City of London statue linked to slavery gets explanatory plaque

The statue of William Beckford will have a plaque added in the new year

A plaque will be fixed to a statue of an eminent 18th-century slave-owner, explaining his links to slavery.

The depiction of plantation-owner William Beckford, who served two terms as lord mayor, is inside the City of London Corporation's headquarters.

The organisation previously agreed to "retain and explain" the statue.

Chris Hayward, the City's policy chairman, said the plaque would address the City's "historic involvement in the horrific slave trade".

The William Beckford statue sits in the Grade I listed great hall in Guildhall and listed building consent is required to do the work.

He was lord mayor of London in the late 1700s and accrued wealth from plantations in Jamaica that were worked by African slaves.

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A plaque will also be added to a statue of a former MP, Sir John Cass, which did not need the same permissions due to its less prominent location within the Guildhall.

Sir John was a 17th and 18th-century MP and philanthropist. He was also a major figure in the Royal African Company, which was heavily involved in the Atlantic slave economy.

Both plaques will be installed in the new year.

An explanation of Sir John Cass's links to slavery will be added to his statue

Munsur Ali, who chairs the corporation's culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: "Whether cast in lead or sculpted in marble, the statues to Beckford and Cass signify a deeply shameful period in the City's history.

"My colleagues at Guildhall are working closely with many talented individuals and organisations to ensure that this project is handled very sensitively and that, no matter how we try to contextualise this period in our history, these two men's actions are called out and condemned in the strongest possible terms."

The City corporation has partnered with an arts and heritage charity, Culture&, to commission designers, poets and writers to develop a response to the statues, which will be on the plaques.

Dr Errol Francis, artistic director of Culture&, said that it was an "honour" to help make the "important project happen".

The London Metropolitan University's School of Art, Architecture and Design previously had a replica of the Sir John Cass statue on display.

It was removed in 2020 following Black Lives Matter protests across the world in the wake of George Floyd's death.

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