News / Edward Colston
Sign removed from top of Colston Tower before it is renamed
“Colston’s a cunt!” screamed a woman walking down Colston Street on Thursday afternoon.
The c-word was appropriate as 63 metres above her head, workmen were in the process of dismantling the first letter of the sign on top of the Colston Tower.
The removal of the letters is the first step in a process which will see the 15-storey tower renamed.
is needed now More than ever
It comes only four days after Edward Colston’s statue, overlooked by the tower, was toppled from its plinth and thrown into the docks, from where it was recovered early on Thursday morning.
Bristol24/7 has learned that tenants in the tower will be asked to vote for what they think is the most appropriate new name from a shortlist of ten suggestions.
The tower’s owners took the decision to take down the signage “to reduce and remove any immediate security threat to the building”.
Colston Tower was designed in 1961 but not completed until 1973, with the clock added to the building in 1996
An email to tenants seen by Bristol24/7 says: “The police have been made aware by Highways and are on standby however whilst people may attend to watch the signs being removed we are not expecting a repeat of the events of the weekend as this should be seen as a positive move.”
The email added: “As you may be aware whilst the building is not specifically named after Mr Colston it is named after Colston Street and is therefore associated with Colston in this manner.”
The Colston Hall, also named after the street, has announced that it will be remove its signage before its reveals its new name by the autumn.
Main photo and video by Martin Booth
Read more: Cleo Lake: ‘If I was mayor, Colston’s statue would be long gone’
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