A digital trail exploring monuments associated with the East India Company has been launched at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The trail, which was researched and created in partnership with the Stepney Community Trust and historians from London’s South Asian communities, explores 15 of the Cathedral’s monuments commemorating figures associated with the East India Company. These include monuments to Arthur Wellesley, William Jones, Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, Charles Cornwallis, and Robert Cornelis Napier.
This project was made possible by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund — delivered by the Museums Association — and project managed by Dr Renie Chow Choy. The project was also facilitated by the sharing of research produced by ‘Pantheons: Sculpture at St Paul’s Cathedral, c. 1796-1916’, an academic project hosted at the University of York’s Department of History of Art.
The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, commented:
“Some of the historic monuments at St Paul’s memorialise individuals who are inextricably linked with the activities of the East India Company, representing the values and attitudes of a time when the British Empire was expanding dramatically. The consequences of this period of colonisation are still deeply felt in those affected communities today, and St Paul’s is responding through several streams of work, including how we reflect on these monuments, and create space for conversation around this complex history.
“We are grateful to Stepney Community Trust and all the participants for their thoughtful and personal interrogation of these statues.”
The community engagement project aims to shed light on the shared history between Britain and the Indian subcontinent. Authored by writers and researchers with ancestral roots in the region, the trail offers an important lens through which to view the monuments, shifting the spotlight onto forgotten characters and untold stories from the period.
Bodrul Alom, Secretary of Stepney Community Trust commented:
“Stepney Community Trust is glad to have been a part of this collaborative project to examine the lives and actions of some prominent people associated with the East India Company in India. It was from the City of London that the East India Company ruled its vast Indian empire and since the Second World War, Tower Hamlets has emerged as the place with the largest concentration of Bangladeshi people in Britain.
“We thank the individuals who produced such high-quality, thoughtful interpretations about the monuments. This is only the start of a process to help address the impacts of past injustice and create a better world for all.”
