Thomas Babington was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He was a member of the Clapham Sect

Clapham Sect

The Clapham Sect or Clapham Saints were a group of influential like-minded Church of England social reformers based in Clapham, London at the beginning of the 19th century...

, alongside more famous abolitionists such as William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...

 and Hannah More

Hannah More

Hannah More was an English religious writer, and philanthropist. She can be said to have made three reputations in the course of her long life: as a poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, as a writer on moral and religious subjects, and as a practical...

. An active anti-slavery campaigner, he had reservations about the participation of women associations in the movement.

Thomas Babington inherited Rothley and other land in Leicestershire in 1776. He was educated at Rugby School

Rugby School

Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...

 and St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College, Cambridge

St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....

  where he met William Wilberforce and other prominent anti-slavery agitators. In 1787 he married Jean Macaulay, sister of Zachary Macaulay

Zachary Macaulay

Zachary Macaulay was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of the Rev. John Macaulay Zachary Macaulay (2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a slavery abolitionist and campaigner.-Early life:Macaulay was born in Inveraray, Scotland, the son of...

, a leader of the anti-slavery movement in the early 19th century. Babington was an evangelical Christian of independent means who devoted himself to a number of good causes. He offered to pay half the cost of smallpox inoculation for people in Rothley in 1784-5. He set up a local Friendly Society to purchase corn for sale to the poor at a lower price to improve the lives and diet of his estate workers. Trusts he set up to provide housing in local villages still exist today. He supported moves to extend voting rights to more people. He was High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1780. He was MP for Leicester

Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.-History:...

from 1800 to 1818. He died at Rothley Temple in 1837 at the age of 78, and is buried in the chapel there.