The contribution of Black and Minority Ethnic people in the cultural heritage of Cumbria In celebration of Black History Month, Sardar Aftab Khan, AWAZ Cumbria, will explore the origins of Black and Minority Ethnic People in Cumbria, their current population and contribution in socio-economic, civic and cultural life of Cumbria

1. Tullie House – Lunch Time Talks
2 October 2012, 13:00- 13:30
Guest Speaker - Sardar Aftab Khan
Development Officer
AWAZ Cumbria

2. Our Hidden Heritage
• Black History Month
• The origins of Black and Minority Ethnic
People (BME) in Cumbria
• Contribution in the socio-economic, civic
and cultural life of Cumbria
• Current population
• Resources for Further Information

3. Black History Month
• “Until lions write their own history, the
tale of the hunt will always glorify the
hunter.” (African proverb)
• The origins of BHM go back to 1926.
• The first Black History Month event in
the UK was held on 1st October 1987.
• Black History Celebrations in Cumbria

4. The Origin of BME people in Cumbria
West African Proverb Sankofa
 “we must go
back and
reclaim our past,
in order to
understand why
and how we
came to be who
we are today.”

5. The Slave Trade in 1783
Source: Quaker Tapestry © www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk
Designed by Margery Levy; embroidered at the Quaker Tapestry Centre at Kendal, Cumbria

6. Cumbria‟s Connection with Slave
Trade
 In Cumbria, 4 Parishes: St Nicholas‟s and St James‟s
churches in Whitehaven, St Mary‟s in Carlisle and St. Martin‟s
in Windermere document baptisms, marriages and deaths of
„blackamoors‟, „Black servants‟ „Negro men‟ and „Negro
paupers‟.
 John Bolton (1756–1837) was a Cumbrian who made a
fortune as a Liverpool slave trader and used his proceeds
from Slave trade to buy Storrs Hall Hotel- Windermere in
1806.
 The people from Cumbria who were known as slave traders
or involved in businesses linked to slave trade from Ulverston
area include John Addison, Robert Dodson, Richard Millerson
and Thomas Woodburne other names from South Cumbria
includes James Sawrey (Hawkshead), Samuel Simondson
(Urswick), Joseph Fayrer (Milnthorpe) and Joseph Threlfall,
Henry Tindall and James Penny (Furness).
Source: The abominable traffic (p.11)

7. South Cumbria
Tomb of Rasselas Belfield in St. Martin's Churchyard, Lake road,
Windermere
In memory
Of
Rasselas Belfield
A native of
Abyssinia
Who departed this life on the
10th day of January 1822
Aged 32 years
A slave by birth:
I left my native land and found my
freedom on Britannia's strand:
Blest isle! Thou glory of the wise
and free!
Thy touch alone unbinds the chains
of slavery!
S.A.Khan at Rasselas Belfied
Tomb - Photo taken on 11-09-2012

8. Rasilais Bellefield- Historic Records
Baptism Record at Windermere Church (1802-1803) - April 17th 1803
Burial Record in the Parish of Windermere in the County of
Westmoreland in the Year (1821-1822, Pg. 17- No 134) – July 19th 1822
Source: Kendal Records office – (Max Clark, 2012)

9. Rasillas Belfield
 Brought to England Major Taylor, who had
bought him as a child aged about 13 .
 His was Baptised on 17 April 1803 at
Windermere Church as 'Rasilais Bellfield,
Captain Taylor's servant of Bellfield'. „Rasillas
was probably born a Muslim.‟
 Taylor is said to have been engaged, with his
regiment, in the campaign of the East India
Company Army against Tippu Saib, celebrated
ruler of Mysore, South India, which culminated
in Tippu's death in 1799.
Source: English Heritage (listing) - List Entry Number: 1392853

10. Rasillas Belfield
 Rasillas's surname was taken from Belfield (q.v.)
House built on the shore of Lake Windermere by
Isabella Taylor in 1794. Isabella's husband, Peter
Taylor, was a West India merchant based in
Whitehaven.
 'The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia' was
a popular novel by Samuel Johnson, published in
1759.
 The inscription on Rasillas's headstone
demonstrates that by 1822 at least, the Taylor
family had been convinced of the iniquity of slavery.
 William Wilberforce lead the campaign which
resulted in The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act .
„Wilberforce may personally have influenced the
Taylors; between 1780 and 1788 he had rented
Rayrigg Hall from Isabella's family.‟
Source: English Heritage (listing) - List Entry Number: 1392853

11. West Cumbria
 “The Whitehaven slave trade
lasted from 1710-1769
during which 69 slave
voyages were fitted out.”
 In1700- One of the 1st times
a black slave, Ms. Jane,
shared a white person‟s
burial plot in England at St.
Nicolas‟ Churchyard,
Whitehaven.
 William Miller (1816-56), A
Whitehaven tanner played
key role in ending slavery in
the western world.
 In 2007 Copeland Council
formally apologised for
Whitehaven‟s role in Slave Source: Image from Rum Story Museum- Whitehaven
Trade.

