London to get memorial to victims of transatlantic slave trade

London is to have a memorial commemorating the victims of transatlantic slavery, the first such monument of its scale in Britain, the mayor has announced.

It will be built in West India Quay in the capital’s Docklands, close to warehouses that were built to house goods produced through slavery.

Debbie Weekes-Bernard, the deputy mayor for communities and social justice, said the intention was to give Londoners “a dedicated space … where they can reflect, where they can memorialise and remember the impact that the transatlantic slave trade had on the enslaved and their descendants”.

It would also serve as a reminder of the key role London had played in the trade of enslaved people, and the huge wealth it acquired through it, she said. “What we’re seeking to do is to recognise that while London as a city was a place in which a lot of … discussions took place around the abolition of that slave trade, it was also a place … where benefits were accrued. It was a place where legislation was made that enabled that slave trade to continue. It is a city whose wealth was built on the backs, the lives, the experiences of those who were enslaved. We see it in our institutions, we see it in our buildings, we see it in our public realm.”

Notably, the statue or monument will sit close to the former site of a statue of Robert Milligan, a prominent 18th-century trader and enslaver, which was taken down in 2020 by Tower Hamlets council and other stakeholders after protests. It is now in the collection of the Museum of London Docklands, which is consulting on what should happen next.

City Hall has promised £500,000 for the project and will seek further contributions to fund the memorial, which is scheduled to be unveiled in 2026. The final cost of the project will depend on the successful bid, it says.

An artist will be chosen via a competition after a community consultation to design the artistic brief. Submissions will also be sought for a number of other commemorations at “satellite sites” around the city.

The project has been devised by the mayor’s commission on diversity in the public realm, which was set up by Sadiq Khan in 2020 after anti-racist protests “to commemorate those from every community who have made London what it is”.

“It is vital that our public spaces reflect the heritage of our great city – in all its diversity and complexity,” Khan said. “This memorial will help commemorate the victims of a dark, yet formative chapter of our history.”