The Church of England is confronting a legal challenge regarding Project Spire, a £100m initiative designed to advance reparative justice for the institution’s historical involvement with enslavement. The effort has generated contentious debate within the church and broader public discourse.
Project Spire was established in 2023 following research into Queen Anne’s Bounty, a church endowment fund established in 1704. Investigation revealed the fund had invested in the South Sea Company, which transported more than 34,000 enslaved people across the Atlantic. The fund also received contributions from figures including Edward Colston, a prominent participant in the Royal African Company’s enslaving operations. In response, the Church Commissioners committed £100m in funding, with expectations the resources would establish an impact investment fund potentially supporting startups in descendant communities focused on social and environmental objectives alongside financial returns.
Spire has attracted opposition from various quarters, including the Policy Exchange think tank, certain Conservative politicians, and some Church of England members who argue the project lacks historical grounding and question whether funding should be allocated differently. During General Synod sessions in York, Daniel Matovu, a barrister representing the diocese of Oxford, stated the church had not merely profited from the slave trade but “supported, defended and participated in” it. He suggested historical church operations generated approximately £5m annually from directly managing sugar plantations in Barbados between 1710 and 1838, totaling roughly £640m in contemporary currency.
Graham Usher, the bishop of Norwich, affirmed that the church bore responsibility for this history because “that trade was so abhorrent” and its legacies continue disadvantaging people today. He acknowledged the legal challenge while noting the Church Commissioners required comprehensive legal counsel. Usher expressed concern about “vile abuse and correspondence” directed at church staff involved with the project. The Anglican missionary organization USPG similarly launched a £7m reparative justice initiative in 2024 after apologizing for historical plantation ownership in Barbados where thousands of people were enslaved.
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