National Trust for Scotland will carry out review into historic properties with links to slavery including Culzean Castle which featured in horror film the Wicker Man
- Volunteers will look at history of properties in a review named ‘Facing Our Past’
- Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and the Glenfinnan Monument will both be reviewed
- Audiences are ‘demanding to know more about slavery,’ says head of the project
The National Trust for Scotland is carrying out a review into historic properties that have links to slavery – including Culzean Castle, which featured in the horror film The Wicker Man.
The Facing Our Past review is set to last two years, as it delves into the history of Scottish landmarks to identify any links to slavery.
The charity hopes to ‘expand knowledge and support staff and volunteers to address Scotland’s role in enslavement,’ it said.
Culzean Castle, which appeared in the 1973 horror The Wicker Man, is one of the Scottish landmarks to be reviewed for any historical links to slavery
The Glenfinnan Monument, which was erected in tribute to Jacobites who died in an uprising in 1745 and the Glenaladale Estate, once owned by plantation owner Alexander Macdonald, are also among the properties that will be reviewed.
Dr Jennifer Melville, who is leading the project, said: ‘We know that audiences have a thirst for knowledge, which is based in truth and thorough research.
‘Slavery is part of our shared past, our audiences are demanding to know more about this, and the Trust is in a unique position to address this complex history as owners of estates, gardens, buildings and collections that have been created, improved or funded through the suffering of others, we can bring these truths to life.
The Glenfinnan Monument in the Highlands is a monument to a Jacobite uprising dating back to 1745
‘Working collaboratively with several universities, both in Scotland and abroad, and with artists and creative practitioners, will enable us to deepen our knowledge and understanding of our connections with slavery and show how the properties now in our care were funded and enhanced through the enslavement of people by Scots.
‘A vital part of the project will be public engagement and we are committed hearing from people whose lived experience has been directly shaped by colonialism and historic slavery.’
Speaking last month, Dr Melville said: ‘We know that some properties, like Greenbank House and Brodie Castle, may have been built on the profits made from slavery. We know that some fine collections of objects, such as the Beckford Collection housed at Brodrick Castle, were paid for from the proceeds of the slave system.
‘But with other places and people the likely connections remain hidden because the detailed historical research that would bring them to light needs to be undertaken.
‘Any meaningful interpretation of the histories of slavery at our properties requires this level of detailed historical research.’
Chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland Philip Long said: ‘We have for many years been uncovering the stories of people behind our properties, increasing knowledge of how they came into existence, their relationship with communities, with the land and with wider society.
‘Such histories are as much a part of the heritage we are responsible for – and have a duty to explain – as our duty of care to the physical heritage we are entrusted with.
‘It is an indisputable fact that many of the properties belonging to the Trust have an association with colonialism and slavery; researching into this is therefore important work for us to undertake, as part of the broader research we do in many fields, to look after, understand and explain the heritage in our care.’
Professor Murray Pittock of the University of Glasgow said: ‘Facing our Past is a key initiative in acknowledging the lost and excluded voices of our history, and in enabling our visitors to see the role of individual people and places in opposing, supporting or simply benefiting from the outrage of chattel slavery.’