A BICENTENARY celebration of Thomas Fowell Buxton entering parliament will be held at St Mary's Church in Weymouth town centre on Friday, June 29 between 2pm and 4pm.

Thomas Fowell Buxton was Weymouth and Melcombe Regis MP from 1818 to 1837.

From 1823 he led the battle for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire with emancipation finally occurring on August 1, 1834.

This was the culmination of his many philanthropic achievements in Parliament.

Friday (29) is the bicentenary of his election into parliament and the Thomas Fowell Buxton Society is commemorating this with a talk on the riotous nature of Georgian Elections given by Professor Carl Whitehouse.

There will then be an interval with refreshments available.

The afternoon will conclude with a short Evensong with hymns that would have been familiar to Buxton. Mr Paul Selley will be at the organ.

The talk is free and everyone is welcome. Call 01305 816097 for more information.