News Feed - Bristol Radical History Group

Off His ‘Ed: Regicide At Pucklechurch

But William, libro ij° de Regibus, seyth (says) that this kyng kepyng a feste at Pulkirchirche, in the feste of seynte Austyn, and seyng a thefe, Leof by name, sytte [th]er amonge hys gestes, whom he hade made blynde afore for his trespasses -- (quem rex prios propter scelera eliminaverat, whom the King previously due to his crimes did excile) -- , arysede (arrested) from the table, and takenge that man by the heire of the hedde, caste him unto the grownde. Whiche kynge was sleyn -- (sed […]

The Surfin’ Turnips/ Who’s Afear’d/ Paul McCoch

Bristol Radical History Week wouldn’t be the same without a performance from Bristol’s favourite pirate punkers ‘The Surfin’ Turnips’. Tonight they play a special acoustic gig with their Dorset brothers-in-cider Who’s Afear’d and newcomer Paul McCoch. We will also be perforimg a reconstruction of the Regicide of Edmund I which will also be performed a Pucklechurch on Sunday. All proceeds go to the Thomas Clarkson: Abolition of Slavery plaque for which we and the Seven Stars are currently raising […]

Radical History & ‘The Commonweal’

Why History Matters... And Why Radical History Matters More - David Cullum An analysis of the nature and importance of radical history in the public domain. Commonalty and Commonweal 1381-1649 - David Rollison Beginning with the story of a heretical hermit who, in 1357, was accused of terrorizing the respectable rich peasants of Hertfordshire and the king’s Justices by rousing the labourers of the county and preaching that the Statute of Labourers was ‘blasphemy’, this paper is a discussion of […]

Robb Johnson & The Irregulars/ Clayton Blizzard

Robb Johnson is an old friend of ours, having performed with Leon Rosselson for our first Radical History Week in 2006. Tonight he returns to the Cube with his band the Irregulars for another evening of caustic wit, political song and furiously strummed guitars. Support is provided by Thornbury’s finest, Clayton Blizzard and his poetic and pointed hip hop/ folk fusion. Tickets for this event are available in advance from Bristol Ticket Shop: BG29 The Galleries Bristol, BS1 3XB 0870 44 44 400 […]

English Republicanism

Radicalism, Monarchy And The Lost Liberties Of Anglo-Saxon Egland 1790-1820 - Steve Poole Although the English Jacobins of the 1790s were frequently characterised by their enemies as Republican followers of Tom Paine, in reality many of them could only commit to following Paine so far. The Rights of Man were all very well as long as they could be advocated without dumping long standing and cherished beliefs in an anglo-saxon golden age of elected chieftans and voluntary association - historical […]

Opening The Archives

Your chance to view primary source material related to regicide and republicanism in the Bristol Room of the Central Reference Library. Hosted by the knowledgeable and helpful archivists Dawn Dyer and Jane Bradley.

Spectres Of Violence

Thomas Paine, George Cruikshank And The Age Of Reason

The aim of this talk is to take a fresh look at the image of Britain’s first Public Enemy Number One: Thomas Paine. From the 1790s onwards, Paine’s political and religious writings symbolized everything that the British establishment feared about radical ideas and the rise of the ‘common’ reader. Paine ensured his terrorist credentials with the publication of the Rights of Man (1791-2), but this talk will focus on his other massively subversive book, Age of Reason (1795), a study in ‘infidel’ […]

Political Assassins

Avengers & Madmen - Propagandists Of The Deed & The Dawn Of Modern Terrorism - Matt Carr The author of the controversial (and banned) history of terrorism, The Infernal Machine, looks at the anarchist assassins of the late 19th century. Carr considers how such attacks were perceived by their protagonists and spectators, and how the heroic template that they developed has been reproduced in various other contexts. Author of The Infernal Machine – A History of Terrorism*, the first edition […]

Regicide And The English Revolution

The Tyrannicide Brief - Geoffrey Robertson Renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC examines the first trial of a head of state - Charles I, and how this groundbreaking moment in history opened the way for the trials of Augusto Pinochet, Slobodan Milosevic, and Saddam Hussein. Robertson became a barrister in 1973 and a QC in 1988. His became well known acting for the defence in the celebrated English criminal trials of Oz, Gay News, the 'ABC Trial', The Romans in Britain (the […]

Roy Bailey & Eirlys Rhiannon

An English folk legend, Roy Bailey is one of this country’s best-regarded political songwriters and has been described by his friend and collaborator Tony Benn as ‘the greatest socialist folk singer of his generation’. Roy was recently awarded an MBE, which he promptly returned in protest at the British government’s foreign policy. In other words, he’s right up our street. Supported by local singer-songwriter Eirlys Rhiannon.