Jeremy Corbyn will speak in Falmouth this coming weekend as part of a series of Your Party rallies around the UK. The event is being advertised by the Cornish Bank, a local not-for-profit events space, but the choice of venue for Corbyn’s speech has caused a stir amongst progressives in the local area.

The campaign against the Church of King Charles the Martyr began in 2021 after the Black Lives Matter movement put many monuments of “Contested Heritage” under scrutiny across the UK. KCM Church’s oldest memorial is a large Limestone and Marble monument to Thomas Corker, a slave trader who died in 1700. 

Corker, born 1669 in Falmouth, was the Chief Agent of the Royal African Company, a company responsible for the kidnapping and sale of an estimated 200,000 people into slavery during its existence. The memorial was commissioned by his brother, Robert Corker, who was Mayor of Falmouth at the time of his death.

According to a 2025 report by Dr. Alice Kinghorn, commissioned by the Diocese of Truro on behalf of KCM Church, the memorial is unusual in a variety of ways. In a copy given to Cobblestone Media, the report highlights its biographic nature:

“In this epitaph, there is no mention nor evidence of any philanthropy from Corker to KCM, or to Falmouth more generally. Instead, in comparison to other epitaphs of the age, the Corker memorial is completely based around, and highly emphasises, his role in African chattel enslavement.” 

In other words, the memorial is not just a headstone with Corker’s name and date of death, but a celebration of chattel slavery itself. 

This is not the only contested monument in the Church. In the same report, Kinghorn highlights 11 other memorials in the KCM Church with “colonial connections.”

Despite meeting with concerned community members and continued pressure, the Church has continuously refused to remove the memorial, and have yet to alter it (whether through removal or contextualisation) since the campaign started in 2021. Little has been done since the Church of England Contested Heritage and Racial Justice Unit visited in 2022/2023 to urge KCM to take action.

In a response to frustrated comments on their Instagram post advertising the rally, the Cornish Bank stated:

“Many people have worked hard on ideas for its contextualisation and removal and the process is still on going. In the meantime for all our events the memorial is covered and a sign is placed on it to explain why. We cannot change history but we can learn from it and that’s why it’s important to hear from those who are actively anti racist.”

This statement contradicts campaigners who have clarified that there is no pathway for removal currently set out by the church

This has left many doubting the inclusivity of Your Party. It has also brought into question the extent to which Your Party organisers are attuned to the concerns of the very communities they wish to engage with. The memorial has been a continuous flash-point for local activists, even garnering national press attention for protest activities – and those who have campaigned for the memorial’s removal have described this event’s choice of venue as “disgraceful”.

Cobblestone Media spoke to Kate, a local campaigner and historian on the subject of the Church’s memorial:

“You couldn’t make it up. Of all the venues In Cornwall, Your Party organisers opt for King Charles the Martyr Church, home to a racist memorial. It’s large, elaborate and glorifies a slave trader. The idea that they’d invite the life-long anti-racist Jeremy Corbyn to a rally in such a venue beggars’ belief.

“Since 850 of us took the knee in Kimberley Park for Black Lives Matter. we’ve run anti-racist campaigns in Falmouth. The Remove the Slave Trader Memorial, Falmouth & Penryn Welcome Refugees, the counter-demonstrations against the fascists outside the Beresford Hotel, Newquay, and Palestine Solidarity Cornwall are just some of the anti-racist campaigns in Cornwall. If the first Your Party rally in Cornwall is exclusive of Black people, anti-imperialists and anti-racists then Your Party does not speak for us.”

Cobblestone also spoke to Abi from Black Voices Cornwall, she said:

“We aren’t advising or encouraging anyone to use the KCM church whilst the Corker memorial remains up as we are wholeheartedly against everything the memorial stands for. With the amount of venues that could have been used instead, we are disappointed with this choice, especially by a Party that aims to be inclusive. After long consultations with diverse communities and the Church representatives we are firm in not setting foot in KCM due to Thomas Corker’s memorial, a Trader of Enslaved African People. Unfortunately, Your Party is bound to have a reduced audience due to the location of their event not being in an inclusive or accessible building to diverse communities.

“From the meetings we’ve been having, its clear the memorial is not going to be taken down anytime soon due to structural, financial and time constraints. It’s also remaining up due to some Church representatives wanting it to stay there despite the harm it causes in the present day to Black people and allies.”

In Your Party Cornwall’s comment to Cobblestone they said:

“We are aware of the on-going conversation regarding the memorial to Thomas Corker within the church. The legacy of the transatlantic slave trade is a deeply painful part of British history, and it is right that the community continues to question and confront that history. Allowing a figure such as Jeremy Corbyn – who has consistently spoken out against racism, colonialism and all forms of exploitation – to speak in that space is not an endorsement of that past, but rather an act of reclamation and reflection.

“Spaces with difficult histories should not be closed off to those working for justice and equality; they should be opened up to debate, education, and positive action. Hosting this event in the church provides an opportunity to acknowledge the full weight of history while also using the space to promote the values of inclusivity, solidarity, and hope for the future.

“We believe that confronting history honestly, while allowing it to become a platform for voices advocating for equality and human rights, is both appropriate and necessary. Especially with the rise of actual fascism on our streets.”

Image Via: Cobblestone Media.