Sunderland Point in Lancashire is home to one of the most intriguing and mysterious graves in Britain. It remains a popular pilgrimage site for visitors who leave flowers on the headstone
A grave on Sunderland Point in Lancashire has sparked poetry and remains cloaked in mystery, with visitors continuing to lay flowers on ‘Sambo’s’ final resting place to this day.
This small Lancashire village becomes isolated from the mainland at Overton during high tide, connected only by just over a mile of narrow country road winding through the marshes at low tide – leaving the area cut off for hours on end.
Ships once moored here to trade goods from North America. It also served as a stopping point in the transatlantic slave trade, which is believed to be how the mysterious Sambo reached England, according to Time Travel Britain.
Lancashire’s slave trade history
A Black community existed in Lancaster during the 18th century, according to Lahs Archaeology. While Lancaster’s first slaving voyage didn’t depart until 1745, regular trade with North America had been established since the 1670s, reports Lancs Live.
Lancaster became Britain’s fourth largest slave trading port, though its involvement in the trade was significantly smaller than the major three – London, Bristol and Liverpool.
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There are numerous accounts of Sambo’s life, but the most widely accepted story suggests he was a young boy from Africa.
Sambo’s tale
Enslaved, Sambo arrived at Sunderland with his master, fell ill and died shortly after. It was considered improper for him to be buried in a graveyard on consecrated ground.
For many years, the grave lay unmarked until an unnamed retired schoolmaster uncovered the story and raised funds for a memorial. He also composed the epitaph that now adorns the grave:
‘Full many a Sand-bird chirps upon the Sod.
And many a moonlight Elfin round him trips.
Full many a Summer’s Sunbeam warms the Clod.
And many a teeming cloud upon him drips.
But still he sleeps — till the awakening Sounds.
Of the Archangel’s Trump now life impart.
Then the GREAT JUDGE his approbation founds.
Not on man’s COLOUR but his worth of heart. ‘.
The burial took place in an isolated location near the sea, distant from any other resting places. The earliest known printed reference to Sambo appears in The Lonsdale Magazine of 1822, written by an author known only as ‘JT’, who referred to the brass plaque at the gravesite.
Lahs Archeology notes that the epitaph, placed there in 1796, was written by Reverend James Watson.
JT’s account indicates that the documented story begins in 1794 or 1795 with a conversation, or conversations, between James Watson and George Jackson, the landlord of the Ship Inn in Sunderland.
Watson had retired following his tenure as headmaster of Lancaster Grammar School, and according to JT, spent most of his summers in Sunderland where he rented a cottage.
To safeguard what has become hallowed ground, a new sea defence was constructed in 2018 after the site was deemed at high risk of flooding.
Sambo’s grave today Today, visitors will find a charming bird hide and seating areas where they can pause at Sambo’s grave. There’s also an art installation named the Horizon Line Chamber featuring a camera obscura.
Fresh flowers continue to be left on Sambo’s grave to this day. To locate it, head to Sunderland Point and follow the inland path that eventually leads to the western shore.
The signposted route winds past several properties and a small church before tapering into a narrow footpath, almost engulfed by hedgerows pressing in from both sides. You’ll then arrive at a metal gate with bars.
Once through the gate, bear left and you’ll discover Sambo’s grave within a walled enclosure roughly 200 yards along the shoreline.
For those wanting a longer stroll, turn right instead and walk along the eastern shore to admire a charming row of cottages. For nearly two centuries, a cotton tree flourished here until a violent New Year’s Day storm in 1998 brought it crashing down.
Experts believe the tree was a Kapok, indigenous to the West Indies, which may have germinated from seeds in imported cargo.
