The City of Wells and Transatlantic Slavery

A number of institutions and individuals from the City of Wells have come together to research the history of connections between Wells, the transatlantic slave-trade and British slavery in the Caribbean.

The institutions involved so far are Wells Cathedral, Wells Cathedral School, Wells & Mendip Museum, St. Cuthbert’s parish church, The Bishop’s Palace, City Archives, Somerset African Caribbean Network, local historians and interested individuals.

Each institution is conducting research into connections relevant to them, and a local historian is also working with historians from the Caribbean to understand how the British slave-trade and slavery is connected to Wells, the conditions enslaved people endured on forced-labour plantations, and the continuing legacies of British slavery in our present. Professor James Clark of the University of Exeter and Rob Mitchell of the Black Families Education Support Group are acting as mentors for the group as well as undertaking aspects of research.

The research will be brought together in a variety of ways to make it accessible to a wide audience, including interpretation at particular sites of interest and a map to locate these, a conference on 16 March 2023 and a dedicated website to house the research. 

Ongoing research by members of the group has uncovered significant and enduring ties between the city of Wells and the histories of British slavery. This is a complex and sprawling story that entangles the history of Africa, the Caribbean, and Wells firmly together. The information that has emerged clearly and conclusively demonstrates the multiple ways in which slavery “came home” to Wells and its continuing legacies for the city today. Slave-owning families and their descendants living in or close to Wells were instrumental in the life and politics of the city from the eighteenth-century right through to our present in the twenty-first century. They, and others, shaped the city and its history in countless ways, through politics, religion, banking, land-ownership, education and beyond. Important institutions and landmarks in the city of Wells – be it Wells Cathedral, Wells Cathedral School, Vicars’ Close, St. Cuthbert’s Church, and many more – all have their own fundamental connections to the histories of slavery. 

Jessica Witchell, Wells Cathedral Learning Manager and convenor of the project group said: “This is a piece of our history that has been long-ignored and which it is important to tell alongside the rest of the Cathedral’s story and the story of the city. Across the whole project we have tried to engage with all sides and perspectives of these challenging histories. A very rich and intricate story has emerged, to name but a few, Canons at the Cathedral whose wealth came from slave ownership, the relationship between the Wells Theological College that was based in Vicars Close and the Codrington Theological College and sugar plantation in Barbados, and the City’s historical links with the Tudway family who owned sugar plantations in Parham, Antigua. On sugar plantations like these, the estate managers and overseers would force enslaved people to grow and harvest sugar cane without rest or care for their well-being.

"To try to understand more, we have been in touch with historians in Antigua and Barbados and learnt of stories of enslaved resistance on the plantations & the current discussions about reparations. We have also learnt of the active involvement of two Bishops of Bath and Wells in the abolition movement, as well as the visits of formerly enslaved African American abolitionists to the local area. Unlike Bristol, this side of the history of Wells is not widely known about and the conference, together with a city-wide trail map and dedicated website is aimed at raising awareness of it.”

On 15 October 2022, members of the Wells and Transatlantic Slavery working group met with Paterson Joseph, Actor and Author at an event hosted by the Wells Cathedral School and organised by Wells Festival of Literature. The photo was taken in Cedars House which is now part of Wells Cathedral School (formerly known as The Cedars and owned by the Tudway family).

Paterson Joseph has recently written ‘The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho’, a former slave who became the first black person of African origin to vote in parliamentary elections in Britain. Paterson is interested in the Wells and Transatlantic Slavery project and will be a speaker on 16 March 2023.

This is an ongoing research project, so please do let us know if you have any information or family history that may be of use to this city-wide initiative by emailing legaciesofslavery@wellscathedral.org.uk. 

The conference is on 16 March 2023 at Cedars Hall, Wells and is open to the public and 6th form students. Tickets for the conference will be on sale via Eventbrite soon.