Story of Henry VIII’s Black trumpeter to be told at Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool

A detail from the Westminster Tournament Roll, with John Blanke in the middle. Photograph: Alamy

He is the most famous Black person from the Tudor era, a court trumpeter who performed at important regal celebrations and was highly rewarded for his skill by Henry VIII.

Now the story of John Blanke, one of the first people of African descent to have both a visual and written record in Britain, will be told at a major exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.