Commitment to Racial Justice
A Prayer to End Racism
Good and Gracious God, who loves and delights in all people, we stand in awe before You,
knowing that the spark of life within each person on earth is the spark of Your divine life.
Differences among cultures and races are multicoloured manifestations of Your Light.
May our hearts and minds be open to celebrate similarities and differences among our sisters and brothers.
We place our hopes for racial harmony in our committed action and in Your Presence in our Neighbour.
May all peoples live in Peace.
Amen.
From Lament to Action
Following the Black Lives Matter protests and the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol in 2020, Bath Abbey responded to calls to reflect on, and share its historic links to slavery in line with Church of England guidance and research (Racial Justice | The Church of England).
This includes the direction to undergo “a process of reflection and learning in recognition that it (the Church of England) has not been the welcoming ‘spiritual home’ it aspires to be for many people whose family heritage lies within Commonwealth countries and the wider world.”
Since then, Bath Abbey has worked to communicate its historic connections with slavery and injustice with transparency and honesty. There is much more to do to ensure that all visitors feel comfortable and welcome. We are grateful to be guided by advisors in communities who have, and continue to be, affected by racial injustice over many generations.
Please find Bath Abbey’s racial diversity statement here.
COMMITMENT TO RACIAL JUSTICE
Monuments, Empire & Slavery exhibition
In 2021, we held an exhibition in response to the increased awareness of the colonial links of many of the monuments in the Abbey. It acknowledged the need to communicate the Abbey’s connections with the British Empire, including its involvement with the transatlantic slave trade in the 1700s and 1800s, openly and honestly.
It was written in collaboration with members of Bath’s Black community and included an invitation to visitors from Revd Canon Guy Bridgewater, then Rector, to reflect on the issues it raises with the goal of learning from the past, and also working for a more equal and fair future for all.
The exhibition focused on the colonial links of three monuments as well as examining the presence of Black people and the Abolitionist movement in Georgian Bath.
View exhibition text and images here.
Dark Shadows by Mark De'Lisser
As part of our exhibition, Bath-based poet, Mark De’Lisser, wrote a poem, ‘Dark Shadows’, in response to some of the memorials in Bath Abbey with links to colonialism and slavery. You can the video of Mark performing his poem or read it below:
Beneath our feet they sleep their peaceful sleep the ones who reaped the benefits
Like the truth buried deep we’d thought we’d seen the end of it
But this history casts a dark shadow
As the voices of the victim’s echo
Through time
Reminding us never to forget or let go
To never wipe from our minds
Their pain
There is no shame in admitting that it makes you feel uncomfortable
But the atrocities committed for the expansion of the empire were incomprehensible
We swell with pride when we think about how we conquered the world
How we tamed the savage
How we took and we ravaged
Rarely taking the time to acknowledge
The cost
The ones who lost their freedoms
Their lives
Husbands and wives
Daughters and sons
All for profit and funds
All so some
could live well.
So, we are here today
Standing in the dark shadow’s casts by the monuments of those who benefited from slavery
And It would be so easy to once again turn our heads and walk away
But instead we’ve chosen to stay
To interrogate our history with complete transparency.
Their names may not be carved in stone
but from this day on we promise to honour those who fell victim to white supremacy
a legacy that has chased us through our history
so, if we really believe in equality
then we must examine our past unflinchingly
victims, benefiters, you and me
Monuments, Empire, and Slavery
All of this is our responsibility
All of this is our shared history
Bath Abbey's Work
- We celebrated national Windrush Day on 22nd June 2026 with striking artwork by artist Paula Ogun-Hector (see right), BEMSCA community photographs and talks curated by Samantha Walker, and a special Evensong. (Photos credit: Betty Bhandari)
- Our research website gives information on hundreds of named memorials and ledgerstones, which include people who benefited from the proceeds of the trafficking and enforced labour of people over several hundred years.
- We run a bi-annual training session for staff and volunteers on the stories behind our colonially-connected memorials, facilitated by Renée Jacobs of The Belonging Network
- We offer an audio tour ‘Memorials and Empire’ to visitors which covers 11 memorials. It was devised and narrated in partnership with artist Mark De’Lisser.
- Regular tours on this subject are delivered to the public and adult learning groups
- A guided tour and workshop with a supporting film is available for upper primary and secondary schools.
- We are the lead organisation for the Bath & Colonialism Action Group where local heritage organisations share information and learning on how to communicate their histories more fully and honestly.
Our commitment continues:
- To enable and celebrate diverse voices, working in collaboration with individuals and groups including Fairfield House, former home of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia; education equals, BEMSCA (Bath Ethnic Minority Senior Citizens Association), to create events, exhibitions and engagement projects.
- To uncover more stories of the Abbey’s colonial connections through the work of its Archive research volunteer team. We welcome new volunteers, especially those with Global Majority heritage, as their voices are under-represented in our organisation. To find out more contact learning@bathabbey.org
- To partner with other heritage organisations in Bath to make the city’s history in this area more transparent.
Coming soon:
A display in partnership with the Trust for Records of Enslavement and Emancipation, revealing newly discovered documents from the colonial era. From 11th January 2027 to 28th March 2027 in the Abbey’s Discovery Museum.
Useful external resources and research
Bath & Colonialism Archive project, funded by The National Archive Testbed Fund. This project between Bath Abbey, Bath Preservation Trust and the Bath Record Office worked with archive volunteers to research colonial references in the Bath Chronicle between 1760 and 1780. This resulted in a website and guidance on appropriate language when researching colonial histories.
Bath Assembly Rooms (National Trust) is researching its connections with people of colour. A recording of a talk by Dr Timothy Manningmoore, Inclusive Histories Curator
Bath Record Office:
- Hidden Presence in Bath. A collaborative research project exploring the presence of Black people in Georgian and Victorian Bath. Young people from the Black Families Education Support Group conducted research at Bath Record Office, and wrote audio pieces based on their findings which were incorporated into a film: https://hiddenpresencebath.wordpress.com/
- Black History Matters – Online Exhibition https://www.batharchives.co.uk/galleries/black-history-matters-online-exhibition
Article by Historian Roger Holly on the Anti-Slavery movement in Bath: Vol 14 – 06. Holly – The Anti Slavery Movement in Bath.pdf (historyofbath.org)