The Church of England’s Project Spire, a £100 million program intended to advance reparative justice for the institution’s historical associations with enslavement, is the subject of an ongoing legal challenge, according to statements made during the General Synod meeting in York.
Project Spire was established in 2023 following institutional research into Queen Anne’s Bounty, an endowment fund established in 1704. Investigations revealed the fund had invested in the South Sea Company, documented as having transported over 34,000 enslaved people across the Atlantic, and received contributions from Edward Colston, a prominent figure in the Royal African Company. In response, the Church Commissioners allocated £100 million, which is expected to fund an impact investment vehicle providing capital to ventures in descendant communities focused on social and environmental objectives alongside financial returns.
Support for the initiative was expressed at the synod. Daniel Matovu, a barrister representing the diocese of Oxford, stated the church had not only profited from the slave trade but “supported, defended and participated in” it. Bishop Graham Usher of Norwich characterized Project Spire as “a start” toward addressing historical wrongs, noting that no monetary sum could adequately compensate for enslavement. The bishop stated the church bore responsibility for Queen Anne’s Bounty’s investments in transatlantic slavery given the trade’s documented abhorrence and ongoing societal consequences.
The project has attracted criticism from various quarters, including the Policy Exchange think tank and Conservative politicians such as Katie Lam, as well as some Church of England members who characterize it as historically inaccurate or argue funds should be directed elsewhere. Church staff implementing the initiative have reportedly received hostile communications described by leadership as abusive. Bishop Usher declined to provide details about the legal challenge or its origins, citing the need for full legal review by Church Commissioners.
The USPG, an Anglican missionary organization formerly called the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established its own £7 million reparative justice initiative in 2024 after acknowledging ownership of two Barbados plantations where thousands were enslaved.
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