The Brixton Riots were a key turning point for race relations in Britain. The riots, which began on the 10th April 1981, lasted a total of three full days before over 1,000 police officers from across London overcame the force of the rioters and brought an end to the chaos. The rioting was the result … Read more
The First World War produced Britain’s first major anti-war movement. Conscientious Objectors (COs) were a collection of individuals who refused to fight. Although there were organisations such as the No-Conscription Fellowship, it was up to the individual, at enormous personal sacrifice, to make the protest. This meant facing alone the combined strength of the judiciary, … Read more
Sir John Lubbock was an influential banker, scientific writer, and politician. He introduced banking reforms, was an advocate for free trade, and was a prolific law maker. He is best remembered for his efforts to reduce working hours and introduce public holidays, including the Shop Hours Regulation Act of 1886. He also worked to introduce … Read more
At the outbreak of the First World War, German immigrants, who for decades had been respected members of their community, became enemies almost overnight. Their livelihoods, shops and houses were destroyed by violent crowds. Yet German people had settled in Britain over many centuries. They were courtiers, merchants, engineers, and skilled workers such as the … Read more
Born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, Octavia Hill was the eighth daughter of James Hill, a corn merchant, and his third wife, Caroline. Hill was born into a progressive family; her grandfather was a campaigner on public health, while her father was a follower of the social reformer Robert Owen, and founded the radical newspaper the Star … Read more
When access to Bushy Park in Richmond was withdrawn for local residents in the eighteenth century, a local shoemaker, Timothy Bennet, campaigned successfully to get it re-instated. Bennet threatened to take the Park Ranger, George Montagu-Dunk, the 2nd Earl of Halifax, to court if access for residents was not restored. He argued that local people … Read more
When we come to think about nineteenth-century feminism, we can’t celebrate its achievements without recognising what it was achieved on the back of. In so many cases, women’s greater contribution to the public sphere [was] through social action, through social work, through philanthropy […], so often those things were achieved on the basis of … Read more
Rose Emma Janau was born in Brixton in 1875. Her parents were both teachers and she received an extensive education, both in England and abroad. In 1896 she entered Royal Holloway College, studying modern languages. Although she passed the Oxford Final Honours Exam, she was not, as a woman, awarded a degree. In 1900 she … Read more
During the nineteenth century, Jewish communities had limited rights and often had to endure anti-Semitism. This inspired campaigns for ‘Emancipation’, as Jews pushed for religious and social equality. One of the most important figures in this battle for reform was Moses Montefiore (1784-1885). Montefiore immigrated to London from Italy and quickly became one of the … Read more
John Archer is often held up as an icon of black British history. He was the first black man to become mayor of a London borough, and only the second in the whole country. In April 2013, he was selected by the Royal Mail as one of the subjects for a series of stamps celebrating … Read more
