Judges’ Lodgings Museum
Revealing Lancaster’s links to slavery with Facing the Past
Judges’ Lodgings Museum (Lancashire County Council) worked in collaboration with Lancaster Black History Group, three primary schools, the Institute for Black Atlantic Research and Lancaster University to reveal the slavery links in the museum’s collections to all visitors.
Lancaster was the fourth largest slave trading port in Britain in the later 18th century, and the Museums Association’s decolonising principles guided co-curation through a steering group, commissioning panel, research, text writing and children’s exhibition.
Artist Lela Harris produced six portraits of 18th century Black Lancastrians for exhibition Facing the Past, and the new portraits are displayed juxtaposed with Gillows furniture and portraits of those who benefitted from slavery.
The project’s aim is to challenge local attitudes to slavery. Lela and Geraldine Onek (local primary school teacher and co-founder of Lancaster Black History Group) delivered school workshops about runaway ‘Ebo Boy’ with a children’s exhibition and learning pack.
A local resident said: “It’s rare for a museum to be genuinely groundbreaking but this project and the way you have managed it fully deserves such recognition.”
Project outcomes include:
- Six new portraits of historic Black Lancastrians in the museum’s period rooms – four have been accessioned and funding has been identified for the remaining two
- A children’s exhibition spread across three rooms in the museum
- New partnerships with Lancaster Black History Group
- Development of relationships with three local primary schools
- Black art and history events featuring Lancaster Lit Fest, French artist Elissa Morris Vai, historian Hannah Cusworth, and a Black history symposium
- Staff and volunteer training on discussing slavery with visitors
- A digital light installation They Were People First by Leo and Hyde based on Lela’s portraits projected on the front of the museum during Light Up Lancaster festival
The museum has welcomed 16,793 visitors to the Facing the Past – Black Lancastrians: A Portrait exhibition by Lela Harris and They Were People First installation since opening, compared to 10,688 visitors the previous year.
Feedback included comments such as:
- “Impressed that Black history has been explored so purposely and with evident care.”
- “The best approach I have seen of any museum about this subject.”
- “So powerful. Long overdue. So important to see Lela’s portraits next to those of slave owners. A revelation.”
Evaluation from teachers also revealed that they had found the workshops and learning pack helpful for teaching in the classroom.
Evaluation from staff and volunteer training showed that room stewards now feel more comfortable when talking to visitors about slavery and the museum collections: “I know that if someone eyerolls me about slavery, I have the facts and can discuss it with confidence.”
The project was funded by Art Fund and Association of Independent Museums, thanks to National Lottery players.
Facing the Past was shortlisted for the Decolonising Museums Award at the Museums Change Lives Awards 2023.