Subject Index: Radical Bristol

The content on this site is put into subject categories. These pages list content filed under each subject. You can also use the Tag Index to see a full list of keywords used on the site.

H.H. Gore – Bristol’s Nineteenth Century Gay Christian Socialist Solicitor

transparent fiddle Not A BRHG Event
BRHG are very pleased to announce that as part of LGBTQ+ History Month 2024 Mike Richardson will be speaking about the 'people's lawyer' Hugh Holmes Gore, the subject of his excellent book. Anglo – Catholic convert to the left, Hugh Holmes Gore, was a key figure in Bristol’s labour movement during the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Gore linked Clifton Christian Socialists, morally concerned about the poverty and suffering caused by economic depression, with the working class […]

Deference and Dissent

Labour relations in a family firm

J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd, 1855–1927 Deference and Dissent provides a window into the working lives of compositors, letterpress machinists, and bookbinders and their relationships with their employer. It looks at their collective voice, disputes, strikes, workplace culture, mechanisation of typesetting, as well as the impact of other significant factors such as the First World War and the economic slump in the early 1920s. Mike Richardson’s work contributes to understanding the complexity of the […]

Restore – A Benefit Night For Bristol’s Kill The Bill Prisoners

At Strange Brew on Friday 15th December, 7-10pm

transparent fiddle Not A BRHG Event
Time for some seasonal solidarity! A fundraiser for Bristol's Kill The Bill prisoners, hosted by the Justice for Bristol Protesters campaign, with all proceeds going to the Bristol ABC prisoner support fund (online donations here). Featuring two live bands, dj, prisoners art & poems, films, and live art from the Bristol Mural Collective. Info, tickets, and band videos from Headfirst here. Or rock up and pay (cash if possible) on the door! Strange Brew is a multi-room DIY art space / music […]

Haunting Ashton Court

A Creative Handbook for Collective History Making

By edited by Elinor Lower and Jack Young
“Mishmash” is the term the authors of this book use to describe their various working methods. It is also an accurate description of the book itself which contains not only the performance script of the Haunting Ashton Court production but also its sources and inspiration, some creative writing, a toolkit for similar productions and a wise afterword. Plus – totally new to me – QR code sections that enable a reader with a smart phone to see and hear parts of the live production. I confess that […]

Tony Wilson

An activist in every sense and now well into his eighties, Tony Wilson continues to campaign, volunteer and cycle. From the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Hong Kong and later working on weapons’ contracts to setting up Electronics for Peace and building an ethical recruitment agency, Tony’s career has not followed a conventional path! Tony was interviewed by Trish Mensah for the Activist Memories series, supported by Bristol Older People’s Forum. The Activist Memories series […]

Squatters on film

transparent fiddle Not A BRHG Event
BASE, 14 Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol BS5 6JY Join Bristol Squatted for a pay-as-you-can vegan dinner at the regular BASE Sunday cafe, followed by a showcase of clips from three films telling stories of squatting in Bristol, Brixton and Amsterdam. We'll invite discussion on how these histories compare to Bristol today. We'll also give a short update on the Bristol Squatted community history project and make a call out for volunteers to join our group. We'll be showing and discussing clips […]

Marge Evans: The Radcliffe Radical – film screening with director David Parker

‘During the depression I used to knock on a door and borrow a chair to stand in so I could speak at a street corner meeting - I’m not very tall you see’ That was Marge Evans talking about how she organised and spoke at public meetings to campaign for workers’ rights in the 1930s depression, she was in her early 20s at the time. Marge lived though some of the most momentous political events in the 20th century, from the First World War, though the great depression, the general strike, the Spanish […]

Bad Blood in Georgian Bristol

The murder of Sir John Dineley

By Steve Poole & Nicolas Rogers
Another excellent book by Steve Poole and Nicolas Rogers, highlighting a period in Bristol’s rich history. The main part of the book relates to the murder, in 1741, of Sir John Dineley by his brother Samuel Goodere. The crime took place on a ship which was captained by Goodere and the actual murderers were able seamen under his charge. But the book is much more detailed than that and is richly researched and written. The narrative delves into various aspects of Georgian Bristol. Without spoiling […]

Bristol 650

Essays on the Future of Bristol

By Amy O'Beirne and Andrew Kelly (editors)
“What happened to the ladder?” asks Annabel Smith, pointing out that Bristol is one of the least socially mobile urban areas in the country. Smith is one of thirty-seven contributions to Bristol 650, produced by Bristol Books to mark the 650th anniversary of Bristol becoming an independent county. The editors, Amy O’Beirne and Andrew Kelly, wanted their chosen essayists to focus on how to build a better Bristol for the future. But some contributors prefer to focus on the here and now and […]

150 Years of Struggle

A history of the Bristol Trades Union Council

History of Bristol Trades Council front cover showing trade union banner
1873-2023 In 1973, Bristol Trades Union Council marked its centenary year. Bob Whitfield and the late David Large wrote its history for the Bristol Historical Association and BBC Bristol screened 100 Years of Struggle, a film produced by the Council and directed by Colin Thomas. Now, in 2023, to celebrate the Trades Council’s 150th anniversary, Colin has brought the story up-to-date. This booklet incorporates the BHA pamphlet, extracts from the BBC film and an update on the last fifty years.

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