The Church of England is defending Project Spire, a £100 million initiative designed to address the institution’s historical involvement with enslavement, amid ongoing legal challenges and public criticism.
The project, established in 2023, emerged following research into Queen Anne’s Bounty, an endowment fund dating to 1704. Investigations revealed the fund had invested in the South Sea Company, which transported more than 34,000 enslaved people across the Atlantic, and received donations from figures involved in the enslaving enterprise. The Church Commissioners subsequently committed £100 million in funding, with plans for an impact investment fund that could support ventures in descendant communities.
During the General Synod in York, church leadership defended the initiative as reparative work. Daniel Matovu, a barrister representing the diocese of Oxford, stated the church had not merely profited from the slave trade but had actively supported and participated in it. He noted estimates suggesting the church generated approximately £5 million annually in current monetary value 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 reparative commitment as foundational, emphasizing that no sum could adequately compensate for historical harms and acknowledging the continuing disadvantages affecting descendant communities.
The project has drawn opposition from some political figures and policy organizations who question its historical basis and propose alternative uses for the funds. Project Spire staff have reportedly faced hostile communications. The Anglican Missionary Organization USPG separately initiated a £7 million reparative justice project in 2024 following an apology for owning plantations in Barbados where enslaved people labored. Church officials indicated they are pursuing full legal counsel regarding the ongoing challenge to Project Spire but declined to disclose further details at this time.
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