The Bishop of London, colonialism and transatlantic slavery:
Research brief for a temporary exhibition, spring 2022 and information to input into permanent displays
Introduction
Fulham Palace is one of the earliest and most intriguing historic powerhouses situated alongside the Thames and the last one to be fully restored. It dates back to 704AD and for over thirteen centuries was owned by the Bishop of London. The Palace site is of exceptional archaeological interest and has been a scheduled monument since 1976. The buildings are listed as Grade I and II. The 13 acres of botanical gardens, with plant specimens introduced here from all over the world in the late 17th century, are Grade II* listed.
Fulham Palace Trust has run the site since 2011. We are restoring it to its former glory so that we can fulfil our vision to engage people of all ages and from all walks of life with the many benefits the Palace and gardens have to offer. Our site-wide interpretation, inspired learning and engagement programmes, and richly-textured exhibitions reveal insights, through the individual stories of the Bishops of London, into over 1,300 years of English history. In 2019 we completed a £3.8m capital project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to restore and renew the historic house and garden.
The Trust opens the Palace and gardens seven days a week free of charge. In 2019/20 we welcomed 340,000 visitors. We manage a museum, café, an award-winning schools programme (engaging over 5,640 pupils annually) and we stage a wide range of cultural events.
Temporary exhibition - background information
Just before Covid 19 struck we had begun to develop our next temporary exhibition. We envisaged Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London 1787 1809, and his circle would be the focus of it. In his sermon of 1783, 'The civilization, improvement, and conversion of the Negro slaves in the British West-India islands recommended', Porteus raised the unfair treatment of enslaved people on a plantation owned by the Church of England, and argued that their conversion to Anglican Christianity would offer them a better life. He became involved in the movement to abolish the transatlantic slave trade, taking part in debates in the House of Lords which opposed it. His circle included the influential abolitionists James Ramsey, Hannah More and William Wilberforce (More and Wilberforce visited Porteus at Fulham Palace).
Our volunteer archive research group have been researching Porteus and his circle during lockdown. However, as this work has developed and we have consulted academics we began to feel that our exhibition themes ought to be much wider and impact our interpretation more broadly.
Research requirements and outputs
We now require the help of a specialist researcher with expertise in Church of England and colonial history to help us finalise our themes and the key questions we should aim to answer. The research will inform the interpretation for our temporary exhibition. We also envisage research outputs on these challenging histories informing our permanent displays and public programming. They may also be used to facilitate work in-house to support our volunteers in developing their knowledge and confidence in engaging visitors with potentially divisive topics.
The specialist researcher is required to:
Help us to identify the evidenced stories that we should be sharing with our visitors, based on the research topics and questions in this brief, and actions arising from conversations with the project team
Help us identify which research topics can be pursued in-house by our volunteer research group
Provide a timeline of key events which highlight key contributions to the colonial project, specifically the transatlantic slave trade
Provide a fully referenced summation of the core stories, placing them in their historical context, quoting key primary and secondary source materials
Provide a current bibliography on the Church of England, Bishops of London, colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade
Themes and research questions
There are four headings under which we are seeking to commission research:
1. The Church of England, colonialism and slavery
We anticipate this research would be drawn from secondary material. We are asking for an account of the CofE's historic relationship to colonialism and transatlantic slavery that will provide a context for the rest of the content in the temporary exhibition. This account would include:
(I) Theological and political support for colonialism and slavery. (II) Direct ownership of enslaved people and evidence (if any) of financial links to the Royal African Co., the East India Co. and the South Sea Co. (III) Evidence (if any) for the emergence of support for amelioration of slavery and eventually for abolition.
Draft questions: Did the Church of England slot into the philosophical, political and socio-economic structures of colonialism? What were Anglican views on and involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and slavery during the 17th and 18th centuries, including wnership of the Codrington and Consett plantations, Barbados? What was the context of nonconformist Christian responses to slavery, and were non-conformists more supportive of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade than the CofE?
How did CofE interpretations of the Bible change, i.e. was it used to justify slavery initially, and later used by abolitionists to make the case for abolition?
2. The Bishopric of London, colonialism and transatlantic slavery
This account would
House of Lords. It would focus on:
(I) The institutional connections and especially the responsibility of the Bishops of London for the colonies. (II) The sustaining of slavery under the aegis of the Bishopric of London. (III) The role and contribution of 'colonial clergy' and the funding of church building in the 18th and early 19thC.
Draft questions: To what extent did the Bishop of London position, as CofE leader and colonial administrator of British overseas colonies, make him the most influential figure in the CofE in relation to colonialism?
