Between the First and Second World Wars coal mining was still being carried out within the city boundaries of Bristol, and it was not until the early 1960's that the last mine in adjoining South Gloucestershire finally closed. John Penny reveals the extraordinary act of bravery during the final years of working at Speedwell Colliery, which at the time touched the hearts of thousands of local people.
Year: 2001
Filming the History Trail: The Blathwayt Diaries and Suffragettes in Batheaston.
"When I was asked to take part in a television programme on the Blathwayt family of Batheaston and their involvement in the suffragette movement I had no idea how much work this would entail. First of all I had to think differently about how to get their story across in a visual medium, in a way that would capture the attention of non history specialists but at the same time make some valid points about researching suffrage history".
Opening the Archive: Funding History for the Wider Public
‘Accessibility’ is the button increasingly pressured academics, curators and archivists must press if they wish to get their hands on public funds. Is this ‘a good thing’? Or is it just one more step in the dumbing down of our national culture?
Picture in Context: The Grand Reform Dinner on Brandon Hill
In the summer of 1832, Bristol artist William Muller followed an extensive series of paintings and sketches recording the previous year’s Reform riots, with this interesting drawing of a Reform celebration. Steve Poole analyses the details present in the picture, as well as the significance of the events in the picture, placing them in larger context.
Documents in Context: A fifteenth-century Bristol ordinance concerning aliens.
This is the first in an occasional series in which a document relating to the history of Bristol and its region is reproduced and discussed. The aim is to provide discussion points, not to provide the last word on the issues raised. Peter Fleming investigates a number of sources relating to the growing population of 'non-Bristolians' migrating to the city, and how they were perceived.