The Church of England’s Project Spire, a £100 million initiative designed to address the institution’s historical links to enslavement, is facing a legal challenge, church officials announced at the General Synod in York. The program was established in 2023 following research into Queen Anne’s Bounty, an endowment fund dating to 1704 that was found to have invested in the South Sea Company, which transported more than 34,000 enslaved people across the Atlantic. The fund also received donations from individuals involved in the slave trade, including Edward Colston, a prominent figure in the Royal African Company.
The Church Commissioners, which manages church assets, committed £100 million to the initiative, with plans to establish an impact investment fund that would support startups in descendant communities while generating financial returns alongside social and environmental benefits. Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, characterized Project Spire as a “work of healing, justice and repair.” Daniel Matovu, a barrister representing the diocese of Oxford, stated that historical research indicates the church generated approximately £5 million annually in today’s currency from operating sugar plantations in Barbados between 1710 and 1838, totaling roughly £640 million over that period.
The project has drawn criticism from conservative organizations and politicians, as well as some Church of England members who contend it is historically flawed or that funds should be allocated differently. Graham Usher, the bishop of Norwich, acknowledged the legal challenge while defending the initiative’s importance, stating that no amount of money could fully repay historical wrongs but that the project represented “a start.” Usher noted that Church Commissioners staff have endured significant abuse and hostile correspondence related to the program. The Anglican Missionary Society USPG previously established a £7 million reparative justice project in 2024 after apologizing for owning plantations in Barbados where thousands were enslaved.
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