Revealing the City's Past Project

What is the Revealing the City’s Past project?

It is a project created in consultation. We worked with intergenerational and accessibility panels, independent experts and arts and heritage charity Culture&. It centres on the reinterpretation of two statues of historically prominent City figures (William Beckford and Sir John Cass). Both had strong links to and profited from the Transatlantic Trade in Enslaved Africans.

The statues are located at the Guildhall, a site inextricably linked to enslavement. As part of the Revealing the City’s Past project, permanent plaques have been installed. The plaques contain responses by two poets, historical texts and QR codes to more extensive related online material. The project represents a shift in narrative, with a range of Black voices represented foregrounded permanently for the first time at the Guildhall.

The project aimed to take a consultative approach across age groups to develop the statues’ interpretation. An intergenerational panel was set-up by Culture& who consulted on 3D design, poetry and the project’s historical writing. Furthermore, we wanted to make the content fully accessible and engaging for those who might have additional needs, so we worked closely with an accessibility panel on the content, in person experience and web pages. A further aim was to amplify the voices of those most affected by Beckford and Cass’s legacies today.

Two poets, a researcher/ writer and academic researcher were commissioned to work with the project team and intergenerational panel to produce the plaque texts. The information texts and poems on each plaque are available below.

Please note

Some of the text, in these pages, contains content and descriptions of slavery which may cause distress or that some may find triggering

Background

In 2021, the City Corporation’s Policy & Resources Committee considered the recommendations of the Tackling Racism Taskforce (TRT). It reviewed what the organisation currently does to address racism and assess whether any further action should be undertaken.

A working group was established to consider the future of the two statues. In October 2021, the Court of Common Council voted to retain the Beckford and Cass statues in its Guildhall headquarters. They decided to have plaques placed alongside them, with contextual information about the two men’s links to slavery. This approach was in line with the Government’s 2021 ‘retain and explain’ policy and its adviser, Historic England.

Accessible Resources

For anyone visiting the Guildhall and/or the Guildhall Art Gallery, we aim to make these spaces accessible, enjoyable and welcoming to everyone. We have created the following resources:

• Tactile Map of the Guildhall complex
• Braille text for each plaque
• NaviLens technology to help you navigate your route to the Revealing the City’s Past interpretation
• Large format text for each plaque
• Handheld device with content available in audio, BSL, and captions

They are available from the Guildhall Art Gallery welcome desk. Please note that the content covered in the accessibility toolkit is specifically based around two statues in the Guildhall complex. They can be accessed by those with a reservation for a City Tour Guides tour, those invited to an event in the Great Hall or City of London Corporation staff. Unfortunately those spaces are otherwise not open to the public at this time but this online content is available to all.

Artwork ©Ayanna Sankara

Thank you

We would like to thank all of the organisations and individuals who have helped on the project, including: Creative Arts Social, Culture&, John Agard, Courtney Conrad, Rachael Minott, Sonia E Barrett, Ofilaye, Carol Ann Dixon, Jacqui Beckford, Sue Brown, Renaissance One, Ayanna Sankara Designs, Gennaro Ambrosino, Scottish Braille, VocalEyes, NaviLens, Goss Consultancy, Paul Clarke, Praline, Omni Colour, Coldr, Liz Isles Photography, RNIB, Alan Baxter, Rupert Harris and Tonwelt.