Black British History: celebrating its buildings, landmarks and places

Black history is all around us in the UK. There are fascinating museums and exhibitions; buildings that have tales to tell and legacies that live on; famous landmarks and statues that honour heroes of the past; and areas that have been pivotal to shaping black history and culture in Britain. In this article, we give insight on some of the country's locations which form part of its black history.

Historical Buildings

Discover a legacy at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London

Walking past this rather bland-looking budget hotel today, you wouldn’t give it more than a second glance. However, events at the old Imperial Hotel on this site were key in the campaign against racial discrimination in the UK. The former West Indian cricketer and British politician Learie Constantine took the Imperial Hotel to the High Court in 1944 after it refused to allow him and his family to stay there while he played a match in London. Constantine, later to become a Baron, won the landmark case, which is seen as a major milestone towards racial equality in Britain. 

Uncover hidden history: Museum of London

The Museum of London, now known as the London Museum, holds a huge amount of material relating to black history in the capital. From African people known to be living in Roman London 2,000 years ago, to the role the city played in the slave trade and to the legacy of the Windrush generation, the museum tells powerful stories about the black experience. Before the museum’s two new sites open in 2026, the Docklands site remains open and free to visit.

New Beacon Books, Finsbury Park, London

New Beacon Books was not just the country’s first black bookshop when it opened in 1966, but also Britain’s first specialist publisher of black literature, and remains a vitally important part of the cultural scene for African and Caribbean communities in the UK. Still trading from its premises on Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, it was founded by the poets John La Rose and Sarah White and continues to publish and promote the work of established and new black writers, as well as hosting readings, talks and playing a role in outreach, cultural and social projects.

Explore the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool

More slave trading ships left Liverpool than almost any other city in the world. The International Slavery Museum at the Royal Albert Dock acknowledges the role that Liverpool played in slavery while giving a voice to the millions who were the victims of the trade, and promotes understanding of slavery in today’s society. Through its permanent and temporary exhibitions, some of which include the display of racially sensitive artefacts, the museum tells powerful stories and reflects on the lessons of history.

Cultural Centres

Visit the YMCA, 112 Great Russell Street

Though the original Edwardian building has gone, the YMCA still has a site on Great Russell Street in Central London. It is where Harold Moody’s League of Coloured Peoples met during the 1930s, a society that campaigned to reduce the inequality that faced black people in Britain at this time. The League successfully ended the ban on black applicants to the British army, amongst other achievements, and attracted the likes of Baron Constantine, CLR James and Paul Robeson to its meetings at the YMCA.

Taste the history at the former Mangrove Restaurant, Notting Hill

For nearly 25 years the Mangrove restaurant in Notting Hill was a centre for black British activism, as well as serving incredible food. Both aspects drew stars like Muhammad Ali, Diana Ross and Bob Marley to visit the Mangrove, but it was also a place where members of the black community in London could get free legal advice. The restaurant was the subject of frequent police raids, and its founder Frank Crichlow and eight other civil rights activists were arrested in 1970 on charges of inciting a riot. All were acquitted, and the ‘Mangrove Nine’ trial became legendary for exposing institutional racism in the Metropolitan Police.  

Visit the Blueprint for All, Lewisham

The murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence in Lewisham in 1993 has had a lasting impact on society and race relations in the UK. Stephen wanted to become an architect. Blueprint for All, formerly known as the Stephen Lawrence Centre, is an educational charity that focuses on providing opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, background or ethnicity, and works with young people, communities and organisations, ‘building careers, supporting communities and enriching society’.

Explore the Black Cultural Archives, Brixton

If ever a building symbolised the theme of this year’s Black History Month – ‘reclaiming narratives’ – it is the Black Cultural Archives. Located at 1 Windrush Square, Brixton, it records, preserves and celebrates the contribution of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK, telling stories from their perspective, correcting historical inaccuracies and giving the black British community control over their heritage and experience. Search the BCA collections for specific information or visit their exhibitions.

Watch screenings at the BFI South Bank

The British Film Institute has a wide-ranging programme showcasing the best of Black cinema, including regular themed seasons to coincide with Black History Month. Subscribers can also gain access to the BFI Player, featuring rare, classic and influential films about the black experience in Britain and around the world.  

Monuments & Landmarks

Stroll through Oxford Street

Why is a wander down the main shopping streets of the West End important in the context of black British history? Well, as remarkable as it seems, until the late 1960s there was an unofficial ban on black people being allowed to work in customer-facing roles in shops and restaurants. Through the efforts of Dame Jocelyn Barrow of the Campaign against Racial Discrimination, who persuaded the head of Marks & Spencer to start employing young black women as shop assistants, the ban was lifted.

Explore West India Docks, Canary Wharf

The West India Dock complex was created in the early 19^th century in order to handle the huge amount of goods that were being shipped to London’s docks from the Caribbean – almost all of it produced as a result of slave labour. The area is now of course a major business centre, home to the towers of Canary Wharf. A few of the old warehouse buildings do remain, one of which now houses the London Museum at Docklands.  

Go to New Cross Road, New Cross

439 New Cross Road in south-east London was the scene of a devastating house fire in January 1981 that claimed the lives of 13 young black people, attending a 16th birthday party. The fire was widely believed to have been a racist attack, but no charges were ever brought. The death toll increased when a survivor of the fire took his own life two years later. The tragedy led to the ‘Black People’s Day of Action’ in March 1981, when over 20,000 black people marched through London in protest, with placards that read ‘13 people dead, nothing said’.

See the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue, Lambeth

Mary Seacole was a Jamaican-born nurse who set up a convalescence unit during the Crimean War in the 1850s, despite not being allowed to be part of the official nursing contingent led by Florence Nightingale. She travelled independently to the Crimea and was referred to as ‘Mother Seacole’ by the British soldiers. She wrote a book about her experiences but died an almost forgotten figure. Interest in Seacole has more recently revived, and she topped a poll of the ‘100 Great Black Britons’ in 2004. The statue that stands on the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital, unveiled in 2016, was the first to recognise a named black woman in Britain.

Don’t forget the Platforms Piece, Brixton Station

You may have seen these already if your train has stopped at Brixton overground station – four bronze life-size statues of commuters, waiting on the platform. The statues were commissioned in 1986 and are the work of sculptor Kevin Atherton. They depict real people living in Brixton at the time – Peter Lloyd, Karin Heisterman and Joy Battick – and Joy has the distinction of being represented twice, with an updated statue made in 2023 and standing on the opposite platform. When first unveiled they were the first public statues of black British people to be displayed in England.