“A duty of free enquiry”
The charismatic William Johnson Fox, Minister of Parliament Court Chapel and South Place Chapel (forerunners of Conway Hall Ethical Society) addressed his radical congregation on 27 March 1842.
Seasons Greetings from the British Humanist Association Archive, 1966
Seasons Greetings from the British Humanist Association Archive, 1966.
Hidden note under South Place?
In 1876 A.J. Waterlow discovered a scrap of paper in the hand of William Johnson Fox, Minister of South Place Chapel (later South Place Ethical Society).
Old London – South Place
Now the location of Finsbury Circus House, (opposite South Place Hotel), this 1820s plan gives a fascinating glimpse into old London by revealing the exact location of South Place Chapel (later, South Place Ethical Society).
The building of South Place Chapel, 1821
In 1821 the congregation of William Johnson Fox were in the process of commissioning the Unitarian Chapel at South Place, Finsbury, which would later become the home of South Place Ethical Society.
The records of the Ethical Union and British Humanist Association
As well as the records of the Ethical Union and British Humanist Association, the archive (held by Bishopsgate Institute) also contains material of affiliated humanist groups.
The Ethical Church, Queensway, Bayswater
The Ethical Church, Queensway, Bayswater, was established in the late 1890s by Dr Stanton Coit, founder of the West London Ethical Society and a prominent figure in the Ethical Movement. Coit hoped that his Church would be the first of many ‘ethical churches’ and act as encouragement to other established churches (ie. the Church of England), to move away from religious teaching.
Going to pot in 1968?
As well as challenging the role of religion in society, the student branch of the British Humanist Association turned their attention to other contemporary issues concerning their members…