People’s History

David Olusoga: Not the “angry black guy on television”

The Bristol-based celebrity historian talks about why he challenges the white-washing of British history… and the “pretty weird” relationship the city has with Edward Colston.

Bringing the fight against apartheid to Bristol

Remembering Ron Press, the white South African dissident who became a leading light in Bristol activism.

The community razed to the ground for a road that was never built

In the 1960s the council demolished most of Totterdown, in a planning disaster still remembered by Bristolians today.

From cockfighting arena to protected green space

A history of a small hill in St Werburgh’s

A people’s history of St Pauls

St Pauls is a famous neighbourhood. But newcomers to Bristol are most likely to have heard of it for one of two reasons.

It’s not all strikes and marches: Bristol’s struggle for fun, leisure and knowledge

Our city has a history of politically involved communities who love to walk, sing, and dance. All with a sharp sense of social justice, mind...

A year of People’s History. 6 of the best.

Mass Grave of Victorian Paupers Discovered in Eastville. Who were they and what did they endure? Issue 1.   2. Victorian Bristol’s radical coffee taverns –...

An unusual WW1 hero from Bristol

Walter Ayles is an unsung WW1 Bristol hero for unusual reasons. But next year, a century after he defied the authorities, he will finally get the recognition of a blue plaque on his former home in Ashley Down.

Can We Move Beyond Black History Month?

Storyteller from South Africa challenges the limits of this yearly event and speaks to local actors proposing initiatives to expand learning about global cultures

The enslaved who changed history

Aprevailing view of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade holds that a combination of evangelicals, liberals and enlightenment thinkers pushed Parliament towards the momentous...

The Forgotten Forest Charter

Colin Thomas of the Bristol Radical History Group looks at the age-old battle over British land use

Burning into national consciousness: looking back on the Hartcliffe riots

Hartcliffe rioted twenty-three years ago, soon after the last Conservative government was elected. We cast an eye back to dark times and the seeds of...