Hartcliffe Betrayed

The fading of a post-war dream

Plans were drawn up post-war for the Hartcliffe area which would develop it into a “garden city” with modernistic facilities and open spaces but mistakes, bureaucracy and political constraints led to these dreams not being fulfilled.Wrington URC Chapel Roper’s Lane BS40 5NF

Outcasts of Medicine

Epilepsy, Poverty, and the Workhouse System

As part of the The Bristol Medico-Historical Society meeting, 'History Around Us', Rosemary Caldicott will be giving a talk: Outcasts of Medicine: Epilepsy, Poverty, and the Workhouse System Discover how epilepsy was misunderstood, feared, and stigmatised in the 19th century, often leading sufferers into the harsh realities of the workhouse. Rosemary uncovers the intersection of medical prejudice, social class, and poverty, revealing hidden lives at the margins of history. This talk brings to […]

Decades of Deceit

The Stalker affair and its legacy

The Violence, Crime and Social Harm Research Centre, and the Centre for Crime Law and Society at the University of Bristol are delighted to welcome Professor Paddy Hillyard from Queen’s University of Belfast who will be discussing his new book 'Decades of Deceit: The Stalker Affair and its Legacy.’ This includes a forensic account of the Stalker inquiry into RUC shoot-to-kill operations in 1982. It questions the official narrative that there was no conspiracy to remove Stalker and details the […]

Annie Townley (1878-1966)

Dedicated to working-women's rights and social justice

June Hannam will bring to life Annie’s remarkable journey from working-class Lancashire textile mill worker to employment as a Bristol-based organiser in the suffrage and labour movements. June Hannam is the author of the BRHG publication Annie Townley: A force for socialism and peace.

We must begin with the land

Seeking abundance and liberation through social ecology

Food is glorious. Food is glorious, but it is also increasingly precarious. This may not make headlines, but we all need to care. Office for National Statistics figures suggest that domestic food inflation has seen prices rise by more than a third since 2020. This is currently leading to a proliferation of food banks, unimaginable only a few years ago. Shockingly, world hunger has increased during the past decade, according to the United Nations. The reasons for this situation are complex but […]

Dorset Radical Bookfair

The 6th Dorset Radical Bookfair is on Saturday 20th September at Vita Nova Arts Charity, 11 Roumelia Lane Boscombe BH5 1EU. BRHG will be running a bookstall and providing a talk on the anatomy of last years' anti-immigration riots with case studies of Bristol, Stoke and Tamworth. Come along for stalls offering books, zines, pamphlets, periodicals, clothing, art. Talks, discussion, vegan food, kid's area, gender neutral bogs. There's also the afterparty at Analog! We’ve booked five acts: singer […]

More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, More Ciaran Walshes: An Obituary

By e2windsor
We are mourning due to the sudden and shock recent passing of our dear comrade and fellow radical historian, Ciaran Walsh. Ciaran was a force of nature; a proud internationalist and spirited anti-monarchist. He was a tireless activist for social justice in all contexts, whether fighting to defend his local community centre or showing international solidarity with Palestine. He would stand up in the struggle against racism and fascism, whenever and wherever they arose. Ciaran organised radical […]

Palestine Action and the Terrorism Acts

Why it is important to remember....

This week (30 June 2025) the Labour government Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, began the process of proscribing the political group Palestine Action (PA) under the Terrorism Act 2000.[1] The following article considers the recent history of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (from 1974 to the present), and the attacks by UK governments on the legal defences of campaigners who carry out non-violent civil disobedience. It suggests, from the evidence, that rather than a supposed gradual extension of […]

Radical Lambeth 1978-1991

By Simon Hannah
This eminently readable and thoroughly researched book offers an insight to the rollercoaster ride of the London borough of Lambeth in the 1980s. For the whole of local government, the 1980s brought immense challenges. Under enormous pressure from the Thatcher administration, which stripped very substantial finance from councils, local government faced impossible challenges. But the story of Lambeth, as told by Hannah, offers a detailed insight into attempts to maintain local services, keep […]