Bishop joins calls to remove monuments to HM Stanley in St Asaph and Denbigh

The Bishop of St Asaph is supporting a call for two statutes celebrating the life of the explorer, Henry Morton Stanley, to be removed from prominent positions in Denbigh and St Asaph.

Bishop Gregory Cameron has written to St Asaph City Council asking for the removal of the monument to Stanley from its place near the River Elwy and signed a petition calling for the removal of a statute from Denbigh town centre.

In a letter to the Daily Post newspaper, the Bishop said: “Exactly what do we commemorate in the life of Henry Morton Stanley, born John Rowlands?  He was an adventurer, who had little respect for the natives of Africa, and who shared in management of one of the most atrocious and exploitative colonial endeavours ever in that vast continent, the enslaving of an entire population to service the wealth creation of King Leopold II of the Belgians through the production of rubber.  He repudiated his Welsh upbringing and paid scant regard to the communities of St Asaph and Denbigh which had nurtured him.

“So why exactly is there a statue of him in Denbigh’s main square, and another monument at the bottom of St Asaph’s High Street?”

Henry Morton Stanley was born in 1841 as John Rowlands in Denbigh.  He was abandoned by his mother as a young baby and his father died a few weeks after his birth.  He spent some time in the St Asaph Workhouse before emigrating to America and subsequently travelling to Africa.

In 2011, Bishop Gregory went on record expressing his dismay that the St Asaph City Council had elected to commemorate a man well known for his imperialist career, his brutality towards the indigenous African population, and for his collaboration with King Leopold in the subjugation, exploitation and maltreatment of the Congolese people.  In his letter to the city council this week, Bishop Gregory said: “…current affairs amply demonstrate the anger and distress caused by the celebration of racist and colonialist pioneers, I would like to suggest to you that the time has come to remove the offence of this monument…. I would like to feel that St Asaph City Council would be willing to identify with the “Black Lives Matter” campaign by making the highly symbolic gesture of putting this monument out of sight, and taking a stand for equality and diversity.”

St Asaph Cathedral contains a small plaque to Stanley and discussions are taking place as to whether it should be removed or a further panel added to provide interpretation.  The Dean of St Asaph Cathedral, the Very Revd Nigel Williams said: “The plaque is not prominent and does not draw attention to itself.  It does not honour Stanley as a statue. Additional information alongside could provide the opportunity for visitors to properly consider the issues but it’s right that we think carefully about its place here in the Cathedral.

“I will be seeking advice from the Diocesan Advisory Committee and the matter will be discussed at the next Cathedral Chapter meeting.”

Several petitions have been started on the change.org website calling for the removal or replacement of the monuments in Denbigh and St Asaph:

• https://www.change.org/p/denbighshire-county-council-remove-st-asaph-hm-stanley-statue
• https://www.change.org/p/welsh-government-remove-the-hm-stanley-obelisk-in-st-asaph-tynnwch-yr-obelisg-hm-stanley-yn-llanelwy
• https://www.change.org/p/denbighshire-county-council-take-down-denbigh-s-hm-stanley-statue-and-replace-with-permanent-educational-exhibition
• https://www.change.org/p/denbigh-town-council-remove-the-statue-of-stanley-from-denbigh-town-centre

The Bishop of St Asaph has oversight of north-east and mid-Wales. The Diocese stretches from Llandudno in north-west Wales across to the Wales/England border and down to Newtown in Powys.  The Diocese of St Asaph is one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales, an independent Province of the Anglican Communion.