Blue plaque for social reformer John Rutter of Shaftesbury

The prestigious marker in honour of the author, printer and political and social reformer, will be unveiled at 12 noon by Angus Campbell, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Dorset.

The blue plaque will be the first in Shaftesbury to recognise the life of an individual.

It will be erected on the front wall of the premises occupied by John Rutter from 1817 as his printing and publishing business, public subscription lending library and, later, chemist’s shop.

The premises, No 2 The Commons, are currently owned by Ship and Sherry Limited and leased to HSBC Bank.

Dorset Council has granted Listed Building Consent for the erection of this blue plaque, the cost of which is being borne by the Shaftesbury & District Historical Society, which owns and manages Gold Hill Museum.

A financial contribution has also been made by Shaftesbury Town Council. The blue plaque recognises John Rutter’s life as a political and social reformer and because of his contribution to Shaftesbury.

The erection of the blue plaque follows the publication in 2018 of a book, The Turbulent Quaker of Shaftesbury, which describes the life of John Rutter.

The book is available for sale at Gold Hill Museum. In short, John Rutter was a political and social reformer, who contributed so much to Shaftesbury during his short life.

He was part of the movement which led, in the 1830s, to major reforms in the country: The Great Reform Act (1832), the Slavery Act (1833), the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) and the Municipal Corporations Act (1835).

He founded schools and he championed the provision of utilities and amenities in Shaftesbury including gas lighting, water supply and market facilities in conjunction with the 2nd Marquess of Westminster. Of current national interest, he was a passionate speaker on the abolition of slavery, as well as a promoter of peace.

This blue plaque will be the first to be erected in Shaftesbury recognising the life, and contribution to the community, of an individual.

It contains the following words: "JOHN RUTTER, 1796-1851, Printer, publisher, author, political and social reformer, abolitionist, public servant, philanthropist and lawyer worked here."

Orphaned at the age of 10, John Rutter was born in Bristol and came to Shaftesbury in 1811, aged 15 years old, to be apprenticed to a linen draper. When he was 21 he came into a legacy from his father’s will and bought a printing press. He established himself at premises in the High Street (now Number 2, The Commons) as a ‘Stationer, Bookseller, Binder, Letter-press and Copper-plate Printer’.

In 1818 John Rutter wrote, published and printed his first work, a booklet entitled The History of Cranborn Chace (sic) and of the Dispute concerning its Boundaries. But his Quaker beliefs and his desire for equality and fairness came to the fore when researching the plight of those less fortunate than himself and he wrote A Brief Sketch of the State of the Poor in Shaftesbury, which he published and printed in 1819. This was a shocking and revealing account of the appalling conditions in which some of Shaftesbury’s residents lived. As an author he also wrote guides to Wardour Castle and villages in Somerset. His masterpiece, Delineations of Fonthill & its Abbey, stands out as one of the best examples of 19th century architectural publications.

A passionate defender of the oppressed and the disadvantaged, he championed political reform. Between 1820 and 1835, he introduced candidates to fight in the General Elections in Shaftesbury. He was hounded, tried and fined by the establishment of which the Mayor was also the Chief Magistrate and Lord Grosvenor’s agent. But he fought on and was described as ‘The Turbulent Quaker of Shaftesbury’.

John Rutter was a founder member of the Shaftesbury Union and the House of Industry, for the unemployed, homeless and the poor. He led anti-slavery campaigns and promoted total abstinence. He established the first subscription and public lending library in Shaftesbury. He championed education (founding many schools), Bible reading and the peace movement.

Despite the passing of the Slavery Act in 1835, intended to abolish slavery in the British Empire, indentured apprenticeships of bonded labour prevented complete emancipation in the West Indies. Rutter spoke frequently about this at public meetings and he drafted a petition to Parliament entitled Negro Apprenticeship Slavery and Address to Queen, which was approved by the Shaftesbury Town Council at its meeting on 18th May 1838.

In the final 15 years of his life he qualified and practised as a solicitor (‘so as to better represent the poor’) and founded the firm of Rutter & Son which family name continues as solicitors in Shaftesbury, Gillingham, Sturminster Newton and Wincanton.