Slave-trade monuments protected

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said four new monuments were being listed as Grade II monuments for their importance to the slave trade and its abolition.

A further 21 monuments and buildings have had their listing upgraded or details amended to coincide with the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

The newly-listed monuments include the tomb of John Newton - the slaver turned preacher who became a key figure in the abolitionist movement and wrote Amazing Grace - and his wife Mary, at Olney, Milton Keynes.

Also listed are a headstone erected for George Edward Doney, Virginian slave and later servant to the Earls of Essex, in Watford, and the tomb in Windermere of Ethiopian-born Rasselas Belfield. Both men were given high quality monuments by the families they served.

A monument to Joanna Vassa, daughter of Olaudah Equinaon who was England's foremost black abolitionist, in Abney Cemetery, London, has been listed because of its link to one of the country's most distinguished black figures.

Monuments which have been upgraded in importance include Picton House, Kingston upon Thames, purchased in 1795 by slave Cesar Picton who later established himself as a successful coal merchant. So too has the statue of MP Charles James Fox, in Bloomsbury Square, London, who introduced the resolution on the abolition of slavery which was passed by Parliament in 1806.

Mrs Hodge said: "So many of these listings or upgrades show different faces of the history of the slave trade - from an elaborate headstone erected by an earl for a beloved servant, once a slave in Virginia, to an upgrade for a house occupied by a former slave turned prosperous coal merchant."

The move to list, upgrade and amend the historic sites was warmly welcomed by English Heritage, which has been working on a project to recognise the importance of places which tell the story of slavery.

Peter Beacham, the body's heritage protection director, said: "We are delighted that English Heritage could help in documenting forever some of the extraordinary and moving stories that might not otherwise be recorded in history. Listing is not just about protecting special buildings, it can help us acknowledge and understand our shared history."