Brighton & Hove’s Slavery Connections: Explore the Map
The people who were enslaved are at the heart of this interactive history map. We follow Brighton and Hove’s connections with slavery to recover names and learn what surviving records can tell us about individual lives and families.
How to use the map
- Start with a name: search for a recorded name or place, or choose “Browse names A–Z”. Open a result to follow the evidence towards the local connection. “More search options” lets you filter by estate or return.
- Explore the map: click or tap an underlined name to open the local connection. Use the tabs to explore the claims, roles and sources.
- Explore the named registers where available: search and filter the records, then select an individual to read their documented record story.
- On a phone, swipe the map sideways to reach the other locations. Use “Back to map” or “Close” to return.
The map is schematic and not to scale.
Visiting the locations: This is an interactive history map. You may choose to explore some locations on foot, but we have not checked walking routes, step-free access, pavement conditions or other accessibility needs. Please plan your journey using up-to-date local information and your own requirements. A place appearing on the map does not mean the building is open to the public; please respect private property.
About the research
Compensation after abolition went to slave owners and others with recognised financial claims. The people who had been enslaved received none. We use these records as a route towards the people whose lives appear within them, often only as a number.
Behind each figure were individual lives. Where the evidence allows, registers can reveal names, ages, family relationships, births, deaths and movements between estates. We follow these details carefully, distinguish confirmed facts from uncertain connections, and leave gaps where the records do not allow us to go further. Our aim is to remember enslaved people as individuals and bring what can still be learned about them into view.
Research is ongoing. Entries distinguish confirmed evidence, uncertain connections and work still to be completed. The names index is incomplete: the same name may appear in several record entries, and matching names alone do not establish that they refer to the same person.
Related articles
Explore the background to this research and other accounts of enslavement, freedom and abolition connected with Brighton:
- Brighton and Slavery’s Legacy
- Sussex and British Slavery: What the Records Reveal
- Olaudah Equiano and Brighton’s anti-slavery networks
- Henry “Box” Brown in Brighton: Freedom on Stage
- Thomas Highflyer: His Brighton Story
- Francis Barber
Visiting the locations
This is an interactive history map. Walking routes and access to individual locations have not been assessed. Buildings may be privately owned and are not necessarily open to the public.
Please plan any visit around your own access needs and up-to-date local information.