THE landlord of Richmond’s oldest public house has defended his decision to change the signs on the front of building amid complaints from residents that he is defacing history.

Paul Lindley took over the running of the Bishop Blaize four weeks ago and opened for business over the Easter weekend after refurbishing the property, which has been closed for some time.

The new sign for the pub, which is a listed building, is made of aluminium and features a picture of a bishop from a chess board in place of the word “Bishop”.

The signs will also face scrutiny from councillors, as the change requires listed building planning consent from Richmondshire District Council, which has now been applied for retrospectively.

If they feel that the changes are not suitable, the sign will be removed.

The name of the pub remains the Bishop Blaize, although Mr Lindley was given the option of changing the name completely to help distance himself from the pub’s previous history.

“I know the history behind the pub so I decided to keep the name, but the signage is only a few years old so I decided to give the front of the pub the facelift it needed,” he said.

“I want to make this a place where people enjoy coming for good food and drink and a good atmosphere.

If all people can complain about is the sign, then there is not much I can do.”

The new sign has been designed to slot over the old signs so it can be removed if necessary, without causing any damage.

Mairi Featherstone, from Richmondshire District Council planning department, said: “We’ve had several complaints from people about the new signs so we let the new tenant know that they need listed planning permission which has been submitted.

“If the signs are felt to be unsuitable, then the council will be in a position to take action against them.”

The Bishop Blaize was the first inn in Richmond and was used by local entrepreneur Samuel Butler to stage dramatic performances in the years before he built the Georgian Theatre Royal.