by Rev Yousouf Gooljary

St John’s Scottish Episcopal Church Edinburgh Princes St, is the latest to be connected to its association with the Legacy of Slavery Money.

Two Naval captains Alexander Tod and Thomas Robertson and one Lt Colonel in the Army, Alexander Dyce all serving with the infamous ‘British East India Company’(EIC) in the 18/19th centuries earned their wealth in part from the company’s slave ownership, production of goods using slavery labour in their forts and settlements around the Indian Ocean/trading. The wealth gained from EIC profits contributed to the building of St John’s Church in 1818 relying on the research of Professor Sir Geoff Palmer who recently made colonial connections between British politics (eg, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville) and the EIC, and Dr Richard Allen’s Book (2014) which details the trade in slaves by Europeans, in particular the British East India Company over 3 centuries . I had the opportunity to bring these issue to John’s last year at the church, and asked them to implement the CARE , but they have not done so.

• Commemorate (the suffering caused in the church calendar)
• Acknowledge in its website publicity, installation in church
• Research ( the people and connections educating the public at large )
• Envision (anew through training ).

This is an excellent article , written in 2018 for wider distribution to members at the talk, vestry and wider church , an excellent case study of the facts relating to East India Company, for one settlement in Sumatra.

https://hipatiapress.com/hpjournals/index.php/hse/article/view/3374

Ed’s Note:

St John’s is at the west end of Princes Street, in the heart of Edinburgh. It is one of architect William Burn’s finest early 19th-century buildings (1818) built in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The interior of St John’s could be a world away from the busy streets that lie just beyond its walls. The most striking feature is the plaster ceiling vault, which was inspired by King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. The chancel was extended in 1882 by Peddie & Kinnear who also designed the interior woodwork. The chapel to the south of the chancel is beautiful and intimate, a contrast to the soaring height of the church. The church has of the finest collections of stained glass in Scotland with windows by Clayton & Bell, Heaton, Butler & Bayne, and Ballantine. Woodwork by Peddie & Kinnear, 1867. Organ originally by ‘Father’ Willis 1901. In addition to daily worship in the church, St John’s also houses a vibrant community including one World Shop, Cornerstone Bookshop, Peace and Justice Centre and Cornerstone Café. Scotland’s Churches Trust