Essex pub that displayed golly dolls seized by police is vandalised

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An Essex pub where police confiscated golly dolls has been vandalised with graffiti and damage to five windows occurring early on Sunday morning, police have said.

The incident occurred at about 12.40am at White Hart Inn in Grays. Essex police said they have deployed extra patrols in the area.

Essex police district commander Tony Atkin said: “Inquiries are taking place to establish what happened in the lead-up to this incident and to identify those responsible, and includes viewing CCTV footage.

“One line of inquiry is that the criminal damage is linked to a previous incident that we are currently investigating, also linked to the White Hart Inn. We continue to investigate that incident and would ask the public to allow us to do so, remaining calm.”

The White Hart Inn came to prominence after police seized a collection of golly dolls on 4 April as part of an investigation into an alleged hate crime reported on 24 February. The dolls are regarded as racist, as they are based on blackface from 19th-century minstrelsy.

Following the seizure, White Hart Inn landlady Benice Ryley has since assembled a replacement collection, which she plans on displaying as an act of defiance.

“I’m getting a notice printed saying ‘We’ve got gollies on display, if you find this offensive please don’t come in’,” she said. “If they don’t like them they can walk out the door.”

Ryley said several replacement dolls had been sent to the pub by supporters.

“We’ve had loads and loads of support,” she said. “When people started complaining in 2018, I was sent more gollies in the post. Three have come in the last few days and there are two more in the post.”

No arrests have yet been made in connection with the hate crime allegation. Ryley’s husband, Christopher, who is the pub’s licensee, will be interviewed by police next month upon his return from the couple’s holiday home in Turkey.

The couple have denied they are racist. When asked about her husband being photographed in a T-shirt from the far-right group Britain First, Benice Ryley said: “I don’t think Chris is a supporter of Britain First, he was just wearing that shirt because it was convenient at the time.”

Chris Ryley, who has used Facebook to express far-right views and anti-immigrant sentiment, has made a 2016 post in which he apparently joked about Mississippi lynchings alongside a photo of the racist dolls.

Ryley shared a photo of two dolls hanging from a bar shelf, captioned: “We have our golliwogs, yaay.” In the comments, Benice Ryley wrote: Are you sure this is legal. lol.” Chris Ryley responded: “They used to hang them in Mississippi years ago.”

Essex police has said the force is aware of Ryley’s Facebook posts, which are being reviewed as part of the initial investigation.

The pub was recently banned from being considered for any awards by the Campaign for Real Ales (Camra) and the group said it would not be included in its Good Beer Guide “while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display”.

PA Media contributed to this report