Protesters secretly fit slave trader plaque in church

Samuel Montgomery
Sat, November 2, 2024

Campaigners criticised Falmouth-born Thomas Corker who ‘oversaw and profited from the kidnap, enslavement and sale of slaves’ - CornwallLive/BPM


Protesters in Falmouth surreptitiously mounted a brass plaque beneath a memorial in a church rebuking a 17th-century parishioner for his role in the slave trade.

Anonymous activists installed the plaque in King Charles the Martyr Church under a memorial to local-born Thomas Corker, who worked for the Royal African Company in the late 1600s.

The group hoped their unsanctioned handiwork would provide visitors with “context” and act as a “protest”.


The plaque reads: “Thomas Corker was England’s chief agent for the Royal African Company on York Island.

“He oversaw and profited from the kidnap, enslavement and sale of slaves. The Royal African Company shipped more enslaved men, women and children to the Americas than any other trading company in the world.”

Rev Canon Bill Stuart-White stands with the Thomas Corker memorial at King Charles the Martyr Church - Diocese Of Truro/SWNS

Born in the late 16th century, Corker moved to the Guinea coast aged 14 and joined the English trading company, later becoming a chief agent on York Island, Sherbro, now Sierra Leone.

The slave trader married an African chieftain’s daughter, with whom he had two sons, but died on a business trip to Falmouth in 1700 aged 30.

The memorial was erected in the Grade II listed church by his elder brother Robert, who also donated to the church in 1708.

Following a consultation in 2023 on the memorial’s future, the Parochial Church Council (PCC) said the tribute would remain, to the dismay of some activists.

The plaque erected by protesters - CornwallLive/BPM

In an email to Cornwall Live signed “sincerely, the people of Falmouth”, the anonymous activists claiming responsibility for the plaque said: “This is to give context to the memorial, which fails to acknowledge any of this history, and instead glorifies his life.”

It added: “Although done as an act of protest, its intention is as a donation to the church, to give them the opportunity to acknowledge harms and inform the public, in the assumption that this is what they would wish to do.”

One of the campaigners said: “It appears that the church feels no duty to understand the role that they are playing in upholding white supremacy, and would rather bury their heads in the sand and dodge any accountability of the pain that the memorial causes.”

The group identified the Church’s £9 billion endowment fund as having been “significantly financed” by the transatlantic slave trade.
‘Detracts from good and inclusive work we do’

Pip Horton, lay vice chair and PCC secretary at King Charles Church, and member of the sub-committee involved with the Thomas Corker work, said an “individual” had erected the plaque without permission.

She said: “Quite frankly, we don’t feel this is helpful at all and detracts from the very good and inclusive work we are doing in partnership with others, including Black Voices Cornwall.

“We understand that some people may have concerns about what they see as a delay, but this is not helpful to our efforts and has caused unnecessary distress.”

The diocese said it was investigating what action could be taken, as owing to its Grade II listed status, the church is protected by law.

The diocese is investigating what action can be taken after the plaque was installed as the church is legally protected by its Grade II listed status - Alamy

The Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, acting Bishop of Truro, revealed the church had considered installing a “trigger warning”.

He said: “The presence of a memorial to a man who benefited from trading human beings in a building that points to the God of justice and freedom is deeply troubling.”

“Part of the discussion around what is displayed in relation to this memorial includes a trigger warning because of the sensitive nature of the topic and we have a duty of care to all visitors.”

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Truro said it was “working closely” with the community to find an “honest description” of “Corker’s involvement in slavery”.

In a statement, they said: “We also hope to tell the story of Joseph Emidy, a black musician and composer, who was a freed slave who settled in Cornwall and already has a smaller memorial in the church, and to describe and challenge the evils of modern slavery.

“This has not been a quick process, but there has been a lot of energy and resources given to it, and we want to thank all those who are working with us through the proper channels to achieve a positive and enriching outcome.”