In collaboration with performers, writers and historians from south of the river, Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) are putting on a series of events over the autumn of 2024 uncovering hidden histories of south Bristol.
The Bedminster-Southville history festival in October features history talks, panels and a walk. We explore the underground history of Dean Lane Skate Park, Somerset miners, women prisoners transported to Australia and explore the radical face of Bedminster before and after WW1.
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 remember the battle against the closure of primary schools in Withywood and Hartcliffe in 2000.
All the events are free as our library and the Dame pub 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
The Dame pub: 43 Dean Lane, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 1BS
acta Community Theatre: Stanley Street off Gladstone Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 3AY
Hartcliffe Community Centre: Hareclive Road, Hartcliffe, Bristol, BS13 0JW
Filwood Community Centre: Barnstaple Road, Knowle West, Bristol, BS4 1JP
Programme
This programme of events will be updated, so please check back….
Talks (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Title | With | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Bristol….to Botany Bay | Sheila Hannon | Bedminster Library | ||
| West Street Coal Mines | Garry Atterton | acta Community Theatre | ||
| ‘Killing yourself to keep yourself’: Class struggles in the Somerset Coalfield | Dave Chapple | Bedminster Library | ||
| Beating the Blackshirts: Militant anti-fascism in south Bristol in the 1930s | Paul Kingdon | The Dame pub | ||
| Turning local history into theatre: The story of Hannah Wiltshire | Ingrid Jones, Roger Ball, Rosemary L Caldicott |
acta Community Theatre | ||
| Book launch: Hartcliffe Betrayed | Paul Smith | Hartcliffe Community Centre | ||
| Pamphlet launch: Parent Power: The fight against school closures in south Bristol, 2000–2001 | Mike Richardson | Hartcliffe Community Centre | ||
| Book launch: City of Swimmers: A radical history of Bristol’s pools, lidos and wild swimming | Stephen E. Hunt | Filwood Community Centre | ||
| Beating the Blackshirts: Militant anti-fascism in south Bristol in the 1930s | Paul Kingdon, Rosemary L Caldicott, Roger Ball |
Walks (drag left/right):
| Date | Time | Title | With | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The radical face of Bedminster in the early 20th Century | Trevor Houghton , Mike Richardson |
Dark Horse pub |