The statue on Bristol’s Plinth, previously occupied by the figure of Edward Colston, may yet be replaced.
Edward Colston was a 17th-century slave trader who brought about economic growth in Bristol. In his honour, a statue of him was erected in 1895. Last year, however, this statue became the focal point of the BLM movement.
Controversy over the statue had been discussed long before the BLM protests. It was found that the history and heritage of the statue outweighed the calls for its removal.
During the BLM riots in Bristol, violent protesters started attacking and defacing the statue. On 7th June 2020, the protesters began to topple the monument. By the end of the day, the statue was down and had been rolled into a river.
Shortly afterwards, a new statue was in its place: a figure of Marc Quinn helping to topple the previous statue now stood upon the plinth.
Bristol Council wasted no time in removing the new statue and within 24 hours, it was down.
Since then, Marc Quinn has been legally challenging the legitimacy of removing his statue. The claimant is currently suggesting that the reasoning behind removing his statue is invalid, as his appeal for the statue to be erected had been ignored.
Whether Marc Quinn’s statue should now sit upon the plinth is currently under discussion by the Council.
Whilst informing the public, a Council spokesperson said: “The Council has not made any decisions regarding the applications.”
