…The International Slavery Museum, at the Albert Dock, currently has an interactive display which informs visitors that Penny Lane was named after James Penny, the anti-abolitionist who was said to have defended slave trade to the British Parliament. The road signs on Penny Lane were attacked overnight on Thursday Road signs on Penny Lane in Liverpool have been defaced over claims they are linked to slave merchant James Penny. There has since been an ongoing debate about the origins of Penny Lane. This is due to an alleged slavery link to the area. Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson has confirmed Penny Lane will not be renamed. James Penny had no links to Penny lane, instead all his properties were in town and his birthplace of Arrad, Ulverston. If confirmed, the iconic road was in danger of being renamed. Controversy about the iconic street’s name erupted over claims it was named after the slave trader James Penny.

He defended the slave trade to the British Parliament. Until today, that exhibit was the single link between James Penny and one of the most famous streets in world. James Penny (died 1799) was a merchant, slave ship owner and prominent opponent of the abolition of slavery in Liverpool, England. One of the road’s signs was vandalized in the past week with the word “RACIST” spray-painted over it. Explore the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade as well as slavery in the modern day, racism and discrimination. Hear the untold stories of enslaved people and learn about historical and contemporary slavery. This is in reference to a man by the name of James Penny, a Liverpool-based slave trader. There is a common misconception that Penny Lane may have been named after 18th-century Liverpool slave trader James Penny, although the city's International Slavery Museum stated in June 2020 that there is no historical evidence linking Penny Lane to James Penny. Last week, in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests, the Penny Lane street sign in Liverpool was defaced after it was thought to be named in honor of James Penny, a notorious 17th century slave merchant who vocalized an opposition to abolition. That link is now broken, Penny Lane has been freed from it’s connection to a shameful part of British history.