Revisiting Sambo’s Grave
Some of you might remember my abortive attempt to visit Sunderland Point, not far from Morecambe, in January last year. This former 18th-century sea port is a sombre, wind-whipped part of the British coastline, and if you make it down the perilous track across the salt marsh without being swamped or cut off by high tide, you’ll find a curious memorial to an unnamed black boy, since nicknamed ‘Sambo’, who, during the height of the slave trade, was cruelly abandoned by a ship’s captain and left to die alone.
Thanks to @RichardBratby for pointing out this interesting piece in yesterday’s Guardian about how the grave of this black boy has made Sunderland Point a tricky place to preserve; some feel the plant life of the salt marsh might benefit from regular flooding, but what about Sambo’s Grave? His burial spot was left unmarked for 60 years, and then a local clergyman, the Reverend James Watson, wrote a stirring poem, which helped to sway public opinion during the anti-slave-trade campaigns of the late 18th century. Sambo’s grave has become an unofficial memorial to a shameful part of British history, but one which must be preserved, even from the encroaching tide, which cuts Sunderland Point off from the mainland twice a day.
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I live in the English cathedral city of Lichfield, which, despite having a population of fewer than 5,000 during the Georgian period, was home to many important artists and intellectuals including Samuel Johnson, David Garrick and Erasmus Darwin. I generally blog about the short 18th century (1715-1789), feisty Georgian ladies and Lichfield’s 18th-century heritage. If you have any comments, feel free to email me at woffington [at] gmail [dot] com. You can also