In collaboration with performers and historians from south of the river, Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) are putting on a series of events over the autumn of 2023 uncovering hidden histories of south Bristol.
The Bedminster-Southville history festival in October features history talks, a walk and an exhibition exploring the radical face of Bedminster before and after WW1, hidden histories of Ashton Court Estate and West Street, the storming of the New Gaol in 1831, women prisoners from Bedminster transported to Australia and strikes by British Army units at the White City.
In November we move further south to investigate the Knowle Wester who tried to kill fascist leader Oswald Mosely, launch Paul Smith’s book Hartcliffe Betrayed on the design of the estate and explore the history of some of its activists.
All the events are free as our libraries, the Tobacco factory, St Paul’s Church, United Reform Church, and community centres are offering their spaces for no cost. BRHG is not funded by political parties, universities, business or local government. We rely on our members giving their labour for free and sales of our publications to break even.
Venues
Bedminster Library: 4 Bedminster Parade, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4AQ
Tobacco Factory: Raleigh Rd, Southville, Bristol, BS3 1TF
St Paul’s Church: 2 Southville Road, Southville, Bristol BS3 1AS
United Reformed Church Hall: 48 Stanley Street South (off West Street), Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 3PG
Programme
The following programme of events will be updated regularly – check back soon!
Download a summary flyer here
Films (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Location | Title | Details | With | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| , 2023 | |
Bedminster Library | Marge Evans: The Radcliffe Radical – film screening with director David Parker | Tues 28 Nov - 2.00-3.00pm Bedminster Library: 4 Bedminster Parade, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4AQ ‘During the depression I used to knock on a door and borrow a chair to stand in so I could speak at a […] | David Parker | More |
Talks (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Location | Title | Details | With | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| , 2023 | |
Tobacco Factory | Haunting Ashton Court LIVE | Join us for an evening of performance and lively discussion connected to the recently published book Haunting Ashton Court: A Creative Handbook for Collective History-Making, inspired by a community […] | Elinor Lower, Jack Young |
More |
| , 2023 | |
Tobacco Factory | The Dean Lane Pit disaster of 1886 and its repercussions | In September 1886, an explosion deep underground at the Dean Lane Colliery led to the deaths of 10 miners and life changing injuries to many others. Tony Dyer will explain the mistakes that led […] | Tony Dyer | More |
| , 2023 | |
Bedminster Library | Trouble on the trams | In the summer of 1901 the Bristol Tramways Company sacked 90 employees who had recently joined the Gasworkers’ and General Labourers’ Union. Another 300 tramways employees went on strike in support of […] | Rob Whitfield | More |
| , 2023 | |
Tobacco Factory | Trouble at the White City – strikes in the British armed forces in 1919 | This talk considers, from a Bristol perspective, the huge wave of strikes involving tens, if not hundreds of thousands of personnel in the British Armed forces at the end of World War One. Mass […] | Roger Ball | More |
| , 2023 | |
Bedminster Library | acta’s historical plays | Ingrid Jones has worked for acta community theatre for the past thirty years. Over this time she has devised and directed numerous community plays many of which had a local history focus, including: […] | Ingrid Jones | More |
| , 2023 | |
Tobacco Factory | The rise and fall of Edward Colston – the real story | In November 2014 the Bishop of Bristol, preaching to school students, claimed that ‘speculation’ about the ‘business roots’ of the city’s philanthropic icon, Edward Colston, was merely […] | Christine Townsend, Mark Steeds, Roger Ball |
More |
| , 2023 | |
Bedminster Library | From Bedminster to Van Diemen’s Land | In the early 1800s ten female convicts in Bristol Newgate Gaol (now the site of The Galleries shopping centre) were sentenced to ‘transportation beyond the seas’ – Australia. While much is […] | Sheila Hannon | More |
| , 2023 | |
St Paul's Church | The 1831 Bristol reform riot – a view from the southbank | The three days of reform-related rioting in late October 1831 in Bristol were the most serious urban disturbance in the nineteenth century. Major institutions such as the Mansion and Custom Houses, […] | Steve Poole, Roger Ball |
More |
Walks (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Location | Title | Details | With | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| , 2023 | |
Ropewalk, Bedminster Parade | The radical face of Bedminster in the early 20th Century | Meet: 2.00pm Ropewalk pub - 5 Nelson Parade, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4JA Come with us on a journey through time and space in Bedminster, Victoria Park and Windmill Hill... This two hour history walk […] | Trevor Houghton | More |
Exhibitions (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Location | Title | Details | With | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| , 2023 | |
United Reform Church Hall | West Street Stories | Did you know that West Street was once the busiest high street in Bedminster? Or that there was a coalmine on the actual street, and the first ever Co-op shop in Bristol was started at number 88 by […] | More |
Oral history (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Location | Title | Details | With | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| , 2023 | |
United Reformed Church Hall | Soup and Stories | Local people of all ages are invited to share their memories and stories of living in the BS3 area and beyond. A local artist will capture these memories “visually”. Have fun with crafts, some […] | More |