The history of the plantations illustrates the 18th century Church of England's dependence on the financial support of local landowners for its Christian missionary work in the West Indies, and, until the growth of Abolitionism, its institutional unwillingness to address issues relating to slavery.

The two estates named Codrington's and Consett's were located in the parish of St. John on the eastern side of Barbados and covered 763 acres (309 ha) of sugarcane planting.

[1] Upon the death of Christopher Codrington in 1710, the two estates were left to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to fund the establishment of college in Barbados stating his "Desire to have the Plantations Continued Entire and three hundred negros at Least always Kept there on, and a Convenient Number of Professors and Scholars maintain'd.

"[2] Codrington directed that a portion of his charitable bequest be used to educate the enslaved population of Barbados, but this was a gesture effectively blocked by the objections of fellow planters.

[4] The plantations were run by managers on behalf of the SPG, and their operational oversight was nominally supervised by a board of trustees of the society headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a committee of Church of England bishops.

[8] On this question, Hochschild makes the point ... "in 1746 one third of Africans died within three years of arrival in West Indies, from the ordeal of the middle passage, and the shock of adjusting to the new life, foods, and diseases.

Hochschild provides further detail about the policies of the SPG's managers, saying that by 1826, "As a result of changes, the Church of England's Codrington plantation, for example, had improved food, housing, clothing, and working conditions, and built a small hospital for sick and pregnant slaves."