In 2020, Bristol entered the international conversation when the controversial statue of Edward Colston was torn down at a Black Lives Matter protest and rolled into the nearby Floating Harbour.
The statue of the former Bristol MP, donor to the city, and (notably) slave trader was retrieved and the graffiti paint preserved. It now lies in a permanent exhibit in the M Shed, the museum owned by the council on the Floating Harbour.
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I am of Jamaican heritage and I cannot pretend any real sense of loss for the statue. I cannot pretend it was anything other than a personal affront to me to have it in the middle of Bristol – the city in which I grew up.”
There were debates, both nationally and internationally, about whether this was the best way to confront problematic histories, with ministers even stepping in to voice their opinion.
Long campaign
What these national debates missed out was that people had, for the last 40 years, tried to bring it down peacefully. After numerous campaigns and petitions, the statue still remained in place.
Even when these campaigns had supporters in the council, the best they could suggest was rewording the plaque to include a sentence about how Colston made his fortune. But even that was always vetoed by other councillors.
Seven years ago, Bristol City Council made a commitment to put a second plaque on the plinth (when it still had a statue on it). But even this was met with resistance. Conservative councillor for Bishopsworth, Richard Eddy, said the proposed wording was “utterly devoid of impartiality” and “historically inaccurate and very badly phrased”.
On 17 April 2025, a second plaque was finally installed on the now vacant plinth. It should be noted that the proposed wording in 2018 is different to the final wording.
The new plaque reads:
“On 13 November 1895, a statue of Edward Colston (1636-1721) was unveiled here. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, the celebration of Colston was increasingly challenged given his prominent role in the enslavement of African people.
“On 7 June 2020, the statue was pulled down during Black Lives Matter protests and rolled into the Floating Harbour. Following consultation with the city in 2021, the statue entered the collections of Bristol City Council’s museums.”
Please check out the short video I made detailing the history of the statue, up to and including this new development. I will be making more shorts in the future concerning news stories in and around Bristol on the main West England Bylines channel.
We want to hear your views. Please send any comments to editor@westenglandbylines.co.uk
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUNDER
HELP US BECOME STRONGER SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER POWERFUL CITIZEN JOURNALISM!
