Edward Colston's name removed from tower in central Bristol
11 June 2020, 21:05
A tower in central Bristol has had the name of Edward Colston removed from its facade, days after a statue of the slave trader was thrown into the harbour by protesters.
Videos on social media show a team of workmen scaling the building to remove the lettering.
They can be seen abseiling across the building shortly before 5:30pm today. Earlier this week, the owners of the building announced they would change the name of the tower, which is based on Colston street in Bristol.
Within the city, a number of other institutions, including Colston's Girl's School and Colston Hall have distanced themselves from the name, with Bristol University pledging to change the name by Autumn.
More progress in Bristol! They’ve removed Colston from Colston Tower. This movement is working #BlackLivesMatterUK #bristol pic.twitter.com/BVvfWICTix
— Kane Sullivan (@KaneSullivan) June 11, 2020
It follows campaigners on Saturday tearing down the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol and throwing it in the harbour.
The act sparked a national push for statues of those involved in the slave trade to be removed.
Two days ago a statue of slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed from outside the Museum of London Docklands.
Earlier today, Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital has taken the decision to remove from public view two controversial statues of benefactors including its slave owning founder Sir Thomas Guy.
In another development today a statue of Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell was given 24/7 security after locals rallied against it being removed amid the ongoing debate about historical figures in Britain.
The figure of Baden-Powell has stood in Poole since 2008, after being built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Scouts in Britain.
The statue in Poole Quay, Dorset, had been targeted by campaigners due to his associations with the Nazis and the Hitler youth programme, as well as his actions in the military during the Boer War.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council initially said the statue would be removed and put into temporary storage to protect it from criminal damage, but backed down following furore from locals who vowed to protect it.
