When did the first black person arrive in England? Black Presence in Britain

Like many aspects of Black British History, the written record and the archaeological record differ somewhat.  A common misconception is that Black people arrived in England in the 1950s. Around the 1980’s more serious research began to investigate the Black Presence in England, and countless instances of Black people in England throughout the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries

However, the black population despite very small goes much further back. There is Archaeological evidence of Black Romans.

African Romans in Britain

The division of ‘Moors’ stationed at Hadrians Wall is often cited as good evidence of Africans in Britain. However, evidence of sub-Saharan Africans at the wall is patchy.  All we have to go on is an account of the Libyan Emporer, Septimus Severus, who whilst in Britain was “mocked by an Aethiope”.

More reliable evidence is the discovery of the “Ivory Bangle Lady”, a 4th Century Roman Skeleton found in York and of other African skeletons in Roman Britain which have been found in Roman Cemeteries in London.

Details of the 4 skeletons unearthed in a Roman cemetery in London are documented in Redfern, R., Marshall, M., Eaton, K., & Poinar, H. (2017). ‘Written in Bone’: New Discoveries about the Lives and Burials of Four Roman Londoners. Britannia, 48, 253-277. doi:10.1017/S0068113X17000216

Africans in Viking Britain

Black Romans are relatively well known now to those who follow historical developments. Less well known are Black Vikings.  It is really impossible to say who the first black person in England was.  Remember at that time, England wasn’t even called England.  Britain was divided up into a number of disparate kingdoms.

Those who follow British History will have heard of the Annals of Ireland in which the Blaumen are described. (Blue Men) The true meaning of this term is hotly debated. It is however known that the Vikings raided southern Europe and the Mediterranean at the times of Moorish control in Spain and Morrocco. It is then highly likely that they will have encountered black Africans as they are well integrated into North African societies.

One might argue such evidence is supposition at best presenting no physical evidence. Yet in 2013 a skeleton was pulled from the River Colne, Gloucestershire, which was determined to be of African Origin. The Skeleton was dated at around 1000 years old, meaning that she would have been alive in Viking Britain.  The International Business Times speculated on 1,000 Year Old Skeleton of African Woman Discovered by Schoolboys

Beachy Head Lady

In 2012 archaeologists began re-examining a group of skeletons that had been pre excavated from the late 19th century up to the 1990s.

Eastbourne Borough Council’s museum service received a grant of £72,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to go to the Eastbourne Ancestors project.

The aim was to identify the gender and age of each skeleton in its collection.

Detailed scientific analysis of more than 300 skeletons of people who lived in the south of England thousands of years ago has undertaken by scientists and archaeologists.  One of the skeletons was packed into a box labelled ‘Beachy Head’.

Inside the box were the bones of a young woman, whom upon analysis was found to be a sub-Saharan African Romano woman who had grown up in the South of England.  A detailed personal account by one of the team can be found on the Museum Crush website.

The mystery of Beachy Head Lady: A Roman African from Eastbourne

We’ve literally just touched on a few instances here, but hopefully, we’ve gone some way to answering the question. As far as science can tell up to this point, the first black people in England arrived with the Romans.

Related Links
Irish Catholic: Were the Blue Men the first Muslims in Ireland?