A House Through Time

David Olusoga sets out once more to uncover the history of a single house, discovering remarkable stories along the way - of piracy, a foundling baby, and a runaway slave. In this series the featured property is an 18th century sea captain's house situated near Bristol's docks: Number 10 Guinea Street.

The name Guinea Street is itself a clue about Number 10's origins. It is named after the Guinea Coast in West Africa, a hub of the international slave trade. And the date the house was built, 1718, was at a time when Bristol was becoming Britain's premier slaving port. The man who built the house, Captain Edmund Saunders, was a prolific slave trader himself, trafficking men, women and children from Africa to the sugar plantations of the Caribbean - and the same is true of the first full-time resident, Joseph Smith.

Smith was another sea captain, and while hunting for more information about his life, David uncovers extraordinary evidence from one of his voyages from 1721. A handwritten account from one of the ship's crew reveals a story of piracy, peril and revenge.

David's search leads him to the local church, St Mary Redcliffe, where one remarkable record reveals the existence of a baby girl named Martha, abandoned on the doorstep of 10 Guinea Street.

The next resident is John Shebbeare, who arrives at the house in 1750 with his wife Susannah. Shebbeare is a doctor and a prolific political writer. David's final search is for the Holbrooks, who move into the house in 1751. They are Captain Joseph Holbrook, his wife Hester and their children. Joseph Holbrook is a wealthy trader importing luxury items to Bristol - predominantly sugar, produced on the slave plantations of the Caribbean. But sugar is not the only Caribbean connection in this household. Following the Holbrooks' trail uncovers the remarkable story of their black servant, Thomas, described as a ‘native of Jamaica'.

His existence is only known from a newspaper article of 1759, which suggests that he attempted an audacious escape from his master's house, an astonishingly risky move with potentially devastating consequences. Joseph Holbrook dies in 1774, leaving the house in Guinea Street to his widow Hester. Although she appears to have been materially provided for by her husband, her comfortable existence is challenged by new ideas. By the later decades of the 18th century, the tide is turning against the trade which made Hester's family rich and the campaign for the Abolition Of Slavery is gaining momentum. As David discovers, the Abolitionists of Bristol bring their message, quite literally, to Hester's doorstep.