Joseph Hardcastle

Joseph Hardcastle (1752–1819) was an English merchant. One of the founders of the Missionary Society, later the London Missionary Society, he devoted time and money to his affairs, becoming his first treasurer. Hardcastle was born in Leeds, where he lived until the age of 15, after which he moved to London to join his uncle's business. He eventually became a merchant,  still based in London. During his stay in London, he lived on the Stairs of the Old Swan before moving to Hutcham House in Deptford and then to the rural village of Surrey, in the area now called New Cross Gate in Lewisham. Thomas Clarkson, an abolitionist of slavery, was a frequent visitor to Hutcham House. Here, Clarkson wrote most of his story about the abolition of the slave trade and met his future wife, Mrs. Hardcastle's niece. Joseph Hardcastle was especially active in organizing missionary expeditions to Africa and created schemes by which missionary work could be self-financed through sales artifacts brought by the missionaries. Hardcastle is buried in the nonconformist cemetery of Banhill Fields in London. The grave is located in the northern part of the T-plan, next to the red granite obelisk to Joseph Hart. Joseph’s life story was published in Notes by Joseph Hardcastle, the First Treasurer of the London Missionary Society: A Record of the Past for His Descendants, written by his last surviving daughter, Emma Corsby Hardcastle, and published in 1860. Several roads in the modern New Cross Gate reflect his time, especially Joseph Hardcastle Close.