Bristol and the South West

Here we look at Bristol and the South West's part in the British slave trade and the legacy remaining in our historic environment.

Georgian House Museum, Great George Street

Listed Grade II*

The Georgian House Museum, 7 Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR was built for John Pinney (from 1740 to 1818).

He earned his fortune from sugar plantations in Nevis. Pinney became richer still through the company he set up with the pro-slavery pamphleteer, James Tobin. They owned ships and loaned money to plantation owners. They also took over the property of those who could not pay their debts, including both the plantations and the people who made up their enslaved workforce. 

Pero was their slave.

More about the Georgian House

Statue of Edward Colston, Colston Avenue, Bristol

Listed Grade II | 1202137

Edward Colston (from 1636 to 1721) was born in Bristol. He made his fortune as a sugar merchant and member of the Royal African Company, which he had a leading role in. The company itself had a monopoly in African trade until 1688. Colston also had interests in St Kitts and in London. He also became a partner in a Bristol sugar refinery, where sugar produced by enslaved Africans in the West Indies was processed.

Colston was also famous for his charity and philanthropy in Bristol. He founded almshouses at St Michael's Hill, and supported local schools. This statue of him in Colston Avenue, Bristol was erected in 1895, to honour him as being Bristol’s most famous philanthropist at that date. However, in more recent years his involvement in the slave trade has made him a more complex and controversial public figure.

More about Colston's statue

Queen Square

Queen Square, Bristol  BS1 4QS, built between 1619 and 1727 was home to wealthy merchants with interests in the West Indies.

Henry Bright (from 1715 to 1777) was Mayor of Bristol in 1771 and a prominent Bristol merchant and slave trader. He lived with his Black servant called Bristol at number 29. The building was formerly the office of the South West regional office of Historic England.

Captain Woodes Rogers (from 1679 to 1732) lived at 33 to 35 Queen Square. He was a privateer who voyaged around the world from 1708 to 1711, trading in enslaved people. Woodes Rogers also invested in a ship carrying enslaved men, women and children from Africa to Jamaica.

Blaise Castle, Henbury Road

Blaise Castle, Henbury Road, Bristol BS10 7QS built by Thomas Farr in 1766 is a quirky gothic folly built on the top of Blaise Hill.

Farr invested heavily in the slave trade. He is reputed to have spent £150,000 in today's money to build Blaise Castle so that he could climb to the top to watch his ships returning along the River Avon to Bristol.

Fonthill Abbey

William Beckford (from 1760 to 1844) built the gothic Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire in 1796 and Beckford's Tower, Lansdown Rd, Bath, BA1 9BH in 1827. He was able to use his substantial inheritance to build these grand buildings. It also meant he could enjoy an extravagant lifestyle and be a patron to the arts.

William was the son of William Beckford, Senior (from 1709 to 1770) who was a plantation owner and twice Lord Mayor of London. His grandfather Peter Beckford (from 1643 to 1710) founded the greatest sugar fortune in the West Indies.

Dyrham Park

William Blathwayt (from 1649 to 1717) acquired Dyrham Park, near Bath, Gloucestershire SN14 8ER on his marriage to Mary Wynter (from 1650 to 1691) in 1686. Blathwayt was MP for Bath from 1693 until 1710.

Mary Blathwayt's family had connections to the Caribbean. Blathwayt held a number of government offices dealing with trade and the colonies. In these roles he actively promoted the trade in enslaved people from Africa.

Dyrham Park is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

Clevedon Court

In 1709 Abraham Elton I (from 1654 to 1728) bought the medieval manor of Clevedon Court, Twickenham Road, Clevedon, North Somerset, BS21 6QU.

He was Mayor of Bristol from 1710 to 1711 and its MP from 1722 to 1727. His son Abraham Elton II was involved in the brass, pottery and glass industries.

Brass pots and pans were amongst the cargo taken aboard slave ships to trade in Africa. Elton's brothers, Isaac and Jacob invested directly in slave ships.

Now owned by the National Trust, Clevedon Court is open to the public.

Slave Traders and Plantation Wealth
  • Britain and the Slave Trade

    Find out more about the role Britain played in the slave trade and the people involved.

  • London: Centre of the Slave Trade

    London's part in the British slave trade and the impact left in our historic environment.

  • Bristol and the South West

    Bristol and the South West's part in the British slave trade and the legacy remaining in our historic environment.

  • Liverpool and the North West

    Liverpool and the North West's part in the British slave trade and the impact left in our historic environment.

  • Yorkshire

    Yorkshire's part in the British slave trade and the impact left in our historic environment.

  • The Midlands

    The Midland's part in the British slave trade and the impact left in our historic environment.