What happens when you find out your romantic country home is linked to slavery? Well, the owners of one castle urged me not to mention it, in case of vandalism. But happily other owners have been more thoughtful...
ft.com/content/ffbfd3…
One question I had while writing the piece is: are many country homes owned by people of colour? Have they been? Someone kindly pointed me to the story of Nathaniel Wells, the son of a plantation owner and a black woman…
Wells inherited his father’s plantations in St Kitts (he freed very few slaves), and circa 1800 used some of his money to buy Piercefield House, near Chepstow. He became a country gentleman and probably Britain’s first black sheriff.
Piercefield is now in ruins, part of Chepstow racecourse, owned by the Reuben brothers - despite attempts to restore it savebritainsheritage.org/campaigns/arti…
Stories like that make clear, at least to me, that Black Lives Matter isn’t about rewriting history, but writing a fuller, more accurate history. Thanks to everyone who spoke to me for the piece. ft.com/content/ffbfd3…
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