William Horsell | |
|---|---|
 Horsell,c. 1857 | |
| Born | (1807-03-31)31 March 1807 Brinkworth, Wiltshire, England |
| Died | 23 December 1863(1863-12-23) (aged 56) Aboard theJust |
| Resting place | Lagos Cemetery, Nigeria |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Founding role in theVegetarian Society; promoting early vegetarianism andveganism; publishing the firstvegan cookbook |
| Spouse | |
William Horsell (31 March 1807 – 23 December 1863) was an Englishvegetarian activist, publisher, editor, andhydrotherapist who played a prominent role in several nineteenth-century reform movements, includingtemperance,phrenology, and earlyveganism. He was instrumental in the founding of theVegetarian Society in 1847 and served as its first secretary. Based in London, Horsell edited the Society's early journal, theTruth-Tester, later renamedThe Vegetarian Advocate, and operated a hydropathic infirmary inRamsgate, described as the first vegetarian hospital in Britain.
He published a wide range of literature on diet, health, andspiritualism, includingCholera Prevented by the Adoption of a Vegetarian Diet (1849),The Vegetarian Armed at All Points (1856), andThe Science of Cooking Vegetarian Food (1856), as well as the first knownvegan cookbook,Asenath Nicholson'sKitchen Philosophy for Vegetarians (1849). His wife,Elizabeth, was also a vegetarian and author of the vegan cookbook,The Penny Domestic Assistant and Guide to Vegetarian Cookery, which he published. In his later years, Horsell withdrew from public life and died of a fever in 1863 while on ananti-slavery mission toWest Africa.
William Horsell was born inBrinkworth, Wiltshire on 31 March 1807. Before the age of twenty, he was preaching thegospel and became atemperance activist in 1833.[1] He marriedElizabeth Gillett onVowchurch on 30 June 1834.[2]
In 1838, Horsell established the Anti-Nicotine Society atCongleton, Cheshire.[3] He also founded the Nature's Beverage Society in 1842, which aimed to promote abstinence from all artificial beverages.[4]
Alcott House was a progressive educational community founded in the 1830s that promoted a plant-food only diet. Its members established one of the earliest knownhydrotherapy centres in the United Kingdom and publishedThe Healthian, which included the earliest known printed use of the word "vegetarian" in an 1842 edition.[5] The publication also advocated a strictly plant-food diet.[6]
Around this time, Horsell, then living inRichmond, developed an interest invegetarianism. When the hydrotherapy centre relocated to the Northwood Villa Hydropathic Institute in Ramsgate, he moved with it and managed the institute as a vegetarian establishment that excluded animal products.[5] It has been described as the first vegetarian hospital in Britain.[7][8]
TheTruth-Tester was first published in England in 1845 as a temperance journal.[6] In 1846, it was purchased by Horsell fromF. R. Lees, who was preparing to emigrate to America.[9] It was reissued in September, incorporatingThe Healthian, as theTruth-Tester, Temperance Advocate, and Manx Healthian Journal. It was published fromDouglas, Isle of Man, where lower stamp duties applied, and sold for twopence monthly.[6][9]
In early 1847, a letter published in theTruth-Tester proposed the formation of a vegetarian society. This led to a "physiological conference" organised by William Oldham in July 1847 at theConcordium. The event was attended by up to 130 participants, includingBible ChristianJames Simpson, and resulted in several resolutions, including one to reconvene later that year.[10]
On 30 September 1847, a follow-up meeting was held at the Northwood Villa Hydropathic Institute in Ramsgate. Chaired byJoseph Brotherton, MP for Salford and a member of the Bible Christian Church, the meeting formally established theVegetarian Society. Simpson was elected president, William Oldham treasurer, and Horsell secretary.[10] Horsell managed the Society's affairs from his London office. He also operated the Vegetarian Depôt with his business partner, which served as a publishing and distribution centre for vegetarian literature.[11]
In 1848, the journal came under the auspices of the Vegetarian Society and was renamedThe Vegetarian Advocate.[12] It became the Society's official journal and described vegetarianism as "the next practical moral subject which is likely to call forth the virtuous energy of society".[12][13]
Differences in dietary views led to growing tensions between Horsell and Simpson, who was based in Manchester and favoured the inclusion of eggs and dairy in the vegetarian diet. In September 1849, Simpson launched theVegetarian Messenger as a rival publication to Horsell'sVegetarian Advocate.[11] Following these developments, Horsell stepped down as secretary in 1850, and theMessenger replaced theAdvocate as the Society's official journal.[10]
in November 1849, Horsell helped form a committee of London-based vegetarians, which adopted the name London Vegetarian Association (LVA) in 1852. The committee included figures such as Viettinghoff, Wiles, Hodgson,G. Dornbusch, and J. Shirley Hibberd, with Horsell serving as treasurer. The LVA promoted meals based on fruits and grains and avoided tea and coffee, practices influenced by the earlier Alcott House community, of which many of its members had also been part.[11]
The activities of the LVA were viewed with increasing concern by the Manchester leadership of the Vegetarian Society, who considered its rejection of dairy and eggs too extreme. The differences came to a head in early 1856, when Horsell was elected secretary of the LVA. Simpson responded by appointing a "local secretary" of his own choosing, more closely aligned with the Manchester viewpoint, after which the LVA's activities gradually declined.[11]
Horsell authored a popular manual on hydropathy and was an advocate ofphrenology.[13] He edited theJournal of Health & Phrenological Magazine, which featured contributions from the temperance lecturer and fellow phrenologistJabez Inwards.[14]
He also published literature on vegetarianism andspiritualism.[13] In 1849, he publishedAsenath Nicholson'sKitchen Philosophy for Vegetarians in London. A review inThe Vegetarian Advocate noted that "butter and eggs are excluded" from the recipes.[15] TheVegan Society has cited the book as the first knownvegan cookbook.[16]
His wife,Elizabeth, was also a vegetarian.[13] In 1850, he published her cookbook,The Penny Domestic Assistant and Guide to Vegetarian Cookery, which excluded all animal products.[17]
Horsell also served as the London agent for the American publishing houseFowler & Wells Company.[18]
In addition to his editorial and publishing work, Horsell wrote several books on vegetarianism, health, and natural living, includingThe Board of Health and Longevity (1845),Cholera Prevented by the Adoption of a Vegetarian Diet (1849),Original Views on Diet (1849),Letter to a Friend in Reply to the Question, What Is Vegetarianism? (1849),The Vegetarian Armed at All Points (1856), andThe Science of Cooking Vegetarian Food (1856). Some of these works were later translated into German.[19]
In his later years, Horsell gradually withdrew from active involvement in the reform movements he had supported. He died of a fever on 23 December 1863 during an anti-slavery mission toLagos andAbeokuta in present-day Nigeria. After lecturing at Cape Coast on the prospects of the African cotton trade, he died aboard theJust and was buried in Lagos Cemetery on Christmas Day by a fellow missionary. His death was reported in the vegetarian press, as well as theMedical Times and Gazette, theAnti-Slavery Reporter, andEvangelical Christendom.[20]
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