Of graves, headstones and “offensive” inscriptions: Re St Margaret’s Rottingdean

The public protests associated with the Black Lives Matter campaign came to a head in the UK over the weekend of 6/7 June 2020 with the toppling of the statue of slave-trader Edward Colston and its deposit in the harbour in Bristol. This prompted subsequent action in Bristol and elsewhere, including a review of the “Colston windows” in Bristol Cathedral and a consideration of the inscriptions on two headstones at St Margaret’s Church, Rottingdean.

Background

On Monday, the BBC reported that two headstones at St Margaret’s, Rottingdean – those of G H Elliott and Alice Banford, music-hall entertainers who wore blackface makeup – had been covered temporarily. Continue reading