Clapham Sect

British  

/ ˈklæpəm /

noun

1. a group of early 19th-century Church of England evangelicals advocating personal piety, the abolition of slavery, etc

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Etymology

Origin of Clapham Sect

C19: named after Clapham, a district of London

Example Sentences

But one always seems to find that neither a wide range of cultivation, nor familiar access to the best Whig circles, had quite removed the stiffness and self-conscious precision of the Clapham Sect.

From Critical Miscellanies, Volume I (of 3) Essay 4: Macaulay by Morley, John

I think Stephen's article on the Clapham Sect the best thing he ever did, I do not think with you that the Claphamites were men too obscure for such delineation.

From Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay Volume 1 by Trevelyan, George Otto, Sir

The Clapham Sect, amongst whom he had been brought up, was already more than half Whig, in virtue of its attack upon the sacred institution of slavery by means of popular agitation.

From Hours in a Library New Edition, with Additions. Vol. II (of 3) by Stephen, Leslie, Sir

This became the admirable essay on the Clapham Sect.

From Studies in Literature by Morley, John

He had, however, wandered pretty widely outside the limits of the Clapham Sect.

From The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Bart., K.C.S.I. A Judge of the High Court of Justice by Stephen, Leslie, Sir