Five places in Essex with 'links to slave trade'

Historic England's report was created by Dr Mary Wills and Dr Madge Dresser.

Called 'the transatlantic slave economy and England’s built environment: a research audit’ it looks at the link between slavery and some buildings in England.

Audley End is mentioned in the report due to its links to Richard Aldworth Neville who was Provost-Marshal of Jamaica.

The house was inherited by Aldworth Neville in 1797. He had been appointed to the lucrative post of Provost-Marshal of Jamaica in 1762.

He expanded the estate, while his son made considerable changes to the house.

Fingringhoe is also mentioned as the home of the Frere family.

Thomas Frere had associations with plantations in Barbados in the mid-seventeenth century.

Copped Hall in Epping was re-built 1751-1758 by John Conyers I.

His son John Conyers II was a slave-owner on St Kitts. He had married Catherine, daughter of William Mathew of Baddow and Antigua in 1773.

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The Hylands Estate in Chelmsford is also mentioned due to its links to Cornelius Hendrickson Kortright.

He was a Danish merchant with a fortune in large part founded on the sugar trade in the

West Indies.

He bought the estate in 1797. He engaged Humphry Repton to redesign the parkland and enlarge the

house.

It is now owned and restored by Chelmsford City Council.

The final place in Essex mentioned is Nazeing Park estate.

The estate was developed between 1780 and 1820 by William Palmer, an East India merchant and younger son of the prominent Leicestershire Palmer family.

He had estates in Grenada, later inherited by his sons.

In 1796, Palmer diverted the local road so he could extend Nazeing House (later Park) to the designs of James Lewis.

The report said: "As will be seen, identifying connections with the transatlantic slave economy is not a simple task.

"Such associations do not only concern individuals owning or trading in enslaved people and subsequently investing funds in the built environment.

"There were a variety of complex networks of involvement at play, all of which may have had an impact on how wealth derived from transatlantic slavery was spent.

"This report will provide a broad overview of these connections, as identified by a range of research."

A spokesman for Historic England: “In early 2020, we commissioned an audit which brings together previous research into the tangible traces of the transatlantic slave trade in England’s built environment, mostly carried out over the last thirty years by universities and community groups.

"The audit has also identified gaps in knowledge and makes suggestions for future research. This knowledge will absolutely not be used to delist structures, but it will be used to enhance the National Heritage List for England and tell a fuller story of England's rich and complex history.

"As a separate piece of work in November we published our Inclusion, Diversity and Equality Strategy following two years of development and consultation.

"It reaffirms our commitment to delivering our work in a way that benefits a broader range of people, places and communities which better represent the diversity of England and our rich heritage.

"Heritage is for everyone and we want our work to ensure that a diverse range of people are able to connect with, participate in and enjoy the historic environment.”