[1] In 1787, following a conversion to evangelical Christianity, Wilberforce became a vocal abolitionist and championed anti-slavery causes in the House of Commons.

[2] While Clarks was also responsible for overseeing the erection of the monument, the actual building was carried out by Myers and Wilson.

[2] On 1 August 1834, the date on which the Slavery Abolition Act went into effect,[1] the monument's cornerstone was laid by Richard Bethell MP.

[4] During the move, tourists could pay to climb the scaffolding at both locations as an observation deck, with the money raised going to a local charity.

[2] On 19 September 1935, the gardens were opened by Herbert Morrison and the monument was rededicated by the wife of Arnold Reckitt, Wilberforce's great-granddaughter.

[1] In 2020, during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom, Professor Trevor Burnard, director of the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation at the University of Hull, defended the monument and stated that while other monuments were under review due to their subjects' connections to the Atlantic slave trade, Wilberforce stood in direct opposition to slavery and, according to Burnard, he "knew that Black Lives Mattered".

[1] At the top of the column is a square capital carrying a corniced tholobate atop which a statue of William Wilberforce, carved out of gritstone,[2] stands.