News Feed - Bristol Radical History Group

5th Dorset Radical Bookfair

Dorset’s Fifth Radical Bookfair will take place on Saturday 5th October 2024 at Bad Hand Coffee Roasters: The Roastery, 7 Norwich Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5QZ. Doors open 11:00, close at 17:00. Our e-mail for enquiries dorsetbookfair@riseup.net Our website (here) farcebook event BRHG members will be running a bookstall and are providing two talks: Talks and panels 11:30 – 12:30 Working with refugees in Portland. Hosted by Global Friendship Group. Activists of the Global Friendship Group […]

Beating the Blackshirts

Militant anti-fascism in south Bristol in the 1930s

During the 1930’s militant antifascist responses to Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts were established amongst the Bristolian working-class. Discouraged by their defeats in the inner-city districts of Bristol, the British Union of Fascists (BUF) turned their attention to south Bristol, Bedminster and the new garden suburbs springing up on the outskirts of the city. This illustrated talk traces the migration of pre WWII physical resistance to fascism in Bristol from the smoky and overcrowded slums to […]

‘Killing yourself to keep yourself’

Class struggles in the Somerset Coalfield

Dave's talk is intended to be an introduction to the Somerset Coalfield, one of the West Country's best-kept historical secrets. Whilst 'Killing yourself to keep yourself' will cover geography, geology, land owners, mine owners, mining techniques, accidents and disasters, the talk will focus on the miners' trade union, the Somerset Miners Association (SMA). It will look at some of the battles with vicious employers the SMA engaged in, to gain recognition, respect, and improvements to wages and […]

From Bristol….to Botany Bay

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 known about these women after they were transported, almost nothing was known of their lives, and crimes, here. In 2022-3, with funding from Historic England and UWE, we explored these forgotten stories through a series of workshops with women in HMP Eastwood Park. Sessions included creative writing with group […]

West Street Coal Mines

Ever wondered why there’s a pub called the Jolly Colliers on West Street? Do you know that the first Bristol Co-op was founded at 88 West Street by miners—who also set up a ‘Gospel tent’ and school on the site of what’s now United Reformed Church? The Somerset coalfields included the Malago and Argus pits, both of which were located on West Street, more or less where Tesco and Airpoint are now. The West St BS3 Neighbourhood Group is continuing its local history project supported by BS3 charity […]

Bristol Radical Film Festival

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Bristol Radical Film Festival takes place this 12th-13th October celebrating political, activist, and experimental filmmaking. The programme as usual engages with contemporary political issues and showcases an eclectic mix of unseen gems: The multi-racial roots of Country Music, Britain’s forgotten prisoners, UK music’s anti-racist history, Reproductive Rights in the USA, Israel and Jewish identity, Technology and Race in photography, Union organising against Amazon. Full details here.

Turning local history into theatre

The story of Hannah Wiltshire

This meeting brings together local historians, and writer and director Ingrid Jones of the Bedminster based acta Community Theatre. We will discuss the process from the seed of an idea, to research, devising, scripting, rehearsal and performance. We will also consider the difficulties of doing 'history from below', researching periods beyond living memory, where to find the voices of people and how to create a script and theatre piece from this. This will be an open discussion with plenty of […]

City of Swimmers

A radical history of Bristol’s pools, lidos and wild swimming

By Stephen E. Hunt

In the 1930s, the Bristol Baths Committee announced its aspiration “Every Bristolian a swimmer”, setting a target that every home should have a swimming facility within a mile. City of Swimmers is a verrucas-and-all history of swimming in Bristol, from the eighteenth-century Rennison’s Baths in Montpelier to the beautiful historic Jacob’s Wells and Bristol South baths, and the mostly overlooked pools in more recent leisure centres. Readers may have memories of a world of award patches, metal […]

Protests, Petitions, and Persuasion

The fight against school closures in south Bristol, 2000–2001

By Mike Richardson

Anatomy of a campaign At the beginning of this century, residents of Hartcliffe and Withywood in Bristol were shocked to hear that the city council planned to close two of their local primary schools. Children, parents and teachers, including Mike Richardson, the author of this pamphlet, mobilised to oppose these closures. The ensuing campaign organised public meetings, wrote petitions and held demonstrations in the city centre, as well as adopting some less orthodox direct action in their […]

The radical face of Bedminster in the early 20th Century

Meet: 2.00pm Dark Horse pub (formerly the Rope Walk) – 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 uncovers the radical political groups and individuals active in Bedminster in the pre-WWI and post-war periods, the strikes and trade union actions of the growing labour movement and how these networks of activists combined to resist the war. We also look at the changing […]