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 5TH OCTOBER

IN THE SNUG   6-8PM   FREE FOR ALL

Join us for an evening of performance and lively discussion connected to the recently published book Haunting Ashton Court: A Creative Handbook for Collective History-Making, inspired by a community youth theatre project that took place at the mansion across Winter 2022. The evening will include performances from a company of young Bristolians responding to the gaps and silences in the official archives of Ashton Court Estate, followed by a panel Q&A with the young people involved, chaired by the community project’s facilitators Elinor Lower and Jack Young.

There will be copies of Haunting Ashton Court: A Creative Handbook for Collective History-Making available for sale on the night. This collection includes new writing commissions from Zakiya McKenzie, Tom Marshman and Saili Katebe responding to the gaps in the Ashton Court archives, a script from a live performance by young Bristolians; and a creative toolkit to help you make your own journeys into collective history-making, edited by Elinor Lower and Jack Young.

Praise for Haunting Ashton Court:  “A genuinely exciting piece of art: irreverent, radical, experimental and collaborative. I loved it. All artefacts of stolen and hoarded wealth must be haunted!” (Yara Rodrigues Fowler, author of there are more things)