Vote backs new home for removed black head sculpture

A controversial sculpture of a black man's head will return to public display in Derbyshire six years after it was removed amid a row over racism.

The Black's Head carving, which formed part of a Grade II* listed sign above St John's Street in Ashbourne, was taken down by residents in June 2020.

At a Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting on Tuesday, members voted to rehouse the head in the Ashbourne Historical Centre alongside a display explaining the item's history.

The meeting heard conservation officials had a default policy of "retain and explain" but felt the risk of the head being damaged or taken again was too high to put it back in its original spot.

The sculpture depicts a stylised black man's head with a large smiling face on one side, with red lips and a sad face on the other, wearing a red, white and blue striped hat.

The head had formed part of the 18th Century sign over St John's Street, connected to the now former The Green Man & Blacks Head Royal Hotel – now renamed The Greenman pub.

Rival petitions were set up in the summer of 2020 during an international movement questioning the history of statues, largely focusing on their links to slavery.

The one calling for the sculpture's removal attracted 45,000 signatures and another in favour of retention got 4,000 signatures.

On 8 June 2020 protesters who feared the head was at risk of being removed and destroyed took it away to a secret location, aided by a number of councillors, before returning it to the district council, its legal owner.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the meeting agreed that, in line with other "contested heritage" items, the head would be retained on public display but in a less prominent spot with ample explanatory information.

Town resident Graham Elliott said the Black's Head was an "iconic part of the streetscene for over 200 years" and was not seen as racially offensive until "a keyboard warrior started a petition".

Robert Archer, one of the town's district councillors, and also a history teacher, said: "History should be learned from and not erased.

"While I completely accept that this artefact may not have been intended to be racist or offensive and also that the people that want it back up are not racist, the origin and history of it is disputed and unclear.

"What is clear is that the design and style of the head is certainly concerning in a modern context."

He said that following millions of pounds of improvements to Ashbourne "to place the Black's Head back on the gallows sign… would I believe be a backwards step and would damage the reputation of the town just as it is being seen as a great place to visit again".

Councillor Dermot Murphy said: "Many people want it back in situ. I don't believe it was put up originally to ridicule anybody or mock anybody, it was put up without any concerns that it would not be palatable

"We should not sanitise history just to please some people."

Neil Buttle, co-deputy council leader, said: "I think it is time that we move on from this sort of thing and it reflects poorly on Ashbourne and I think putting it in an historical context is a good way forward."

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