Anti-slavery Statement

‘slavery can never be defended; he whose heart is not of iron can never wish to be able to defend it..’

Charles Waterton in his book Wanderings in South America, 1825

We are committed to preserving, protecting and celebrating Charles Waterton’s work as a pioneer of environmental conservation in Walton. 

We do acknowledge that the Waterton family were involved in slavery in the early C19th. Although Charles Waterton spoke out against it, did not ‘own’ or inherit enslaved people or plantations, and he did not receive any compensation when the practise ended in the 1830s, he did manage plantations for his family members between 1805 and 1812.

We do not condone the practice of slavery or celebrate anyone’s involvement in it. We do acknowledge that it is part of Charles Waterton’s story and that it should be discussed within the context of the time it happened.

More details about what is known can be found here:

Wakefield Museum and Castles: Black History Month (wakefieldmuseumsandlibraries.blogspot.com)

Should new research change what we know and change our understanding of Charles Waterton’s involvement in the practice of slavery, we will reflect and respond to this appropriately.