A group of nearly 1,000 Catholics are fighting to save the historic name of a Samuel Smith pub in Westminster, London — the Cardinal.
The pub is currently being refurbished and due to be renamed Windsor Castle, its original name. This has caused uproar among the Catholic community, which says the name is an important part of the heritage of that part of London.
Editor of the Independent Catholic News website Jo Siedlecka explained that the pub "was full of cathedral memorabilia and a popular meeting place for many of Westminster Cathedral's 5,000 weekly parishioners".
"Throughout the years it has acquired a collection of paintings and drawings of several different cardinals who served at nearby Westminster Cathedral — among them Cardinal Hume and Cardinal Manning."
Siedlecka is concerned about this memorabilia and set up a petition against the change — it has 950 signatures. Siedlecka said: "We got a call from someone saying they were very concerned about the pub as many of them often go there after mass, so we decided to set up a petition. It has paintings and pictures of past cardinals and we don't know what's going to happen to these."
Samuel Smith's was unavailable for comment.