New memorial for Ignatius Sancho
Saturday, 14th October 2023
Charles Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729-1780) who escaped from a background of slavery and rose to distinction in Georgian London, having his portrait painted by society artist, Thomas Gainsborough, will be honoured alongside his wife, Anne Osborne when a new memorial is dedicated in their memory in St Margaret’s Church, next to Westminster Abbey on Tuesday 19th December.
“We look forward to celebrating Ignatius Sancho and Anne Osborne in the church where some of the most significant moments of their lives took place. In an autumn season of events, we will reflect on human dignity.
It is a dignity that we all enjoy as a gift of God in creation and which we see perfected in a man rejected, despised and suffering. It is a dignity which Sancho claimed proudly as an ‘African’, a dignity that must be celebrated and which only flourishes in us when we see it in others.”
“It is important that Ignatius Sancho and Anne Osborne will be honoured with a memorial in St Margaret’s Church and, it is especially significant for Anne as the role of women in history can often be overlooked."
Dignity season
The celebration of the lives of Ignatius Sancho and Anne Osborne are part of ‘Dignity’, an autumn season of events by the Abbey to remember the contribution of those whose impact on national life may have been overlooked or forgotten.