William Knibb's Box

William Knibb is one of Kettering’s most honoured sons. With his brother, Thomas, he attended Toller Sunday School and worked for printer J G Fuller. The boys moved with the business to Bristol in 1816 and joined Broadmead Baptist Church.

Thomas went to Jamaica as a teacher with the Baptist Missionary Society (founded 1792 in Kettering), but died after a few months. William offered to take his place and went with his young bride in 1825.

He was appalled by the condition and treatment of slaves and was a vigorous abolitionist for the rest of his life. In 1832 he was accused of inciting the slaves to riot and was imprisoned for seven weeks. On a return visit to Kettering in 1842 he addressed the BMS jubilee meeting.

In 1834 slavery was abolished but the apprenticeship system kept them on the estates. When this was abolished in 1838 they were finally freed. Knibb helped to raise money to secure thousands of acres of land where 19,000 former slaves gained freehold dwellings. He helped to found 35 churches,16 schools, baptised 6,000 converts and translated the Bible into Creole. This box, made of different Jamaican woods, was presented to William Knibb by freed slaves in Jamaica.

Number 64 of the objects selected for the A History of Northamptonshire in 100 Objects exhibition 2025.

2nd Image: Held in the National Library of Wales (Wikimedia Commons - public domain)