12. “Darkie Joe”- Workington
 “Darkie Joe” (real name
unknown) is known to be the
first black person who lived in
Church Lane, Workington in
the early 20th century, Russell
W Barnes ( 2009).
 His photo was displayed at
Lake College on 15 July 2002.
 He lived in Workington
between 1920-1930 and used
to carry people‟s bags at
Workington railway station.
According to the information of
Mrs Mary Jackson, Maryport. W2/65_Workington_x_1905c_portrait;
He was a very mild mannered, "Darky Joe“
quite and well behaved man. Source:http://www.pastpresented.ukart.
Source: Carlisle Archive Centre com/workpixfr.htm

13. North Cumbria
The Children of Slavery
 John Kent – Carlisle
 John Kent lived in Carlisle during the 1820s
and 1830s. On leaving the police force in
1844, he went to work for the North West
Railway. Records show that John's father
was Thomas Kent who was brought from
the West Indies to work as a servant by the
Senhouse family who came from Maryport.
 Source: Research by Susan Dench, Carlisle Record
Office

14. Contributions in Socio-economic, Civic
and Cultural life of Cumbria
 Sports - Rugby, Football
 Health and Social care- Doctors, Nurses and other
professionals
 Education - Teachers, Lecturers and Professors
 Economy - From Slave trade to Solar Panels
 Local Government - Councillors and Public Servants
 Voluntary and Community Sector
 Cultural life and Heritage

15. A Martian in Cumbria- The freeman of
the Borough of Allerdale: Cec
Thompson
 Born On The Wrong Side-
Autobiography 1995
 Cec’s nickname was “Darkie”.
 Real name: Theodore Cecil
Thompson, (12 July 1926 – 19
July 2011) born in Birtley, Co
Durham.
 The second black man to play
rugby league for Great Britain
1951.
 Cec was the first Black
professional rugby player in
Cumbria. Workington (1953-60)
Barrow (1960-62)
 He once joked: “I was like a
Martian in Cumbria – but a very
popular one.”
 He became freeman of the
Borough of Alerdale in 2003. Source: Miror News

16. Cumbria‟s 1st Black Professional
Footballer: Peter Foley MBE
 Peter Foley MBE is the 1st
Black professional
footballer in Cumbria. He
joined Workington FC in
February 1965.
 He is the 1st Cumbrian
Pioneers of Black British
Football Award holder.
 He is also one of the 1st
Black Cumbrian who has
received the honour of
MBE from the Her Majesty
the Queen in April 2003.
 He is the founding Chair of
AWAZ Cumbria: the 1st
BME countywide

17. Current population
Ethnicity (Black & Minority Ethnic Groups) Estimated Resident Population
Table 2: Ethnic profile for Cumbria (2001 and 2007)
White British
Area All Groups BME (number) BME (%) White British (%)
(number)
Cumbria 496,900 19,700 4.0 477,200 96
Allerdale 94,500 3,200 3.4 91,300 96.6
Barrow 71,800 2,900 4 68,900 96
Carlisle 103,500 4,200 4.1 99,300 95.9
Copeland 70,400 2,400 3.4 68,000 96.6
Eden 51,900 1,800 3.5 50,100 96.5
South Lakeland 104,900 5,400 5.1 99,500 94.9

18. References
 British Listed Buildings: Storrs Hall, Windermere, [online], available at
http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-351696-storrs-hall-windermere-cumbria (last accessed 12
August 2012)
 British History: Abolition, [online], available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/ (last
accessed 17 September 20120
 Byrne, P. (2011) Remarkable story of Cec Thompson, black rugby league pioneer, [online],
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/remarkable-story-of-cec-thompson-black-145231 (accessed 26
September 2012)
 English Heritage: List Entry. TOMB OF RASSELAS BELFIELD IN ST. MARTIN'S CHURCHYARD,
[online], http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1392853 (accessed 26 September
2012)
 English Heritage: The slave trade and plantation wealth, [online], available at http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/discover/people-and-places/the-slave-trade-and-abolition/sites-of-memory/the-slave-
trade-and-plantation-wealth/ (last accessed 12 August 2012)
 McGowan, P. (2006). Our Slavery Shame, [online], available at
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/our-slavery-shame-1.313289?referrerPath=/2.1692 (last accessed
10 September 2010)
 Richardson, D., Schwarz, S., and Tibbles, A. (2007: 135) Liverpool and Transatlantic Slavery.
Liverpool, Liverpool University Press.
 Rob David (ed.)„The Abominable Traffic‟ : Cumbria‟s connections to the history and legacy of slavery. A
Teacher‟s Resource Pack (Arts Council/Creative Partnerships, 2006). Badger Press Ltd.
 Sayer, W. (1847: 252-62). 'History of Westmorland', 2 vols , I,
 Seeman, E.R. (2010) Sources and Interpretations : Reassessing the “Sankofa Symbol” in New York‟s
African Burial Ground. http://www.history.buffalo.edu/documents/SeemanWMQ.pdf ( last accessed 10
September 2012)
 The Rum Story and Jafferson Family, [online], available at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/articles/2005/06/21/coast05_stage7_feature.shtml (last accessed