An exhibition of the lives of people from the African Diaspora living in Britain 200 years ago opens at the Museum of London Docklands on Friday (Dec 14).

It features prints by artists including Thomas Rowlandson and George Cruikshank alongside newspaper cuttings, most dating 1780 to 1833, the period spanning the abolition of slavery.

Black Britons are shown in unexpected roles such as soldiers, musicians and sportsmen in 17 exhibits from Leslie Braine-Ikomi’s vast private collection of paintings, photographs, illustrations and text over the past three centuries.