3. The Bishops of London and Fulham Palace, colonialism and transatlantic slavery
This account will focus on individual Bishops of London (both before and after Beilby Porteus), on Fulham Palace as a physical centre of colonial administration, and its gardens as physical reflections of global collecting practices.
Draft questions: Did any Bishops of London have financial links to the Royal African Co. (they could be close to the royal family), the East India Co. or the South Sea Co.?
Were any of the Bishops of London aware of revolts by enslaved people on plantations, and if so, what was their response, if any?
Did any Bishops of London and their families own enslaved people?
At which points in its history was Fulham Palace the administra
the administration carried out by the Bishop and his staff?
m the transatlantic slave trade?
Relevant C17 and C18 Bishops of London to explore include:
William Juxon (1633 46) Family shares in East India Co.?
Henry Compton (1675 1713) Was his collection of botanical specimens reliant on existence of tobacco plantations in Virginia? He was close to royal family and William and Mary in particular. Any involvement in the Royal African or South Seas Companies? Links to Bristol-born slave trader Edward Colston (1636 1721), member of Royal African Company?
John Robinson (1713 -23) Did he build a significant colonial administration? Supported the work of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, approving their proposal to use Christopher Codrington's bequest to establish a college in Barbados
Edmund Gibson (1723 -48) and Robert Lowth (1777 1787)
4. Beilby Porteus (1787-1809) and later Bishops of London, colonialism and transatlantic slavery
This account will cover the extent and limitations of critiques of slavery and the slave trade. Context might include former African slaves living in or visiting the capital, e.g Olaudah Equiano (c.1745-1797), Quobna Ottobah Cugoano (1757-Unknown), Ignatius Sancho (c1729- 1780) (whose Letters Porteus subscribed to), the influence of uprisings and revolts led by enslaved people in the Caribbean, the French Revolution.
We anticipate being able to cover some of the Porteus research in-house.
Beilby Porteus draft questions: Why was Porteus appointed Bishop of London by Pitt? Was he aligned with establishment amelioration, a fit for the Bench of Bishops ?
When and why did Porteus become interested in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade? Was he one of the first Anglican leaders to get involved, or was his involvement later than others? What part, if any, did Porteus (or other senior churchmen?) play in the British Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, founded by Sharp and Clarkson?
What was his position relative to the stance of the CofE, e.g. did his views diverge from or parallel those of his Anglican peers within the House of Lords? Is he best understood as a progressive voice in a system that he sought to ameliorate rather than destroy, and if so, what did amelioration mean for him (and does that differ from what is understood by that term today)?
parents were Virginian planters. Did the family own enslaved African servants (his), and if so, did they, like many planters relocating to the UK, bring enslaved people with them (in which case Porteus would have grown up with them)?
Which abolitionists within his circle or the wider sphere influence Porteus particularly, and did his views on enslaved people and slavery change throughout this life?
W key contributions to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade? 1783 sermon, speeches and voting record in the House of Lords, an openness to working with non-conformists, support for abolitionist members of his circle?
To what end did Porteus found The Society for the Conversion and Religious Instruction and Education of the Negro Slaves in the West Indies? What were its aims for Christianised enslaved people and did these differ from those of non-conformist missionaries? What role did Porteus play in the development, publication and circulation of The Negro Bible?
Why was the enslaved Beilby Porteus on Barbados named thus (appears on Slave Registers 1823, 1834)? Later Bishops of London draft questions:
In brief, what was the context for the period between the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and the abolition of slavery in 1833? Influence of slave owning classes and white West Indians, a Tory government and some rotten boroughs controlled by plantation owners strong? Anti-slavery society formed 1823 (influence of abolition campaigning and lecture tours), Christmas Rebellion 1831, apprenticeship system applied to ex-slaves, (Oxford movement?)
What was the involvement, if any, of Bishops Randolph, Howley and Blomfield in transatlantic slavery?
What were their transatlantic slavery-related contributions, if any, as members of the bench of Bishops in the House of Lords (amelioration resolutions 1823 & 26, Reform Act 1832)?
Were any Bishops of London or their close families recipients of compensation following the Slave Compensation Act of 1837?
5. The Legacy of colonialism in the Church of England
This research will be done in-house.
When did the CofE start appointing African ministers?
What is the contemporary impact of colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade and slavery on the CofE and how is it being addressed?
How is Fulham Palace Trust addressing colonialism and the impact of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery?
Timescale
Project start and inception meeting late June Monthly project meetings Deadline for the presentation of results 29 October
Available budget £20k