The Church and Planations: An Examinationm of the Bishops of London and their Workforces in the Tobacco Colonies, C1680-1800

This
CDA collaboration bring s together two partners with distinctive research capacities, to help deepen our
understanding of a highly topical, important, and sensitive subject. It aims to excavate and interrogate links between
the Bishops of London and English colonialism in the 17 th and 18 th century, with a particular emphasis on the
plantation estates and networks of the clergy in North America, and what we can infer about the lives of enslaved
people enveloped by them. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, decolon izing initiatives across
the educational and heritage sectors, and the Church of EnglandEngland's [ Contested Heritage and Church Commission
reports, the collaboration proposes a doctoral project that has the potential both to bring new voices out of existing
archives, and to bring new voices into academic research to help diversify interpretation and curation.
Between
c.704 1973, Fulham Pala ce was the principal residence and diocesan heartbeat of the activities of the
Bishop of London, whose role within the CoE brought extensive lands and estates, along with the responsibility of
shepherding the souls of those within his diocese (2 nd in comma nd to the Archbishop of Canterbury) From the 17 th
century, the Bishop of LondonLondon's ecclesiastical jurisdiction was extended to encompass English colonies overseas,
creating a direct link between empire, colonial settlement in the Americas, and the Church. Fulham and its holdings
have been managed by Fulham Palace Trust since its constitution as a registered charity in 2011, supporting visits by
c.300,000 people per annum. For over a decade the Trust has been active in reclaiming the site from disrepair, and in
developing community, archaeological, and archival projects. The staff team have extensive curatorial and
engagement expertise, and in recent months have been developing efforts to diversify and enlarge understanding of
the sitesite's and its occupan ts' c onnections to empire, colonialism, and heritage. These have included a scoping phase
of research "to explore the role of the Bishopric and Bishops of London in British colonialism and the transatlantic
slave trade" between July and December 2021, led by st aff, volunteers, and two placement students, supported by
grants from the Arts CouncilCouncil's Cultural Recovery Fund. The conclusions were that there was urgent need to support
further research in this area including into primary sources that have not yet bee n fully consulted and that there
was sufficient traction to plan for a series of temporary exhibitions from late 2022, alongside a community learning
programme, "to share the scope and importance of the material." The Fulham Palace team have prioritized building
a range of opportunities around the research questions including creative responses and interpretation and to
empower people descended from those who were enslaved or indentured in order that they can shape, lead, or
benefit from the research and its findings. This CDA collaboration therefore aligns strongly with Fulham PalacePalace's
activities, is in step with its goals to "challenge established ideas about colonialism and contribute to a more
inclusive idea of British identity and British history, and its findings will feed through into FulhamFulham's interpretation
and learning provision. Moreover, the Fulham Palace Trust team have developed a strong track record in
collaborating with, hosting, and mentoring placement students to support new research such as the two short
term placements mentioned.
The
experienced supervisory team at the University of Kent have a track record in successful graduate supervision,
including through past present CHASE studentships (since 2014, Marsh has overseen four CHASE students to
CHASE CDA Project application form for supervisors 22-23 3
completion
completion andand isis currentlycurrently coco--supervisingsupervising two;two; FinchamFincham h