Activists install plaque at church in protest against slave trader tribute

PROTESTERS have installed a huge sign outside a Falmouth church warning that it houses a controversial monument to a slave trader.

- by ALEX DRISCOLL

The Church of King Charles the Martyr in Falmouth contains a marble memorial to Thomas Corker, a slave trader from the town.

The sign outside was fitted by a group of anonymous residents to coincide with the installation of the new Bishop of Truro.

They have called for the memorial to be removed, describing it as "a blot on our town".

Last year the same group installed a brass plaque in the Grade II*-listed church, without permission, "to give context" to the memorial.

The action was criticised by the church authorities, which said it damaged the work being carried out within the community with respect to the impact of Corker's memorial.

Born in Falmouth in 1670, he moved to the Guinea Coast in Africa when he was 14, became chief agent for the Royal African Company, which traded in slaves, and married an African princess.

He was transferred to the Gambia in April 1699 and died in Falmouth the following year, having returned there on business.