John and Henry Venn the Younger.

If the anglo-catholic movement takes its name from Oxford, the evangelical revival ought to be named for Cambridge, where almost all its leaders were educated - including the Venns. Instead, a geographical quirk has bequeathed us 'the Clapham sect.'

The Venns are an incredible family. The elder Henry Venn (1725-1797) was the son of a high church parson, and became an evangelical only after his marriage in 1750. He was a curate at Clapham from 1754, then vicar of Huddersfield from 1769 till 1771, when he moved to Yelling in Huntingdon, close enough to Cambridge to inspire such young men as Charles Simeon. His influential writing and preaching show that he was no gloomy Calvinist.

His son, John Venn (1759-1813), was rector of Clapham from 1792 until his death, and was a central figure in the Clapham sect which gathered round his famous parishioner William Wilberforce. He played an active part in the anti-slavery campaign, and was one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society in 1797.

Henry Venn junior (1796-1873) continued the family business. After holding various livings, including St John's Holloway 1834-46, he resigned in 1846 to work for the CMS, and was its honorary secretary for 32 years of significant growth and development. A precursor of 'Traidcraft', he encouraged trade in West African goods rather than slaves, and brought Africans to Britain to study methods of production.

The next two generations of Venns are not commemorated, but both were masters of colleges. John Venn the logician was the inventor of 'Venn diagrams', and with his son produced the official reference book of Cambridge students.

Charles Plouviez