Radical Bristol Archives - Page 20 of 27 Bristol Radical History Group

Wrecks On The River Avon

Towing the wreck og the Llandaff City into dock.

The Experience of the Pilots and Watermen of Crockerne Pill in the Nineteenth Century

By Mike Richardson

From the earliest days of recorded history river pilots have navigated ships through the dangerous waters of the Bristol Channel and up the river Avon, with its twisting bends, shifting sand banks and strong currents. In the early nineteenth century, Bristol was granted rights to compulsory pilotage over the whole of the Channel. The Society of Merchant Venturers managed and regulated licenced pilots on behalf of Bristol Corporation. However, pilots were self-employed and operated in competition […]

The Union Boys Enjoying Free Labour At Last.

Socialists, New Unionists and New Women - Part 2: Days of Doubt

By Mike Richardson

Following on from part one, this pamphlet traces the period of industrial unrest in Bristol between January and August 1890. The lockout of boot and shoe workers that began in December 1889, and continued for the first few weeks of January 1890, provided the opportunity for combining the forces of skilled organised workers with the unskilled and unorganised, in the drive to improve working conditions. It also encouraged forms of social unionism, with links to the wider community. Employers […]

Socialists, New Unionists and New Women - Part 1: Days of Hope

By Mike Richardson

During 1889-1890, a strike wave swept across Britain hitting many major towns and cities. Bristol was not immune. The scale and intensity of industrial unrest in the city reached a level never experienced before. The city’s labour historian Samuel Bryher depicted Bristol at this time as ‘a seething centre of revolt’. This experience set in train a qualitative change in the organisation of workers; and salutary lessons emerged for consideration for those politically active in the newly formed […]