Memories of Samuel Johnson

DARREN Waring has confirmed that the Black’s Head was originally brown, which helps my view that it was a Turk’s Head, but also supports Dr Maxwell Craven’s view that it represents a Saracen – an Arab Muslim.

On one thing all theorists can now agree is that it was never ever intended to represent an Afroamerican, or a black African.

But I struggle to accept Dr Craven’s view that somehow there is a connection between ‘the Head’ and the Shirley family based solely on a similarity with the latter’s coat of arms. Why would an ancient landed family want to be associated with a small pub in St John Street, dwarfed by its neighbour The Green Man.

But since we have Cllr Andrew Shirley as a member of both that ancient landed family, and the District Council, no doubt he will be anxious to set the record straight.

I cannot claim that my theory is wholly supported by evidence, but it draws upon well documented references to Dr Samuel Johnson’s visits to Ashbourne and of his former Jamaican slave, Francis Barber. And Dr Johnson’s London literary club (which later counted William Wilberforce among its members) did meet at a pub in Garrard Street called ‘The Turks Head’ until Johnson’s death in 1783. The following year the pub was redesigned to become a dispensary for Westminster Council and Francis Barber left London to return to Lichfield.

There is some evidence to suggest that the Blackamoor pub always had a ‘black head’ sign outside, though much smaller than today’s head, and was replaced some years after the merger of the Blackamoor Inn and the Green Man Hotel.

What we do know is that in 1777 Sir Joshua Reynolds came to Ashbourne and lunched at The Green Man and Blackamoor Hotel – an event recorded on a plaque to this day and it is thus possible that for close on 250 years a head has occupied its place to advertise the smartest coaching hotel in Ashbourne.

I can’t prove that Francis Barber secured ownership of The Turks’ Head but I feel certain that a pharmacy would not want a theatrical sign promoting tragedy and comedy to advertise their medical services.

Ashbourne has no great history of theatrical productions, whereas Garrard Street leads off Shaftesbury Avenue, home to many of the oldest London theatres which in the mid 18th century were the heart of London’s night life.

Yet I speculate that Francis Barber was not only in a financial position to buy the sign after Johnson’s death, but did so with the sole purpose of donating it to the Blackamoor pub in St John Street as a thankyou for the hospitality extended to him by the landlord and his regulars for the many occasions in his youth when his master would dine at The Mansion as a guest of the vicar of St Oswald’s, and he, Francis, would have the freedom to enjoy a glass or two with men and women his own age. No wonder he did not return to Jamaica when he secured his freedom from the bonds of slavery.

This is a story of Mercian attitudes to slavery many years before slavery was abolished, and it is one of which we should be proud. Far from being a racist town we welcomed even French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars.

But it all makes for a first-class marketing opportunity for the town – something to celebrate as uniquely British - a market town in the Diocese of Lichfield fortunate enough to have attracted two famous men of the 18th century and a former Jamaican slave who not only secured his freedom to serve four years in the Royal Navy, but inherited (in today’s money) nearly £10,000 a year from his former master’s will.

Samuel Johnson was an extraordinary man. I hope we, nearly 250 years since his death, can rise to the occasion and promote the memory of his generosity to attract future visitors to this town.

Charles Swabey

Osmaston

I FIND myself in the unique position of agreeing with much of what Darren Waring said in his letter printed on December 1.

The future of the Black’s Head should only concern local people who pay council tax in the town and our local councillors should not be taking any notice of the many thousands of keyboard warriors that signed the pathetic petition, penned by someone living in the town but obviously with no loyalty to the townspeople or their values. Why should the views of people who had probably never heard of Ashbourne, and hopefully will never visit, receive more consideration than those of us who have been brought up with the artefact?

It was not pleasant to dismiss anyone with a different point of view as “uneducated and to put it bluntly, thick”. I wasn’t aware that Darren Waring is so highly educated and his letter proves that point.

Also, it didn’t add anything to the argument to go into a pointless story about the one time manager of the Green Man, especially when the main point of the story seemed to suggest that the head was so heavy that it needed to be taken down using a crane.

On the front page of the same issue was a picture of two men taking down the head from two ladders which rather suggests that the crane story was somewhat embroidered.

Elizabeth Bull Clifton Road

WITH regard to last week’s story “Head is Political Bandwagon”, this is the first sensible item I have read about this head for a long time.

I think if folk would take the trouble to investigate things properly before passing judgment maybe many other issues would be solved sooner.

The whole “colour” scenario at the moment is ridiculous - we are all made the same, “work” the same and are human beings whatever our colour or religion, so for goodness sake lets just treat people like human beings.

Ann Barry Brassington

I AM a white person. For many years I lived in countries in which white people were a small minority.

If I had seen a decapitated white head stuck on a beam across the main street of a town, I would have felt frightened, degraded and insulted.

The age, possible identity, headware and exact skin tone of the head would have been irrelevant to how I felt. I can fully imagine that this is how black people have felt in Ashbourne: As recipients of racism.

Racism was the underlying cause of the Holocaust in Germany, apartheid in South Africa, and the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda. It is an evil to be named and opposed by all people at all times and in all places.

The dispute about the Black’s Head gives us an opportunity to unite and show that everybody in Ashbourne opposes racism.

Let us all decide to move the Black’s Head to a museum for the positive reason that we oppose racism, not for the negative reason that we fear vandalism or argument.

That decision, reinforced by our words and our daily actions, will show people of all colours and

creeds that they are welcome here in our town.

Jon Lane Alstonefield

SO many people from different local groups obviously worked together to make the success of last Friday night in Ashbourne.

The Christmas lights and the tree in the Market Place looked wonderful as did the impressive decorations in many shop windows.

The Lantern Parade was amazing. There were about 200 lanterns so well done to the makers, the carriers and whoever was putting all those candles in and lighting them.

At the very first lantern-making workshop years ago we made very simple shapes, nothing like the giant polar bear, teapot, whale, snowmen, stars, elephant etc. Whatever next?

It was obvious that people were ready to come out to enjoy themselves, to appreciate the whole experience and have normality back.

I’ve seen Christmas Celebrations at other places such as Castleton, Buxton, Bakewell etc. but Ashbourne can feel very proud of having the best.

Pat Hall

Ashbourne ● PS thank you to whoever he or she is up there for keeping the rain off.