THE renaming of historic Bewdley pub The Black Boy Inn has sparked anger on social media.

The pub, which was built in the 15th century, is now called The Bewdley Inn following a rebrand from owners Stonegate.

Earlier this year, pub chain Greene King chose to rename its 'Black Boy' and 'Black Head' pubs due to ‘racist connotations.’

After noticing the signage had changed, Bewdley residents took to Facebook to air their anger at the name change, with one saying the change is "just to please the masses."

One outraged social media user said: "No way. It's the Black Boy and always will be."

Another said: "Perhaps we should refer to it as "The Snowflake" from now on. If the name can be changed that easily."

Another said: "Just to please the masses. Forget or ignore the actual history."

However, the Stonegate group has said the reason for the name change is to "reflect its new business offer with letting rooms."

A spokesperson for The Bewdley Inn said: “Following investment in our accommodation, we have changed our name to The Bewdley Inn to reflect our new business offer with letting rooms.”

While the pub name ‘Black Boy’ exists throughout the country, there is not a consensus on its origins and many of those consulted felt the name to be offensive and discriminatory.

There is a theory that some Black Boy pubs originally had links to the mining industry and the name referred to the coal-blackened child miners who worked in them.

Another theory states that the name refers to King Charles II, who was nicknamed “Black Boy” by his mother, Henrietta Maria of France because of his dark hair and complexion.

The third theory states that the name has links to the early tobacco industry in England.