was an active speaker in the House of Lords, particularly on matters affecting the Church of England. At this time the see of Oxford included the county of Buckinghamshire, where the Rothschilds had begun buying land and houses in 1836. Nicknamed 'Soapy Sam' for his apparent evasion on some of the issues facing the Church of England, he steered a careful course between its high- and low- church strands.  In the House of Lords he spoke against Jewish emancipation.

Wilberforce is mentioned in Louise de Rothschild's diary.

Contents