Welcome to the SSLH

Chartism Day 2026: venue, date and call for papers.

Founded in 1960, the Society for the Study of Labour History (SSLH) is the UK’s principal organisation dedicated to the study of labour history.

Membership is open to everyone who would like to learn more about labour history and heritage whether on a professional or amateur basis.

The SSLH publishes the journal the Labour History Review, organises regular conferences and actively promotes the preservation of historical resources connected to the labour movement.

What’s new

Events

Event: Spineless Wonders: songs and street literature

On 6 May, acclaimed performer, balladeer, and SSLH EC member Jennifer Reid will be performing a unique set of historic broadside ballads at the John Rylands Library, University of Manchester. This unique event offers the chance to hear selections from the library’s broadside ballad collections brought vividly to life. Broadside ballads were short narrative verses… Continue reading Event: Spineless Wonders: songs and street literature

Events

Joshua Hobson: His radical publishing and work on the Northern Star

Earlier this week, Dr Vic Clarke delivered a lively talk on Joshua Hobson, his radical publishing, and his work on the Northern Star at the University of Huddersfield for the annual Luddite Memorial Lecture. Vic Clarke focused on Hobson’s life as a publisher and politician, charting his journey from teenage handloom weaver to a radical… Continue reading Joshua Hobson: His radical publishing and work on the Northern Star

Labour history news

Call for poems for the 1926 General Strike Centenary

The Fig Tree online webzine and Crooked Spire Press of Chesterfield have announced a new special issue to commemorate the centenary of the 1926 General Strike. Submissions are sought for poems covering the following topics: Poems written specifically for this project, and not previously published elsewhere, will be selected for inclusion in a special issue… Continue reading Call for poems for the 1926 General Strike Centenary

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