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The Lupton Family
Mill Hill congregation members
The family
The Lupton family were influential Unitarians associated with the congregation of Mill Hill chapel in the 19th century. The Lupton family originally earned their status as merchants selling items such as wool cloth, which helped them become a rich and respected family in Leeds. The family were heavily involved within the history of Leeds, with several members being involved with the anti-slavery movement. Unitarian families were noted for paying attention to the education of their female members, which meant that Unitarians were heavily involved in the early movements for women’s education and rights (Gleadle, 1998).
Harriet Lupton
Harriet Lupton helped form the anti-slavery association in Leeds in 1853 with her friend the American Quaker Sarah Pugh: “Pugh and Lupton Initially formed a ladies committee to collect signatures for the Stafford House address” (Midgley, 1992, p167). Lupton’s aim with the anti-slavery moment was initially to create a women’s society, but lack of enthusiasm led to a more radical experiment with a mixed-sex organisation modelled on some of the American anti-slavery societies. Eventually there was “a total 110 women and 77 male subscribers” (Midgley, 1992, p167). This shows the growing popularity of the anti-slavery movement in Leeds.
Frances Lupton
Another Lupton that was involved in progressive movements and promoting the rights of women was Frances Lupton. Born in Newcastle, she married Harriet’s cousin Francis Lupton (1821-92) in 1847. She was an advocate for women to be more educated and helped co found Leeds Girls High School. Frances also had a key role in Leeds Ladies Education Association which advocated for women to get access to Higher Education. Finally, a lesser known member of the Lupton family who was highly intelligent and educated was Charlotte Lupton. She travelled to Berlin in 1844 to study German and Hebrew. Due to her understanding of German she was approached by Charles Wicksteed to translate documents and by other Unitarian ministers “who invited her to help write a reply to D. F. Strauss’s controversial Leben Jesu". (Morgan, 2007, p. 64).
Bibliography
- Lupton, E. (1920) A History of Mill Hill Chapel, Leeds 1672-1920.
- Midgley, Clare (1992). Women Against Slavery: The British Campaigns, 1780-1870 (1st ed.). Routledge.
- Morgan, Simon (2007) A Victorian Woman’s Place: Public Culture in the Nineteenth Century. London: I.B. Tauris.
- The Thoresby Society (2020) ‘Francis Martineau Lupton (1848-1921) Businessman and Housing Reformer’. [Online] [Accessed 29/02/2024].
