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14th April 2023
04:16pm BST
A pub at the centre of controversy surrounding golli*** dolls has been banned from receiving awards or being in beer guides by the Campaign For Real Ales.
On April 4, Essex Police confiscated a number of the dolls from the White Hart Inn in Gray's, Essex, as part of their investigation into a hate crime complaint on February 24.
Landlady Benice Ryley was quizzed by the officers about the collection of dolls that she had received from customers over the years.
The dolls are based on 18th century minstrels and now regarded as racist caricatures of Black people.
The pub has since been removed from the Good Beer Guide and will not be allowed to enter any future guides whilst it continues to display the dolls.
In a series of tweets, the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) said: “Following discussions with the branch and our volunteer leadership yesterday evening, the White Hart’s entry in the Good Beer Guide has been deleted and will not be submitted for forthcoming guides while the pub continues to be operated in a way counter to Camra’s values and policies.
“Camra’s What Pub, which is a directory of all pubs, rather than a recommendation of quality, will continue to list the pub, but full details have been removed.
"Discussions are ongoing about local awards which may have been made in contravention of CAMRA policies."
An entry about the White Hart on the What Pub section of the website said the pub was operating in a way counter to Camra’s values and policies, Devon Live reports.
It said the pub has "chosen to display material which is discriminatory and offensive," and that it should not be considered for future awards while the dolls "continue to be on display."
After the initial police raid at the start of this month, Benice decided to put the dolls back on display, with a sign on the pub door reading: “We have golly dolls displayed inside on our shelves. If you feel offended. Please do not enter.”
She claims the dolls are “nothing but childhood dolls” and that her and her husband Chris are “not racist at all.”
This is not the first time the pub owners have caused controversy with the dolls. In 2018, they refused to remove the black-faced dolls after the local authority received a complaint.
She told Thurrock Nub News: “I don’t understand why we have to go through all this again.
“We have the police taking away information that is literally the history of this country. And why?
“We are quite happy to call them dolls, not golli****, but even the officer who wrote down the inventory as he was taking them away described the larger one as a golliwog and the others as golly dolls.
“So even the police don’t know what to call them.
“I understand that some people may not like them and they are entitled to that view, but they don’t have to come into the pub.
“As far as we are aware we are not breaking any laws by displaying them, and that was proved last time when we were investigated.
“If we were not breaking the law then, why are we breaking the law now?
“It took six officers to come and remove a shelf full of dollies. What a waste of taxpayers’ money.”
She continued: “I think the racist people are the ones who complain – it’s their problem, not us.
“I have so many different cultures come in here, we are definitely not racist. We do many Indian weddings, for example.”
In a statement, Essex Police said: “We have regularly discussed the progression of this case with the Crown Prosecution Service and on 4 April, five officers visited a location off Argent Street, Grays, and seized several items in connection with that investigation.
“No one has been arrested or charged in connection with the investigation and our enquiries are ongoing.
“The force is proud of the work we do to prevent crime, tackle offenders and build trust and confidence in all our communities.”
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