Dr. Johnathan Harlow, Professor Johnathan Barry and Dr Michael Whitfield have been investigating what is believed to be a leg iron, on display at the Yale Center for British Art. The iron is engraved with the words ‘Deverall, Cornstreet Bristoll, 1733’. This article explores the provenance of the leg iron to shed light on the activities of the Deverall family, and the presence of enslaved Africans in Bristol.
Tag: plantations
Re-interrogating the Idyll: Slavery and Country Houses in Gloucestershire
The country house, centrepiece of the heritage industry, is something which is sold to us as being quintessentially British. In the South-West and throughout England, these sites have welcomed visitors for decades to come and enjoy the elegance and grandeur of this heritage. In this article, Madge Dresser highlights the sanitisation of the histories that are presented by these stately homes. Drawing our attention to the complex web of links between aristocratic wealth and the Atlantic slave economy, Dresser seeks to persuade readers that unearthing these links is a worthwhile historical enterprise.