John London, a landlord, paid rates so could take part in Westminster byelection despite being called a ‘blackamoor’

It’s a discovery that changes our understanding of British history – and it arises from just one word.

Until now, the first black voter in Britain was thought to be the composer Charles Ignatius Sancho, the British abolitionist who, as the owner of property in Mayfair, voted in the 1774 Westminster election.