Message from Harry Yearnshire (Head of History, Lancaster Girls Grammar School)
An aspect of our Year 8 History Curriculum at Lancaster Girls Grammar School (LGGS) is focused on a study of the transatlantic slave trade through the lens of a local history study – can we learn all we need to know about the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade from a study of the history of Lancaster? As part of this unit of study we take all our Year 8 students on a guided walking tour and educational visit of the recently updated Lancaster Slave Trade Trail.
One of the tasks our current Year 9 students had to complete following their visit, at the end of the last school year, was a piece of creative writing, a poem, about their trip and their learning. All student’s work was then reviewed by teachers before being entered into a competition organised by the LGGS History Society and judged by the joint presidents of the History Society, Lilly & Nancye in Year 13. We were delighted with the high quality of the work that we saw, and we are now pleased to announce the three winners of this competition and share their poems with you (please see below). The following students have been presented with their prize, a copy of the recently published ‘Black Poppies: The Story of Britain’s Black Community in the First World War’. This is a book that is also available in the School Library and which we have recommended to Key Stage 3 students as a wider reading option as part of our Black History Month celebrations at LGGS 2022.
Well done to not only our winners but all the other students who wrote such thoughtful and interesting poems about their local history and their learning.
Read some of the winning poems below:
1st Prize: Catherine Hill (9.1)
The single word
The property is packed tight on the grand cargo ships,
More are destroyed but still more profit is made,
The conditions are terrible but at least they aren’t people,
Just goods,
One hears a single word,
That turns to a murmur,
And passes on to a sentence,
That forms a rumour,
Young ears are covered,
Gasps fill the small air pockets,
Looks of grief for people not yet deceased cover faces,
The word should never be spoken,
Visions of a Quaker house are reflected in eyes,
The facade shows wealthy Georgian architecture,
Non-conformist Protestants not ‘loving thy neighbour’
Some fighting for freedom while others disapprove,
Cargo on the right has heard of a Dodgson Foster,
His place of burial hosting the Satterthwaite family,
Nervous glances occur as the myth of the mummified hand is told,
But for some it is a tale for another day,
Some on the left foresee the future to come,
Of old muddy banks for unloading the goods,
Little do they know they were replaced,
By a great quay for a saint and new, modern warehouses,
A Norman castle of 1068 is pictured,
A prison for nonconformists like George Fox, Margaret Fell and many more,
Threats shouted by high authority at those with none,
Screams of torture rising far above the castle walls,
Or maybe a pleasant memorial comes to minds,
Surrounded with nature and flowers inscribed with Walinson and Hind,
A William Lindow’s wealth is thought of fondly,
How it came to be is not,
A James Sawrey is the lead subject in conversations for some,
His mahogany from Jamaica is spoken of highly,
His wealth even more so,
But the suffering behind it all is often unheard of,
Images of mills spinning and weaving cotton are described,
As goods share their greatest hopes of futures,
A cotton town with mills calmly working perfectly,
But some tell of the dangerous often fatal machinery of the industrial revolution,
The canal built in the 1790s is referred to alongside the mills,
It speeds up the industrial revolution,
Transporting coal much faster than any other method,
Maybe some of the voices behind the rumours will end up on the boats,
A beautiful and expensive Saint John’s church is envisioned by the artistic shipments,
A memorial stone is in place for the 3 John’s,
A prosperous home for the trade and made from its profits,
Being the wealthiest country in the world has some things for it,
The Sun Inn is whispered with crossed fingers,
If the cargo is lucky enough they might become drivers,
They would discover new places all over the country,
And rest at the inn during their travels,
The name Richard Gillow is heard from many other mouths,
Gillow’s warehouse and pub are described with terror,
As the famous mahogany furniture manufacturer is said to have invested,
In the very parcels muttering his name,
A Dodgson Foster is also discussed,
5 voyages of 650 other individual purchases,
Just like them,
Wondering where most ended up,
The goods themselves may view their price,
They will likely be worth,
Alongside their companions,
900% profit during their voyage,
The youngest imports think of the excitement,
The Theatre Royal makes little eyes light up just at the mention of its name,
Playing host to the great African American Ira Aldridge,
Known for his incredible portrayal of Shakespeare characters,
The theatre is mentioned again but through the mouths of the most academic,
A Moses Roper spoke here as a proud abolitionist,
Many of the mouths speak in admiration and awe,
Maybe he will be the man capable of changing their future,
Some older merchandise think if it’s beauty worthy of a museum,
Of the Ancient Rome and Greek columns installed by a Richard Gillow,
In the building made for customs and taxes,
Of which they likely won’t have to pay,
Or maybe a town hall comes to mind,
With the same consistent Georgian architecture,
Hosting Thomas Hind, John Bond and more mayors to come,
Or perhaps it will become a museum for the small city to share its history,
But there is one family name that is mumbled the loudest with danger of being heard,
The Lindow family and their trade across the islands,
In their home’s attic John Chance lives a quiet life,
And William Lindow’s creation of Lindow square is greatly approved of,
Predictions for Odd fellows hall are given,
The future speaking place for many African Americans,
If only freedom was given,
Someday it might just be,
Not many parcels end up,
Alongside all of the envisioned,
But these whether they are lucky or unlucky,
Have done just that,
The stories were shared,
The rumours continued,
Until a shrill scream comes from all around,
And the single word is finally shrieked at the highest octave,
Not Lancaster!
2nd Prize: Emily Holt (9.4)
Meeting house of Quakers, no Catholics allowed,
Not the favourite of the crowd.
20 Castle Park, Georgian and old,
Family were Quakers, ignore what you’ve been told.
Lancaster Castle, law court and prison,
Quakers tried and punished for their religion.
Lancaster Priory, navigation for the ships,
Henry Hind who ran away, perhaps from the whip.
St George’s Quay, river very busy,
So many boats, you would get dizzy.
Maritime Museum, good transportation links,
Georgian-style building, is that what you think.
Slave trade memorial, good transportation links,
All came from Africa, had to be brave.
St John’s Church, memorial behind,
For John, who owned a slave ship, he had not been kind.
Theatre Royal, also the Grand,
There would be queues like the modern-day bands.
Lancaster Canal, with Mills weaving thread,
Slaves wove cotton that would’ve been your bed.
Town Hall, Mayor twice John Bond,
Received a lot of money, didn’t respond.
Old Fellow’s Hall, where Catholics used to meet,
The reformation was hard to beat.
City museum Hinde who was the Mayor,
Owned a slave ship, don’t think he cared.
The Sun Hotel, coaching inn,
Traders would meet, might’ve had some gin.
Gillow’s warehouse, furniture makers,
Owned office and workshops, they weren’t Quakers
1 Queen Street, Lindow family owned,
William had slaves who had been disowned.
3rd Prize: Chloe Benter (9.2)
It started with the Quakers,
And the big house on the hill,
The religion of the Quakers,
Would not doubt get them killed.
‘Boycott the American Cotton’ they said,
‘Put an end to slavery’,
But no cotton made the people poor,
So they sat on the bench for eternity.
Morecambe to the West,
Lake District to the North,
But down the hill,
Through the trees,
Is a ship called the Hobby Horse.
From sludge to slavery,
Dodshon was there for it all,
Ships in and out everyday,
It was the 4th largest port.
The monument by the Quay,
For those shipped overseas,
But who wasn’t there,
Dodshon Foster and his slaves.
The seat of power,
In Lancaster Town Hall,
Down the road from Lindow,
And the end of the tour.
LANCASTER BLACK HISTORY GROUP 
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