News / Black History
Exhibition to highlight Bristolians who profited from slavery
A travelling exhibition will feature 96 plaques of people from Bristol who were paid compensation for loss of “property” following the abolition of slavery.
The 50 Plaques and Places exhibition at Ashton Court Mansion is organised by Transatlantic Trafficked Enslaved Africa Corrective Historical Plaques (TTEACH Plaques).
The 1833 Slavery Abolition Act abolished slavery in most parts of the British Empire. As a condition of this act, former enslavers were paid reparations which ultimately amounted to £20m.
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Those paid included Alderman Thomas Daniel, an ancestor of Emily Greville Smyth who, alongside her husband John Greville Smyth, was an owner of Ashton Court.
Daniel, who in the 19th century was known as the “king of Bristol”, owned considerable land in Barbados including a plantation where an enslaved ancestor of the founder of TTEACH Plaques was born.
TTEACH Plaques was founded to “correct the historical narrative” – photo: TTEACH Plaques
TTEACH Plaques was founded in 2020 to “correct the historical narrative by installing plaques at sites linked to the enslavement of African people”.
They launched their 50 Plaques & Places exhibition in 2023 to spotlight 50 sites in Britain and across the world that have benefitted from the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The first two 50 Plaques & Places exhibits were in London – at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill and at Goldsmiths University.
The exhibit at Ashton Court will be TTEACH Plaques’ third.
On bringing the exhibit to Ashton Court, Gloria Daniel, the founder of TTEACH Plaques said: “50 Plaques & Places is a powerful act of reclamation, led by the descendants of those who were once enslaved.
“By bringing these plaques to Ashton Court Mansion – a site with its own painful connections to this history – we are forcing a confrontation with the truth and in doing this, we honour the memories of our African and Caribbean born ancestors who experienced unspeakable, terror and violence at the hands of these people with the endorsement and backing of the British government, the church and the crown.”
Following the exhibit, TTEACH Plaques will unveil a memorial dedicated to John Isaac – Gloria Daniel’s ancestor who was born into slavery – at Bristol Cathedral on October 9.
The 50 Plaques & Places exhibit is at Ashton Court Mansion from September 26 to October 5.
Tickets to the 50 Plaques & Places exhibit are free via Eventbrite. For tickets and more information, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/50-plaques-places-at-ashton-court-mansions-bristol-tickets
Main photo: Betty Woolerton
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