City of London Corporation asks public whether slave-owners’ statues should be removed from Square Mile

Consultation launched over landmarks as City grapples with historic sources of its wealth and power in response to Black Lives Matter

The City of London Corporation is asking the public for their views on whether statues of slave-owners should be removed from the Square Mile.

In the latest sign of Britain grappling with its past in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, the 800-year-old body that governs London’s financial district launched a three-month consultation on Tuesday asking for people’s views on statues, street names and other landmarks which celebrate former slave owners.

The Corporation wants people to put forward suggestions on what to do with the landmarks, including whether to remove them, “re-interpret them” or leave them as they stand.

A number of Britain’s most well-known financial institutions, including Barclays, HSBC, insurance market Lloyds of London, and the Bank of England have made statements in recent weeks about wealth that they and their founders historically generated from the forced labour of African slaves.

The City grew into an international financial hub in between the 17th and 19th centuries in part through funding and insuring vessels that took slaves from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean before returning with commodities such as sugar and cotton which fuelled the Industrial Revolution.

That history is reflected in the urban geography of the Square Mile, in place names, buildings and statues that commemorate those made wealthy by the transatlantic slave trade.

One statue that has recently attracted particular attention is that of William Beckford in the Guildhall.

Beckford, sometimes referred to in his day as the “uncrowned king of Jamaica”, amassed a fortune from 20,000 acres of plantations on the island. He was also Lord Mayor of London in the 1760s and MP for the City of London.

In June this year, the government rejected a petition to remove Beckford's statue, saying it was a decision for the local authority.

Opponents of removing statues claim that such plans amount to an attempt to “erase history”.

Campaigners have argued that statues of slave-owners should not be left in place as figures to be venerated, but should instead be placed in museums where their full historical context can be made clear. Andrien Meyers, co-chair of the City of London Corporation’s Tackling Racism Taskforce, said: “We know that historical symbols continue to have an impact today and we want to understand how people feel about this aspect of our cultural history and whether such landmarks should be re-sited, reinterpreted or retained as they stand.

“We want to hear as broad a range of opinions as possible from City residents, workers, learners, visitors and other stakeholders before any decision is made on how we should deal with this issue.”

People can take part in the consultation, which runs until Tuesday, 24 November, online at cityoflondon.gov.uk/historiclandmarksconsultation