A new book edited by University of Bath’s Dr Christina Horvath reflects on the fallout from the toppling of Bristol’s Colston statue, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the resulting debates on history, heritage and memory.

Breaking the Dead Silence: Engaging with the Legacies of Empire and Slave-Ownership in Bath and Bristol’s Memoryscapes delves into the overlooked legacies of transatlantic slavery and the forgotten heritage of Bristol and Bath. Featuring insights from academics, activists and diverse voices, it offers fresh perspectives and proposals on fostering a more inclusive and truthful approach to heritage.

Dr Christina Horvath from the Dept of Politics, Languages & International Studies said:

For a long time Bath has systematically forgotten its troubling history in favour of an authorised narrative that celebrates the city’s Roman heritage, iconic Georgian architecture, links to the novelist Jane Austen, and its spa and leisure culture.

The main aim of this book is to diversify this heritage by bringing forward some of the missing voices and unheard stories—not only those about slavery and abolition but also about Bath’s Caribbean cricket team, the Bristol bus boycott, the Bath workhouse and one of Bath’s famous most prominent residents, Emperor Haile Selassie.

The book, available for free download, features critical commentaries from 19 authors including academics, artists, activists and heritage professionals, challenging the official heritage narrative of both cities.

Co-editor Dr Richard White, a visiting research fellow at Bath Spa University said:

Stories of colonial exploitation, forced migration, and looting are hidden in plain sight in Bristol and Bath. From Bath’s UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site and the old port of Bristol to coastal cities across the UK and beyond, public sites of memory have yet to fully acknowledge the atrocities committed in the creation of the wealth they display.

Authors include, Renée Jacobs, founder of The Belonging Network; social activist and associate lecturer at the University of the West of England, Bristol Roger Griffith MBE; Jill Sutherland, independent researcher of museology and curatorial practice from the British Art Network, and Shawn Sobers, Professor of Cultural Interdisciplinary Practice at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Contributors offer unique perspectives on how Black and minority communities feel underrepresented in mainstream heritage narratives, often leading to feelings of exclusion, invisibility, silence, and erasure.

The book seeks to inspire activity that can enable silenced voices to be heard and engage in conversations about how the past is represented. These strategies include co-creation, new museum practices, and innovative creative approaches.

As memory memories of the events in June 2020 fade, the release of _Breaking the Dead Silence is timely, adding to discussions about social justice, racism, and accountability.

The book will be launched at Bath’s Widcombe Social Club, on 15th October 2024 7pm and on 16th October 2024 7pm in Bristol at Bristol’s MShed. Authors will also discuss their chapters at Bath’s Toppings bookshop on 20th October 2024 and at the University of Bath on 22nd October 2024. Attendance is free, but registration is required.

  • Research from University College London reveals that 182 Bath residents received compensation in 1834 for the loss of their enslaved people, following the abolition of British slavery trading.

  • No. 1 Royal Crescent, a museum townhouse, illustrates the lives of Bath’s Georgian elite.

  • Beckford’s Tower, built by William Beckford, a third-generation enslaver whose wealth derived from sugar plantations in Jamaica.

  • The original collection of The Holburne Museum was funded by profits from plantations owned by the Ball, Lascelles, and Holburne families in Jamaica, Barbados, and Antigua.

  • Bath Abbey holds about 200 of 1,500 funeral monuments commemorating individuals involved in transatlantic slavery, the highest number of such monuments in any building in the UK.

  • Queens Square, the Circus and the Royal Crescent were financed by investors involved in trafficking enslaved people, including the Duke of Chandos, who controlled the Royal African Company, and agents Richard Marchant, John Jeffreys Marchant and Harford Lloyd.

  • Sir William Pulteney, developer of Bath’s Pulteney estate and the famous neo-Palladian Bridge, was a parliamentary advocate of slavery and owned estates and enslaved people in Tobago and Dominica.