Row reignited over square named after slave trader

A councillor wants to see the name of the man known as Britain's first slave trader reinstated on signs in a square named after him in Plymouth.

All of the street signs for Sir John Hawkins Square were removed in 2020 as Plymouth City Council sought to "stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement".

The council tried to get the site renamed as Justice Square but had to drop that plan due to a legal challenge and a change in the law related to the renaming of streets.

Andy Rose, Reform UK councillor for St Peter and the Waterfront, said the name of the square was "part of the city's history" and has called on the city council to take immediate action to replace the original signs.

In a motion to be debated at a full council meeting on Monday, Rose is asking that the council "takes immediate steps to replace the three street name signs in Sir John Hawkins Square".

The councillor said residents were concerned about safety and the ability of emergency response vehicles to find the square without any street signs in place.

When asked about the sensitivity of the name and the role Hawkins played in slave trading, Rose said: "The signs have been part of our community for 50 years.

"It's part of our history and we're not here to change history."

Hawkins, a naval commander and former mayor of Plymouth, is described in the Encyclopaedia Britannica as "the first English slave trader".

He and his cousin, Sir Francis Drake, made voyages in the 1560s to enslave people in Africa, carrying slaves from Guinea in West Africa to the Spanish West Indies.

An information board was installed in the square by the city council after the street signs were removed to tell people about Hawkins' role in the slave trade.

The removal of the street name signs came after anti-racism protesters tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.

Plymouth City Council had planned to rename the square after black footballer Jack Leslie but that plan was dropped and Leslie commemorated with a statue at Plymouth Argyle's Home Park ground.

Plymouth City Council announced its plan to rename the site as Justice Square in November 2023 but that process was suspended in September 2024.

The council has not yet commented on the latest move to reinstate the name of Sir John Hawkins.

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