News / Edward Colston
Street sign remembering Colston removed
A road in Bristol named after Edward Colston has had its street sign removed.
Colston Parade opposite St Mary Redcliffe Church is missing its sign on the side of the building housing the parish office where the road meets Redcliff Hill.
It comes as almost 100 people have now signed a petition to change the names of Colston Street and Colston Avenue in the city centre.
is needed now More than ever
Colston Parade in Redcliffe is believed to have been named in the early 1800s, with the Ashmead map from 1828 showing it was then called Colston’s Parade.
Prospective Green Party councillor, Simon Stafford-Townsend, wrote in Bristol24/7 that changing road names remembering Colston “start a conversation, and they are changes that set a tone”.
“Because black lives matter, and the very least we can do is not glorify slavers with street names.”
Colston Parade – with its street sign attached – in July 2019 – photo: Google
St Mary Redcliffe’s parish office is within the former premises of Mr Gardiner, who had the equivalent of a GP practice in the area from the 1840s to the 1890s, and was also surgeon to the Great Western Railway and Bristol Gaol – photo: Martin Booth
Colston Parade as seen from the roof of St Mary Redcliffe Church. The road narrowly escaped demolition 1868 when the rock cutting was cut through Redcliffe Hill, demolishing the houses either side. The cutting was then roofed to become a railway tunnel and new buildings built – photo: St Mary Redcliffe
The road sign remains at the other end of Colston Parade where it meets Ship Lane and Cathay – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
