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Coal Not Dole

Bristol Miners' Support Campaign Archive group

In 1984, the Tory government was determined to close the coal-producing industry and replace it with imports and with gas from the North Sea, whatever the costs. This was no green revolution. The National Union of Mineworkers was equally determined to resist. If a local pit went, there was nothing else except the dole. A bitter 12-month strike ensued. Coal Not Dole, written by those involved in the Bristol Miners’ Support Campaign, tells the story of the solidarity and support shown by the […]

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 […]

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

Ciaran Walsh, Stag and Hounds, Old Market 2020

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....

By Randall Brantley

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 […]

Behind the Scenes at the Bristol Radical History Festival

By Rosie Wild

I don’t know about the other organisers but I always wake up with a big feeling of relief the Monday after the Bristol Radical History Festival. Now in its seventh year, the festival gets bigger and more ambitious each time. In the week before I always feel a gnawing worry of ‘are we really going to pull it off this year?’ Luckily for us, the answer so far has always been: yes we are! Loads of work by loads of people goes into organising the Bristol Radical History Festival. It’s all done […]