Greene King's Black Boy pub renamed as The Shinfield Arms

A pub called The Black Boy has been renamed over concerns that its name had racist connotations.

Greene King announced it was changing the names of four of its pubs earlier this year after the managing director said there was a perception the names were "linked with racism".

The Black Boy in Shinfield is now called The Shinfield Arms, and has updated its website and social media.

The Runnymede Trust said the name change set an "important precedent".

The pub is in the process of replacing the signage outside its premises.

It is believed there are about 70 pubs called The Black Boy in the UK, and there remains no consensus on where the name comes from.

Links to the mining industry and a nickname for King Charles II have both been cited as possibilities.

Another theory relates to Native American figures placed outside premises to sell tobacco.

The name change of the Shinfield pub was met with a mixed response on its Facebook page.

One poster thanked the chain "for helping to make the area more inclusive and welcoming to everyone", while another said it had "always been a reference to our chequered past and now its name is reflecting changes in society as a whole".

One critic said: "Any company now is running scared of being tarred as racist so will cave in to save any risk of bad PR."

But Dr Halima Begum of racial equality organisation The Runnymede Trust, said: "One can imagine how distressing it is for black families to walk past a sign like this, with all its connotations of slavery and oppression.

"In particular, we think of the potential harm to the self-esteem of our children, and the questions this raises about their place and belonging in society, in the historical context."

It added Greene King "have set an important precedent around how Britain can reconcile with some complex and difficult histories".

Several other Black Boy pubs, approached by the BBC, said there were no immediate plans to change their names.

JD Wetherspoons said its pub in Newtown was named after the historical name for a chimney sweep.

It added: "To date we haven't received any complaints regarding the name, and therefore at the present time we have no intention to change it, but we will keep matters under review."

David Nicholson, owner of The Black Boy in Winchester, said: "The name is not racist. It's part of a business called The Black Hole."

He added: "The name of our pub derives from bringing in the coal along the River Itchen and the boys doing it would get covered in coal dust."

Last year, Greene King apologised for its historical links to the slave trade. It was founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene, who owned highly profitable plantations.

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