Guardians: How a Coffee House Meeting Sparked the RSPCA

In 1824, a group of 22 reform-minded men gathered at Old Slaughter’s Coffee House on St. Martin’s Lane in London with a bold ambition: to challenge society’s indifference to the suffering of animals. Among them stood Irish Member of Parliament Richard Martin, a man whose compassion had already earned him the nickname “Humanity Dick.” He had recently succeeded in passing the world’s first legislation to protect animals—The Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act of 1822, often called Martin’s Act. Though a legislative victory, the Act lacked real enforcement. What was needed now was a public movement.
The coffee house setting was no accident. Old Slaughter’s was known as a gathering place for artists, thinkers, and reformers, and it provided a setting where conversation could spark action. The men assembled there shared both outrage at everyday cruelty toward animals—particularly in London’s markets and streets—and a sense of moral duty rooted in Enlightenment ideals and Christian ethics. They envisioned a society not only guided by laws, but by compassion.
Martin had seen too much suffering to let the 1822 Act be ignored. He had witnessed cattle being beaten, horses collapsing from overwork, and animals treated as if they were disposable tools. He even brought abused animals into courtrooms to demonstrate their mistreatment to skeptical magistrates. But one man—even a determined one—could not change public behavior alone.
That June meeting at Old Slaughter’s led to the founding of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which would receive royal patronage from Queen Victoria in 1840 and become the RSPCA. Among the founding members were other influential reformers such as Reverend Arthur Broome, who took on the role of honorary secretary and even went into debt to finance the early operations, and supporters like William Wilberforce, famed for his work to abolish the slave trade.
Their agenda was clear and radical for the time: to enforce anti-cruelty laws, educate the public about humane treatment, and reshape public morality around kindness to animals. They pioneered the idea that animals had moral value and deserved protection—an idea that would inspire future generations of activists and legislation across the globe.
Throughout its history, the RSPCA has not only shaped public policy but also stirred the imaginations of writers, poets, and artists who were moved by its mission. The Victorian era in particular saw a surge in literature advocating for animal welfare. Authors like Charles Dickens highlighted cruelty to animals in works such as Oliver Twist, reflecting a growing moral consciousness fostered by the SPCA’s visibility. Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, perhaps the most iconic animal welfare novel ever written, was directly inspired by the cruelty faced by working horses and helped shift public sentiment in favor of humane treatment.
Poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and William Cowper also echoed animal compassion in their verses, often framing kindness to animals as a moral obligation of civilized society. Into the 20th and 21st centuries, visual artists and filmmakers—like Lucian Freud, Banksy, and animal-themed documentarians such as David Attenborough—have portrayed animals in ways that invite empathy and reflection, frequently aligning with RSPCA values.
The RSPCA’s advocacy has also inspired children’s literature, visual campaigns, stage plays, and public installations. Artists and storytellers have continually amplified the organization’s message, embedding its ethos into the cultural fabric and inviting each generation to consider the lives of animals through a more compassionate lens.