The Bishop of Norwich joined a walking tour of Norwich as part of Black History Month.
Bishop Graham learned the stories of some of the black people who lived in Norwich through the centuries and of local people who played a key role in the abolition of slavery.
The walk was devised and led by historian Paul Dickson to celebrate the contribution of black people to the history of Norwich and Norfolk. He told Bishop Graham and his office staff about children freed from a slave ship and baptised at St Peter Mancroft Church, 18th century market traders, and the black American servicemen who brought rhythm and blues and soul music to the city in the Second World War.
Norwich: A Black History begins near St Peter Mancroft church where three black children rescued from a slave ship were baptised in 1813. Paul also told the story of Ukawsaw Gronniosaw who lived and worked in Norwich in the18th century and was the first freed African slave to write his autobiography and get it published in England.
At the bottom of Timberhill he talked about how the American Army and Air Force brought racial segregation to Norfolk during the Second World War, dividing pubs into those for white servicemen and black servicemen.
The tour also looks at slavery – highlighting families involved in the slave trade and celebrating leading abolitionists from Norfolk including Thomas Fowell Buxton the Norfolk MP who led the national campaign to end slavery, and Amelia Opie who founded the women’s branch of the national Anti Slavery Society and wrote a children’s poem about the iniquities of sugar plantations.
The tour ends with the story of Pablo Fanque, born in a workhouse, who became a circus acrobat, the UK’s first black circus owner and an inspiration for a famous Beatles song.
The Bishop of Norwich said: “This was a great way to learn more about our city and how it has welcomed and been shaped by people from around the world. It was a chance to hear the stories of black Norwich citizens through the centuries and a reminder of how many Norwich Christians were at the forefront of the fight against the evils of slavery.”
The next Norwich: A Black History tour is on Sunday October 26. For more information visit pauldicksontours.co.uk
Pictures: Top, Paul Dickson, centre with the Bishop of Norwich, leading Norwich: A Black History walking tour. Above top, Pablo Fanque and the huge modern mural celebrating his life, Evelyn Simak/Creative Commons. Above, the tour starts outside St Peter Mancroft Church and takes in the Norwich Lanes and city people who fought against slavery.