Cambridge college denies it seeks to erase benefactor over slave trade links

A Cambridge University college has denied that it is seeking to cancel the existence of one its most significant benefactors because of links to the slave trade while continuing to enjoy the benefits of his generosity.

Jesus College has applied to church authorities to remove a memorial to Tobias Rustat from a prominent position on the west wall of its Grade I-listed college chapel. The move follows an inquiry by a legacy of slavery working party set up to review the college’s historical links to enslavement and its long term impact.

During the first day of a hearing in a consistory court – an ecclesiastical court dealing with matters of law relating to the church – Mark Hill QC, appearing for the college, insisted the application was “nothing to do with erasing, cancelling or in some way nullifying the existence and the name of Rustat”.

The issue the court had to decide, Hill said, was whether the memorial should remain in its current location or should be removed to a new permanent site elsewhere in the college where it would be a “significant and accessible exhibit”.

According to the college, Rustat (1608-1694), who was one of Jesus’s most significant benefactors, “had financial and other involvement in the Royal African Company (RAC), a slave trading company, over a substantial period including at the time when he donated to the college”.

The dean of the chapel, the Rev James Crockford, told the hearing that the marble memorial – described in court as “an internationally recognised monument – acted as a barrier to worship and participation in chapel life and that some undergraduates were “disturbed and upset” by it.

He told the hearing on Wednesday that students felt uncomfortable about the memorial as it appeared to “celebrate” the man and his financial dealings, and warned that if it remained in the chapel they would be less likely to participate in the life of the chapel.

Justin Gau, appearing on behalf of those opposed to the removal of the memorial, however challenged the characterisation of Rustat in emails sent by undergraduates objecting to the memorial. He said it was “not true” that Rustat had amassed “much of his wealth from the RAC” as had been claimed.

He also challenged another email from an undergraduate who said it had been clearly demonstrated that Rustat “was a very active slave trader”. Gau said there was “no demonstration in any document that Tobias Rustat was any sort of slave trader”.

Gau also raised concerns about a number of emails from different undergraduates which all appeared to use the same wording to express their opposition. The emails read: “It’s totally wrong for the statue of someone who was so heavily involved in the horrific crimes of slavery to be glorified in the heart of our community.”

He asked the dean where the repeated phrase had come from and whether the college had made any effort to “correct” it, and said undergraduates “have not had a true view of Rustat’s life”. He also claimed the legacy of slavery working party did have more precise information about Rustat’s financial involvement but did not circulate it.

Giving evidence later in the day, Sonita Alleyne, Master of Jesus College and the first black master of any Oxbridge college, was asked by Gau if she thought life was a “bed of roses”, and that students should not be confronted with uncomfortable subjects in church. She responded: “I’m the last person that believes life is a bed of roses … but we don’t set out to make life more difficult for people”.

Responding to Gau’s suggestion that Rustat’s history should be “contextualised” through an explanatory plaque in the chapel, she said: “There is not enough space on the wall … how big would a plaque have to be? How will we fit the stories of all the people who were enslaved and who died in the process?” She said the chapel was “our sanctified space, our pastoral space … I have great faith and I’m here today because I have great faith that we are in an age where equality is paramount”.

Gau said Rustat had been a “generous benefactor” of the college, and that “despite his very small involvement in the slave trade” there was now a black female Master of the college. Alleyne said: “Which murder, which lynching … how much sin do you need to have before you come off the wall?

Rustat’s gift to Jesus College, made in 1671, was part of a wider philanthropy that began in the mid-1660s. Although he did not attend Jesus himself, his father did, and he donated £2,000 – a huge sum at the time – to fund scholarships for the children of Anglican priests.

The court hearing, which is taking place in Cambridge, in the shadow of the Rustat memorial in the college chapel, is expected to last until Friday.