91Èȱ¬ Radio Leicester's Sandra Herbert examines the lives of the four men who met regularly at Rothley Temple. Joined by Rothley author Terry Sheppard, sheÌýexplores the faith and the friendship which provided the backdrop to the drafting of the legislation to abolish the slave trade. Thomas Babington
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Rothley Temple is a manor house on the edge of RothleyÌývillage in Leicestershire, which was once home to the infamous Knights Templar. The Babington family acquired the house in the 16th century, and the MP for Leicester from 1800-1818, Thomas Babington, lived there until his death in 1837. He met leading abolitionist William Wilberforce at Cambridge University and they spent much time at Rothley Temple working together on the Bill to Abolish the Slave Trade. Thomas Gisborne
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Thomas Gisborne lived in the room next door to William Wilberforce at Cambridge University, and they were very good friends. Gisborne was an intellectual and could have gone into government like Wilberforce, but decided to be a humble parish priest. He had a strong sense of biblical justice and he didn't want to benefit financially (like many wealthy people in Britain did) from what he saw as a barbaric trade. He helped Wilberforce to formulate his ideas on abolition and often talked late into the night with him. Zachary Macauley
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Scotsman Zachary Macauley was the brother of Thomas Babington's wife. Babington helped rescue Macauley from the mental trauma of working as an overseer on a Jamaican slave plantation when he came to recuperate at Rothley Temple. He became devoted to the antislavery cause and helped work on the Bill to Abolish the Slave Trade through collecting data, providing evidence and offering his first-hand experience. The room where the abolitionists worked has been named after him to mark his contribution: The Macauley Room. William Wilberforce
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William Wilberforce is one of the most famous abolitionists and the MP that brought the Bill to Abolish the Slave Trade to Parliament. He used Rothley Temple as a sort of holiday-home and his friends Babington and Gisborne are credited with keeping the outgoing Wilberforce on the straight and narrow. They admired his desire to tackle big issues, but when he became downcast they supported him and encouraged him to proceed. Although he often gets most of the credit for the abolition of the slave trade, Babington, Gisborne and Macauley were all instrumental too. | 
