Bristol City Council has confirmed that it was responsible for the removal of an unofficial plaque commemorating the location on Bristol's Harbourside where the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was tossed into the water. The plaque, which originally appeared on the first anniversary of the June 2020 toppling of the statue, was put in place overnight by an anonymous group that has been referred to as 'The Guerrilla Historians'.
This week there was fresh debate on social media after a Twitter user questioned where the plaque had gone. In response, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council has since said: "A plaque installed without permission near Pero’s Bridge was removed in September 2022 and placed in the collection at M Shed for safe storage. The Museums Service are currently going through the acquisition process to include the plaque as part of the city’s collection.”
John Packer, the artist who created the plaque depicting the statue falling, said that it was a "relief" to finally know what had become of the work. He told Bristol Live: "It's a relief to know that it's not been just vandalised. That's a good thing.
