MONUMENT – AND NAME – TO STAY
A CONTROVERSIAL monument in Carmarthen erected in honour of a war hero with links to the slave trade will not be removed or renamed, it has been decided.
Picton Monument has stood on Picton Terrace in Carmarthen since 1888.
However, a campaign was launched earlier this year to have the monument removed, less than a day after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into the harbour by protesters in Bristol.
This was part of a backlash which was triggered by the murder of George Floyd in the US state of Minnesota on May 25 and the Black Lives Matter protests that it inspired.
In response to these events, Carmarthenshire Council set up a Task and Finish Group to review matters relating to racial inequality, including the “interpretation and history of Sir Thomas Picton and the monument in Carmarthen”.
The Task and Finish Group undertook a public consultation in order to gain an understanding of the views and comments of the people, while also consulting with Race Council Cymru and the Llanelli Multicultural Network, and reviewing information gathered from the Carmarthen Civic Society and local councillors.
As part of an online survey, which was also available in paper form and was open between August 19 and September 30, 2,470 responses were received.
The survey asked: Do you think Carmarthenshire Council (and key partners) need to take any steps in response to the recent public discussion about the Sir Thomas Picton monument?
744 people stated ‘ Yes’, that steps needed to be taken, and 1,613 people stated ‘No’, that no steps needed to be taken.
113 people chose not to answer the question but gave feedback through the free text option.
For those who wanted steps to be taken, suggestions included removing the monument and placing it at another location, such as Carmarthen Museum, demolishing the monument, renaming or rededicating it, or erecting an information board.
Reasons given by those who said that no action should be taken included that it was a “military recognition”, the fact that “you cannot change or erase history”, and that the monument is “integral to Carmarthen”.
Thomas Picton himself has been celebrated in Carmarthen for generations. A previous monument was created 60 years before the current one, recognising the highestranking British officer killed at Waterloo in 1815, and still the only Welshman to be buried at St Paul’s Cathedral.
During his lifetime, he became notorious during a trial at which he was accused and initially found guilty of authorising the torture of a 14-yearold girl accused of stealing. He also had close links to the slave trade, and was accused of ordering the execution of a dozen slaves during his reign as Governor of Trinidad.
The current monument, which stands at around 25 metres tall, has been grade two listed since the early 1980s, and it will now remain in its place after the results of the public consultation.
In conclusion, the county council decided that the monument would remain as it is – an approach that will also be taken in relation to place names referring to Sir Thomas Picton.
“Having considered all of the evidence relating to the consultation process, the Task and Finish Group were in agreement that the monument should remain, and should not be repurposed, renamed or altered. It was also agreed that the same approach should be taken with regards to place names,” a council report said.
“Given that there are several street names and references to Sir Thomas Picton across Carmarthen, the group recognised that there is little historical information on display to inform the public and agreed that this ought to be addressed.
“The group also acknowledged the conclusive result of the consultation and agreed that steps needed to be taken as a matter of priority to reflect recent global events and reconsideration in view of the history of Sir Thomas Picton.
“When interpreting the history of Sir Thomas Picton the group emphatically agreed that consideration should be given to his tenure as the Governor of Trinidad, his links with slavery, as well as his military career.
“In the light of the need to educate and inform in a more comprehensive way, it was decided that information boards should be put in place. The information boards or display should seek to educate and inform the public on local history alongside that of Sir Thomas Picton.”
It was recommended that information boards should be placed near Picton Monument, and on a prominent site with the grounds of the monument.
It was also recommended that a further board be placed in the vicinity of the former Crown Court in the Guildhall in the centre of Carmarthen, which is home to a portrait of Sir Thomas Picton, and that all boards should “reference the local history of the area and also the history of Sir Thomas Picton, encompassing his military career as well as his known links with slavery”.