Scores of villages labelled as part of the ‘slave trade’ by ‘waste of time’ audit by Historic England
SCORES of villages have been labelled as part of the “slave trade” by a government quango.
Halls, churches and pubs are also included in an audit by Historic England.
But the move was slammed by Tory MP Nigel Mills, who called it a “waste of time”.
The report links numerous rural areas to “money made in transatlantic slavery” that “permeated society for centuries”.
Historic England’s review aims to make heritage appeal to more diverse communities.
Historic England’s report says: “The transatlantic slavery economy was invested in the built environment of the local area in housing, civic society organisations, churches, village halls, farms, shooting lodges, hotels.”
It cites the patronage of figures including Edward Colston, William Gladstone and Francis Drake as part of the “money trail” linking buildings to the wealth of slavery.
Villages mentioned include Bishop Burton, East Yorks, and Blankney, Lincs.
Mr Mills said: “What happened hundreds of years ago was wrong.
"But we don’t need to constantly berate ourselves for it.”
Historic England insisted: “This knowledge will absolutely not be used to delist structures.”
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