In collaboration with performers and historians from south of the river, Bristol Radical History Group (BRHG) are putting on a series of events over the autumn of 2023 uncovering hidden histories of south Bristol.

The Bedminster-Southville history festival in October features history talks, a walk and an exhibition exploring the radical face of Bedminster before and after WW1, hidden histories of Ashton Court Estate and West Street, the storming of the New Gaol in 1831, women prisoners from Bedminster transported to Australia and strikes by British Army units at the White City.

THURSDAY 12TH OCTOBER

IN THE SNUG   6.30-7PM   FREE FOR ALL

The Dean Lane Pit disaster of 1886 and its repercussions…

In September 1886, an explosion deep underground at the Dean Lane Colliery led to the deaths of 10 miners and life changing injuries to many others. Tony Dyer will explain the mistakes that led up to the disaster, how and why the explosion happened, the repercussions both for the miners and the local mining industry, and how it impacted safety regulations in the Bedminster mines immediately following the explosion. A descendent of Bedminster coalminers himself, Tony will look at how the miners were forced into playing a game of change with their lives in order to earn enough to make a living for them and their families, and how almost all trace of the mining industry in South Bristol, from Brislington to Bedminster and on to Ashton Vale has disappeared.