Kettering council will commission William Knibb artwork

A petition to remember Kettering’s famous abolitionist has led to the council deciding to commission public art work.

William Knibb became the centre of local attention last month with calls from councillors, local history groups and anti-racism campaigners for him to be remembered after the George Floyd murder in American led to the questioning of statues across Britain dedicated to men who had made their fortunes from the slave trade.

Knibb, who was born in Kettering in 1803, moved to Jamaica in the 1820s and ran a baptist church and then became involved in the free slaves movement as well as supporting people when slavery was abolished.

He has been commemorated around the town over past decades, with a building currently named after him, but in today’s current climate where Britain’s colonist past is being re-examined a number of Kettering residents think his valuable contribution should be remembered today.

At its meeting on Wednesday night (July 8) Kettering’s Conservative executive committee decided to take up the call from the 1,358 strong petition and will now put up money for a public art work competition. It will also host a series of workshops and education events in the museum and gallery during October’s black history month.

The report considered by councillors said: “To ensure continuity it would make sense to align the commissioning of this proposed project within our plans for cultural-led regeneration within Kettering town centre , which includes street scene improvements – by aligning delivery and integrations of themes it will ensure aesthetic consistency throughout the town.

“It would be important to seek historical as well as technical expertise prior to launching any design competition to ensure it is robustly researched and the specification is suitable. Such expertise could be paid for within an overall design competition funding envelope.”

Last year the authority received just under £2m from Historic England to improve its town centre and it plans to use £10,000 of these funds to carry out the art competition. The town’s civic society, as well as the faith community and people from the town’s black and ethnic minority community will be consulted about the commission.

The amount that will be spent on the artwork itself has not yet been decided.

The move was welcomed by councillors across the political spectrum.

In a statement read by fellow councillor Clark Mitchell, opposition Labour leader Mick Scrimshaw said: “I personally feel that the days of putting up statues of Victorian gentlemen with top hats and frock coats are long over, so welcome the report’s comments on commissioning an art project that will have a much wider remit than that. It is really the values of the anti-slavery movement we wish to celebrate, because while they are about a particular historical issue, they are still relevant today and form part of an anti-racist agenda that all of us at the council would wish to promote, and I think the proposals in this report offer a sensible way of doing that.”

Because of registering too late, some speakers from Kettering’s Black Lives Matters protest group were not allowed to speak at the meeting, which was criticised by Labour’s Cllr Anne Lee.

In a statement the group said: “Tackling racism is a big and ongoing challenge, that will take us beyond the boroughs boundaries and into the new unitary system. It is essential that the local community can play a proactive and valued part in this challenge. We fully support a cultural regeneration of Kettering town centre that also addresses this challenge.”

During the meeting the long running saga of the Kettering mosaic also resurfaced. The mosaic, which is in storage with the town’s civic society after being taken down from the former Tresham college site in 2007, features the baptist missionary movement, of which WIlliam Knibb was a part. Fundraising is continuing to get the mosaic restored.

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