EPISODE · Jul 8, 2026 · 15 MIN
House on James Street: Episode five - "From Ann to Sarah"
from Radio Bimshire Presents · host Radio Bimshire
In House on James Street, episode five – “From Ann to Sarah”, a free coloured woman in Bridgetown, Anne Gill opens her home to persecuted Methodists and finds herself at the centre of a political firestorm that reaches all the way to London. White mobs attack her congregation, Barbadian magistrates look the other way, and a reluctant governor is forced to answer to the Colonial Office and Parliament. Drawing on the late historian Professor Pedro Welch's 2021 lecture for the National Library Service and documents from the National Archives in Britain, this penultimate episode follows Ann Gill’s struggle from a front room on James Street to a debate on the floor of the House of Commons in June 1825, where MPs demand protection for the Methodist mission in Barbados. We hear how she becomes known in the Methodist tradition as “Sarah”, how her courage helps keep the church alive on the island, and how her story forces the British Empire to confront where it stands on persecution, slavery, and religious freedom. Produced and presented by Julius GittensSeries theme music: Ralph Vaughan Williams - "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" - US Army Strings (public domain)
What this episode covers
In House on James Street, episode five – “From Ann to Sarah”, a free coloured woman in Bridgetown, Anne Gill opens her home to persecuted Methodists and finds herself at the centre of a political firestorm that reaches all the way to London. White mobs attack her congregation, Barbadian magistrates look the other way, and a reluctant governor is forced to answer to the Colonial Office and Parliament. Drawing on the late historian Professor Pedro Welch's 2021 lecture for the National Library Service and documents from the National Archives in Britain, this penultimate episode follows Ann Gill’s struggle from a front room on James Street to a debate on the floor of the House of Commons in June 1825, where MPs demand protection for the Methodist mission in Barbados. We hear how she becomes known in the Methodist tradition as “Sarah”, how her courage helps keep the church alive on the island, and how her story forces the British Empire to confront where it stands on persecution, slavery, and religious freedom. Produced and presented by Julius GittensSeries theme music: Ralph Vaughan Williams - "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" - US Army Strings (public domain)
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House on James Street: Episode five - "From Ann to Sarah"
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