Bristol has been host to refugees for centuries—but just how welcoming has the city been? The events of the first week of August 2024 follow a pattern that stretches back centuries—refugees and asylum seekers seeking refuge in Bristol and encountering hostility from some, but a welcome from others. Colin Thomas’s short history charts the reception given to those fleeing war and persecution from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first, outlines the stories of organisations that have developed […]
A new title from Six Points Publishing: In October 1831 as reform riots shook Bristol, the authorities urgently requested the help of troops stationed in South Wales. An infantry unit marched from Cardiff to Newport with the intention of boarding a steam boat to Bristol, but their way was blocked by a hostile crowd. This book explores the background to this incident, setting it in the context of the reform crisis in Newport, Monmouthshire and other parts of south Wales in the early 1830s. […]
Not A BRHG Event
Our guest speaker on Tuesday, October 29th at 6.30pm at the Newport Rising Hub will be Rosemary Caldicott, a social history researcher and author. During the event, Rosemary will provide insights from her book Voyage of Despair, focusing on lesser-known aspects of history. Rosemary Caldicott is recognized for her commitment to revealing untold narratives from history. Through her research, she offers a new insight into the history of Captain Thomas Phillips and the slave ship Hannibal, delving […]
Not A BRHG Event
Breaking the Dead Silence:Engaging with the Legacies of Empire and Slave-Ownership in Bath and Bristol’s Memoryscapes was published by Liverpool University Press in July, four years after the events that brought the authors together. Nineteen diverse and distinctive voices offer timely commentaries and reflections, as well as strategies towards re-telling obscured stories and getting unheard voices heard. These free events are opportunities to hear from some of the creatives, academics and […]
Not A BRHG Event
In October 1831 as reform riots shook Bristol, the authorities urgently requested the help of troops stationed in south Wales. An infantry unit marched from Cardiff to Newport with the intention of boarding a steam boat to Bristol, but their way was blocked by a hostile crowd. This book explores the background to this incident, setting it in the context of the reform crisis in Newport, Monmouthshire and other parts of south Wales in the early 1830s.
Not A BRHG Event
Dorset’s Fifth Radical Bookfair will take place on Saturday 5th October 2024 at Bad Hand Coffee Roasters: The Roastery, 7 Norwich Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH2 5QZ. Doors open 11:00, close at 17:00. Our e-mail for enquiries dorsetbookfair@riseup.net Our website (here) farcebook event BRHG members will be running a bookstall and are providing two talks: Talks and panels 11:30 – 12:30 Working with refugees in Portland. Hosted by Global Friendship Group. Activists of the Global Friendship Group […]
During the 1930’s militant antifascist responses to Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts were established amongst the Bristolian working-class. Discouraged by their defeats in the inner-city districts of Bristol, the British Union of Fascists (BUF) turned their attention to south Bristol, Bedminster and the new garden suburbs springing up on the outskirts of the city. This illustrated talk traces the migration of pre WWII physical resistance to fascism in Bristol from the smoky and overcrowded slums to […]
Dave's talk is intended to be an introduction to the Somerset Coalfield, one of the West Country's best-kept historical secrets. Whilst 'Killing yourself to keep yourself' will cover geography, geology, land owners, mine owners, mining techniques, accidents and disasters, the talk will focus on the miners' trade union, the Somerset Miners Association (SMA). It will look at some of the battles with vicious employers the SMA engaged in, to gain recognition, respect, and improvements to wages and […]
In the early 1800s ten female convicts in Bristol Newgate Gaol (now the site of The Galleries shopping centre) were sentenced to ‘transportation beyond the seas’—Australia. While much is known about these women after they were transported, almost nothing was known of their lives, and crimes, here. In 2022-3, with funding from Historic England and UWE, we explored these forgotten stories through a series of workshops with women in HMP Eastwood Park. Sessions included creative writing with group […]
Ever wondered why there’s a pub called the Jolly Colliers on West Street? Do you know that the first Bristol Co-op was founded at 88 West Street by miners—who also set up a ‘Gospel tent’ and school on the site of what’s now United Reformed Church? The Somerset coalfields included the Malago and Argus pits, both of which were located on West Street, more or less where Tesco and Airpoint are now. The West St BS3 Neighbourhood Group is continuing its local history project supported by BS3 charity […]
