Hitchin has a long history of its residents standing up against slavery. This is partly because of the unusually large number of Quakers in the town, as Quakers have long campaigned against injustice, and especially slavery. As early as 1826, the townspeople had formed the Hitchin Anti-Slavery Society, and there is evidence for black people living here by 1840. Hitchin was not the only place where people were concerned about the injustice of slavery, with the Royston lawyer Joseph Beldam giving his services to the movement.
North Herts Museum’s excellent website has an article by Ros Allwood on the subject, and you can access it by clicking here.