The Church of England’s Project Spire, a £100 million initiative aimed at advancing reparative justice for the institution’s historical connections to enslavement, is encountering a legal challenge and significant controversy. The project was established in 2023 following research into an endowment fund dating to 1704 that held investments in entities involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
The initiative emerged after investigations revealed that Queen Anne’s Bounty, a church endowment fund, had invested in the South Sea Company, which transported more than 34,000 enslaved people across the Atlantic. The fund additionally received contributions from individuals such as Edward Colston, a prominent figure in the Royal African Company. In response, the Church Commissioners committed £100 million in funding, with plans to establish an impact investment fund that would support startups in descendant communities while generating financial returns alongside social and environmental benefits.
Defenders of Project Spire presented calculations suggesting the church generated approximately £5 million annually in today’s money from directly operating sugar plantations in Barbados between 1710 and 1838, totaling an estimated £640 million over that period. The bishop of Norwich characterized the £100 million commitment as a necessary first step, noting that no amount could fully repay the historical harms inflicted. He emphasized the institution’s responsibility given the role Queen Anne’s Bounty played in financing enslavement.
Opposition to the project has come from conservative think tanks, certain politicians, and some Church of England members who argue it is historically inaccurate or that funds should be allocated differently. Staff members involved in Project Spire have reportedly faced hostile communications. The Anglican Missionary Society USPG established its own £7 million reparative justice project in 2024 following an apology for having owned two plantations in Barbados where thousands of people were enslaved. Church leadership has indicated that legal advice is being sought regarding the challenge to Project Spire.
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