Green Man, Ashbourne
The Green Man & Black's Head Royal Hotel (sometimes simply the Green Man) is a public house and hotel on St John Street (the A515) in the town centre[1][2] of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. The premises is known for its Grade II* listed entrance sign and its association with Royal Shrovetide Football.
History
[edit]There has been a pub in this location since the 1750s. James Boswell wrote that he stopped there to eat in 1777 (terming it "a very good inn" and its proprietress "a mighty civil gentlewoman")[3] and Princess Victoria visited in the 1830s.[1]
The pub closed in 2012 following a period of decline.[4][5] The owner worked with local architects, conservation group Brownhill Hayward Brown, Derbyshire County Council and Historic England to produce a suitable refurbishment plan that would be a sustainable business model while still preserving the building's historic character.[4] It reopened to customers in 2018.[5][6] It has since been praised for helping to revitalise the town's economy.[7]
Architecture
[edit]The sign over the road adjacent to the pub was constructed in 1825 when the Green Man and Blackmoor Inn were joined together.[8] There are two pictures on either side of the sign depicting a man dressed in green tweeds and wearing a green hat. On one side, the man is carrying a gun; on the other he is shooting wildfowl.[9] The sign was Grade II listed in 1951, and updated to Grade II* in 1974.[10]
The gallows-type sign is mentioned in the Guinness World Records as being the longest inn sign in the world.[10][11][12] It was damaged by a lorry strike in 2006, but subsequently repaired.[13]
The sign features an effigy of a black man's head. In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom, a 28,000-signature petition called for it to be taken down, describing it at "disgusting racist imagery". Derbyshire Dales District Council said it would remove the head as soon as possible, but locals removed it the same day, saying they had done so to protect it from vandalism, adding it would be restored with "a lick of black paint" and reinstalled at a later date.[14][15][16] The Council, however, decided against replacing the controversial head, and its future currently remains undecided.[17]
Sport
[edit]The Green Man is well known locally for being a focal point of the annual Royal Shrovetide Football match.[4][18] A roll of honour, listing throwers and scorers since the late 19th century, is displayed inside the hotel.[19]
The pub sign has also been used as the finishing line for a soap box race in the town.[20]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
- ^ a b "Food review – The Greenman Public House, Ashbourne". Derbyshire Life and Countryside.
- ^ Back Roads – Great Britain. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. 2019. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-241-38857-0.
- ^ Boswell, James (1900). Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Sands & Company. p. 319.
- ^ a b c "Green Man, Ashbourne, Derbyshire". Historic England. 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ a b "A sneak peek inside Ashbourne's new Green Man pub". Derby Telegraph. 27 July 2018.
- ^ "What's next for Ashbourne's new Green Man? We speak to the owner Colin Wright". Derby Telegraph. 3 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "We're not a ghost town yet, insist Ashbourne traders". Derby Telegraph. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ Long, Peter (2004). The Hidden Places of England. Travel Publishing Ltd. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-904-43412-2.
- ^ Simpson 2011, p. 122.
- ^ a b Historic England. "The Green Man and Black's Head Hotel, attached inn sign bridging road (1293246)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ "Ashbourne History Walk". BBC Derby. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ "Why visit Ashbourne". Peak District Online. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ^ Fearnehough, David (2010). Derbyshire Extremes. Amberley Publishing Limited. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-445-62780-9.
- ^ "'Racist' pub sign removed but will return 'at a later date', locals claim". ITV News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Black man's head pub sign to go in racism row in Ashbourne". BBC News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Bland, Archie (9 June 2020). "Derbyshire town's 'racist' bust that faced removal hidden by residents". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Controversial Black's Head must never go back up, says council". Derby Telegraph. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Shrovetide customs altered over Green Man sale fears". BBC News. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ Festivals, Tourism and Social Change: Remaking Worlds. Channel View Publications. 2006. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-845-41267-8.
- ^ "This is what you can expect at huge soap box race in Derbyshire". Derby Telegraph. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
Sources
- Simpson, Jacqueline (2011). Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names. Random House. ISBN 978-0-099-52017-7.