A slave that was removed off a town's coat of arms has been justified by a council.
Originally, Kettering, Northamptonshire-born abolitionist William Knibb's work was represented by the figure.
(Above: The Original Coat of Arms Artwork)
The design no longer features a griffin.
The modifications, according to Kettering Town Council, were brought about by heraldic laws.
Since 1938, the Kettering coat of arms has included a black guy with a broken chain, as was originally revealed in the Northamptonshire Telegraph.
In heraldry, "supporters" refer to both the slave, who was shown holding up the right side of the shield, and a raging griffin on the other side.
Supporters had been included in the coat of arms of the Kettering Borough Council, but the town council, which is formally a parish, was not allowed to use them according to heraldic regulations.
At the assembly's first meeting in May 2021, the authority decided to remove the picture of the slave from its coat of arms. A resident told the group that "we have the chance to be creating something new" and that the image of the slave should have been left in the past.
We now have the artwork for the updated edition.
(Above: The new artwork)
Former Kettering mayor Duncan Bain concurred on social media with a remark from George Orwell shared by another contributor: "Every picture has been repainted, every book has been rewritten, and every document has been destroyed or fabricated... History has come to an end."
"Stop eradicating history, it's there to learn from," wrote a different correspondent. The world has become insane."
"The new coat of arms was created by the College of Arms, which advised parish councils that their coats of arms cannot include 'supporters' - in Kettering's case, that meant an image of a freed slave - so the central shield and helm are essentially what the parish councils agreed upon and the King approved," a town council spokesperson said.
"While it is unfortunate that the William Knibb allusion is no longer on the coat of arms, this does not represent the opinions of any town council members on his contributions. The local council was not given any option in the matter."
The representative went on to say that preparations were underway to commemorate Knibb's contributions with a permanent piece of art.
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