Westhoughton restaurant is a carving believed to represent a man who fled the horrors of slavery. You could be forgiven for failing to notice the sculpture, said to be of James Watkins, which peers down at shoppers on the high street below.No one knows for certain whether the carving is of Watkins, but it is highly likely given his links to the area.
After fleeing his Maryland plantation, Watkins sailed the Atlantic Ocean in 1850 and ended up in Bolton, where he moved in with a local family.
He soon became known for his impassioned speeches on the realities of slavery, which he would deliver across the North West.If the carving is indeed of Watkins then it is one of few monuments to victims of slavery in the UK.A national conversation is.
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