Green Man, Ashbourne

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"){{refn|{{cite book|first=James|last= Boswell|title=Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yAPAAAAMAAJ|year=1900|publisher=Sands & Company|page=319}} }} and Princess Victoria visited in the 1830s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.derbyshirelife.co.uk/food-drink/restaurants/the-greenman-public-house-ashbourne-1-5857127|title=Food review – The Greenman Public House, Ashbourne|website=Derbyshire Life and Countryside}}

The pub closed in 2012 following a period of decline. 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. It reopened to customers in 2018.{{Cite news|url=http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/sneak-peek-inside-ashbournes-new-1832434|title=A sneak peek inside Ashbourne's new Green Man pub|date=July 27, 2018 |newspaper=Derby Telegraph}}{{cite news|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/whats-next-for-green-man-2064759|title=What's next for Ashbourne's new Green Man? We speak to the owner Colin Wright|newspaper=Derby Telegraph|date=3 October 2018|access-date=10 October 2019}} It has since been praised for helping to revitalise the town's economy.{{cite news|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/ashbourne-not-a-ghost-town-2764637|title=We're not a ghost town yet, insist Ashbourne traders|newspaper=Derby Telegraph|date=16 April 2019|access-date=10 October 2019}}

The sign over the road adjacent to the pub was constructed in 1825 when the Green Man and Blackmoor Inn were joined together.{{cite book|title=The Hidden Places of England|first=Peter|last=Long|page=140|publisher=Travel Publishing Ltd|year=2004|isbn=978-1-904-43412-2}} 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.{{sfn|Simpson|2011|p=122}} The sign was Grade II listed in 1951, and updated to Grade II* in 1974.{{NHLE|num=1293246|desc=The Green Man and Black's Head Hotel, attached inn sign bridging road|accessdate=9 November 2019}}

The gallows-type sign is mentioned in the Guinness World Records as being the longest inn sign in the world.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/content/articles/2006/08/11/ashbourne_history_walk.shtml?page=2|title=Ashbourne History Walk|work=BBC Derby|date=24 September 2014|access-date=11 October 2019}}{{cite news|url=http://peakdistrictonline.co.uk/why-visit-ashbourne-c101066.html|title=Why visit Ashbourne|website=Peak District Online|access-date=11 October 2019}} It was damaged by a lorry strike in 2006, but subsequently repaired.{{cite book|title=Derbyshire Extremes|first=David|last=Fearnehough|page=156|publisher=Amberley Publishing Limited|year=2010|isbn=978-1-445-62780-9}}

File:Green Man & Black Head's Royal Hotel – St John Street, Ashbourne – The Black Head.jpg

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.{{cite news|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-06-08/racist-pub-sign-to-be-removed-after-pressure-from-campaigners/|title='Racist' pub sign removed but will return 'at a later date', locals claim|publisher=ITV News|date=8 June 2020|access-date=9 June 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-52967561|title=Black man's head pub sign to go in racism row in Ashbourne|work=BBC News|date=8 June 2020|access-date=9 June 2020}}{{Cite news|title=Derbyshire town's 'racist' bust that faced removal hidden by residents|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/09/derbyshire-towns-bust-of-black-man-seized-by-defiant-locals|last=Bland|first=Archie|date=9 June 2020|access-date=9 June 2020|work=The Guardian}} The Council, however, decided against replacing the controversial head, and its future currently remains undecided. {{cite news|url= https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/ashbourne-blacks-head-cannot-return-4799785 |title=Controversial Black's Head must never go back up, says council|work=Derby Telegraph|date=15 December 2020|access-date=18 July 2021}}

The Green Man is well known locally for being a focal point of the annual Royal Shrovetide Football match.{{cite web|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/content/heritage-counts/pub/2015/case-study-green-man-pdf/|title=Green Man, Ashbourne, Derbyshire|work=Historic England|year=2014|access-date=10 October 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-12240128|title=Shrovetide customs altered over Green Man sale fears|work=BBC News|date=20 January 2011|access-date=10 October 2019}} A roll of honour, listing throwers and scorers since the late 19th century, is displayed inside the hotel.{{cite book|title=Festivals, Tourism and Social Change: Remaking Worlds|page=108|publisher=Channel View Publications|year=2006|isbn=978-1-845-41267-8}}

The pub sign has also been used as the finishing line for a soap box race in the town.{{cite news|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/ashbourne-soap-box-race-details-3242630|title=This is what you can expect at huge soap box race in Derbyshire|work=Derby Telegraph|date=24 August 2019|access-date=10 October 2019}}

• Grade II* listed buildings in Derbyshire Dales
• Listed buildings in Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Citations

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Sources

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• {{cite book|title=Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names|first=Jacqueline|last=Simpson|author-link=Jacqueline Simpson|publisher=Random House|year=2011|isbn=978-0-099-52017-7}}

{{refend}}

• {{official website|www.thegreenman.co.uk}}

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Category:Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Category:Grade II* listed pubs in Derbyshire