A Mount Pleasant Radical History Walk

Radical Islington is caught up in a flurry of action. Not only have we got a benefit gig in the pipeline this April (see post below), but on 29 April, one of our member will be giving a free historical walk of Mount Pleasant (the Royal Mail site in the south of Islington) and the surrounding area. On the walk you will hear about the workhouse, Georgian and Victorian prison regimes, local radicalism, postal service mechanisation and underground railways, the Calthorpe riots, 19th century police kettling techniques. All welcome.

ISLINGTON RADICAL HISTORY

We link here to some articles on radical history related to Islington. New material will be added as we find it.

Unwaged fightback - A history of Islington Action Group of the Unwaged - 1980-86
The history of an unwaged workers' group in 1980s London, its efforts to establish and run a centre for the unemployed and its relationship to the Miners' Strike and other struggles of its times; a pamphlet produced in late 1987 by the Campaign for Real Life. http://libcom.org/library/unwaged-fightback-a-history-of-islington-action-group-of-the-unwaged-1980-86

Reds On The Green - A Short Tour of Clerkenwell Radicalism
This text is a short sketch of the radical history of the Clerkenwell area, its characters and events.

There has been little easily available to read concentrating specifically on the long and rich history of the politics and struggles of the area. The following account charts the changing fortunes and developments of the communities, classes and individuals involved. It also offers some passing comments on the Clerkenwell of today. http://libcom.org/library/reds-green-short-tour-clerkenwell-radicalism
This text was published as a pamphlet, ‘Reds On the Green’, in October 2005, by past tense. The text is also on their site; http://www.past-tense.org.uk

Dan Chatterton
Articles by or about Dan Chatterton (pictured above), 19th century working class Chartist, secularist, birth control propagandist, communist and radical public speaker who was well known among the early London Anarchist and Marxist circles. Born and bred in Clerkenwell, he self-published the journal 'Chatteron's Commune, the Atheistic, Communistic, Scorcher'. http://libcom.org/tags/dan-chatterton-0