We are currently working to digitize Paxton’s archives relating to the trade in enslaved African people and chattel slavery in the Caribbean. These archives are mainly comprised of the Home of Wedderburn papers, many of which are currently housed at National Records of Scotland. A digital repository of items from the archives are being uploaded, with descriptions and images, to our eHive portal [Paxton House on eHive] where you can also find details relating to Paxton House’s outstanding collection of furniture, costume and artwork. These records are readily accessible to anyone with an interest in the history of Paxton house, its owners, and their involvement in the Caribbean.

Within this archive there is a wonderfully rich array of documental sources. These include hundreds of letters penned by writers such as: Ninian Home, the second owner of Paxton (and Lieutenant Governor of Grenada) who was killed in Fédon’s uprising in Grenada in 1795; his brother George Home, who inherited his brother’s Scottish and Caribbean estates; plantation managers, doctors and overseers; and London, Glasgow and Bristol-based West India merchants, responsible for handling the trade in Caribbean produce and supplying the plantations. These letters provide fascinating insights into everyday life on the plantations in Grenada, the conditions endured by the enslaved people and the attitudes of their enslavers. You can read letters discussing William Wilberforce, Henry Dundas, the abolition movement, the Napoleonic wars, and compensation for slave owners. Alongside this correspondence are deeds, legal writings, and estate accounts. With these documents a complete picture of Paxton’s involvement in the Caribbean can be reconstructed.

As we learn more, we will share the stories revealed by the archive project here.