On the 200th anniversary of Paine’s death, Peter Clark explains the contemporary importance of his writings that were so influential in the revolutionary ferment of the late 18th Century. Paine redefined the nature of political discourse with his ground-breaking views on human rights, democracy, the open society, racial equality, women's rights and the welfare state. Clark questions why this great British thinker is fêted in France and the United States yet remains a prophet without fortune in […]
Come and celebrate the life of one of Britain’s greatest yet least known radical thinkers, Thomas Paine. Under the light of the full moon, join us in toasting the memory of this hero of the French and American revolutions with stories round the bonfire, cider, pikes and guillotines. Dress: Fancy and French, Attitude: Seditious. Download an A4 poster for this event (1.2 MB jpeg file).
The year-long Miners’ Strike of the 1980s was a defining moment in 20th Century British history, the impact of which is still being felt economically, politically and culturally. Twenty-five years on we bring together a panel of participants, representing the strikers, the miners’ support groups and the media to discuss the anatomy of the strike, its reporting and the history that was left untold at the time. Download and print a flyer (275 KB jpeg file) Watch this talk: The video should be here
Bideford-born shoemaker, John Gregory (1831-1922) wrote poetry, was a pioneer trade unionist, socialist, peace activist and poet. Through his life and work it is possible to trace working-class political thought from Chartism through Radicalism to Socialism. Admired for his trade union work by Ernest Bevin and Ben Tillet and for his poetry by both Tennyson and H G Wells, the time has come for him to be rediscovered. Biographer Gerrard Sables talks about Gregory’s life, his works and his […]
Not A BRHG Event
An evening celebration the new plaque featuring live music, poetry, beer and more... Featuring Tekla, Milo and The Shin Kicking Privateers.
During the Abolition bicentenary of 2007, Bristol Radical History Group commissioned a commemorative plaque to celebrate the anti-slavery campaigner Thomas Clarkson and the Bristol sailors who provided him with evidence of the horrors of the slave trade. Join us at the site of these momentous events, the Seven Stars Pub, for the unveiling of the plaque at lunchtime. Download a Plaque unveiling invitation (650KB jpeg file) Watch highlights of the unveiling: If you see this text the video has […]
This April is the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough football disaster which killed 96 Liverpool fans and injured hundreds more. Twenty years on, few people know what actually happened and the (now admitted) lies told by the Police to the press at the time remain as many people's memory of events. The coroner and the inquiry narrowly restricted their investigations. Numerous judges have thwarted attempts by the survivors, families and campaign groups to have the events investigated. […]
Nowtopia: How pirate programmers, outlaw bicyclists, and guerilla gardeners are inventing the future today. Chris Carlsson, acclaimed author, activist and founder of the Critical Mass bicycling movement in San Francisco explains how, as capitalism continues its inexorable process of global enclosure, new practices are emerging that are redefining politics. People are taking back their time and technological know-how from the market in small under-the-radar ways, and in doing so are establishing […]
Stories and music round the fire at the Boiling Wells site, St Werburghs City Farm; 7.30 - 10 pm. BYO drink. Tales told by Martin Maudsley and friends, with salty songs and feisty fiddle tunes from the ‘Cheese Strings’. Bring and burn an effigy! Limited numbers, don't be late... Director of Bristol Storytelling Festival, Martin runs regular adult and children’s story telling events at the Scout Hut on Redcliffe Wharf.
In a 1970 article advocating ‘social history as the history of society’, E.J.Hobsbawm concluded that it was ‘a good time to be a social historian’. ‘Even those of us who never set out to call ourselves by this name,’ he wrote, ‘will not want to disclaim it today.’ Twenty years later, Keith Wrightson recollected how it felt to be present at that dawn. ‘The past teemed with questions which had scarcely been asked, let alone answered,’ he wrote. ‘If they were considered of little significance in […]
