C O N T E X T 1 7 3 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2 15 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION boundaries and be evermore inclusive. In justification, they referred to the founding aspiration of Octavia Hill that the organisation should speak to and for everyone; claiming that only by honest and open acknowledgement of the reality and legacy of slavery and colonialism that have been fundamental to several historic houses, their collections and estates would justice be done for what was sometimes an uncomfortable episode in global history. Around a third of the trust’s properties have direct connections to colonial events and 29 have links to successful compensation claims for slave ownership. The research carried out also provides evidence regarding the presence of African, Asian and Chinese people working on some of the estates; and that several of the properties can be connected with campaigns opposing colonial oppression. The facts uncovered present a different picture to the conventional histories that have disregarded associations with the slave trade and the role played by people of colour in the national interest. These findings broaden our understanding of the trust’s properties and their history. At Powys Castle, close to the English/Welsh border, is the Clive Collection of over 1,000 Indian artefacts, one of the most important outside India. Amassed by Robert Clive (1725–1774), it powerfully illustrates the connection between colonial activities and the acquisition of highstatus art objects. These include textiles, gems and decorative arts that were plundered after violent skirmishes and widespread looting by the East India Company’s army, which forcibly invaded and conquered parts of the Indian subcontinent under Clive’s command. Research into the acquisition of the collection is currently under way so that the story can be fully explained to visitors. Penrhyn Castle in Snowdonia, also owned by the National Trust, was chosen by Neil McGregor for his radio series The Museums That Make Us because of the focus the curators are currently placing on how the 1830s Norman fantasy castle and the Pennant family’s impressive art collection were acquired. The castle was built on the proceeds of the nearby Penrhyn slate quarry, the investment for which came from the family’s sugar plantation in Jamaica, and the compensation received when slavery was abolished. Moreover, in 1900–03 one of the great national episodes in the struggle of labour against capital took place at Penhryn, when the quarrymen went on strike, capitulating only after three years when they faced starvation. Visitors to Penrhyn Castle are now able to understand how the riches they see around them could not have been assembled without the exploitation and oppression by the Pennant family of the labour forces both inWales and the Caribbean. Another National Trust initiative, with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, has provided the opportunity for 100 children to lead national conversations on the links between heritage and colonisation. Known as the Colonial Countryside Project, this involves 11 trust properties, including Kedleston Hall, home of Lord Curzon, the last Viceroy of India; Speke Hall, Liverpool, the 18th-century owners of which made fortunes from the slave trade; and Charlecote Park, which had black servants. Led by Corinne Fowler of the University of Leicester, the children collaborated with historians and writers to produce short stories and videos on each of the houses and to curate exhibitions. At Charlecote they produced an alternative guidebook incorporating cartoons. Penrhyn Castle was built on the proceeds of the nearby slate quarry, the investment for which came from the family’s sugar plantation in Jamaica, and the compensation received when slavery was abolished.
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