The Gallows Pole: how a community of weavers nearly crashed the economy

A television drama that tells the extraordinary story of the Cragg Vale Coiners is now on BBC iPlayer. And you may just spot a familiar face in the cast. Even by the standards of the day, life in the Pennines weaving communities of Cragg Vale in the second half of the eighteenth century could be tough. But in the 1760s, this isolated valley, close to … Continue reading The Gallows Pole: how a community of weavers nearly crashed the economy

EditorMCMay 15, 2023June 1, 2023

SSLH news

SSLH members’ newsletter April 2023

The April 2023 issue of our members’ newsletter is out now. If you are a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History, you will have received this in a PDF document by email. You can also download it from the Members’ Resources page here on the website. The newsletter is not sent to non-members, who are, instead, invited to join us. Continue reading SSLH members’ newsletter April 2023

EditorMCMarch 30, 2023

Grants, SSLH news

BME small grants scheme backs six projects

Congratulations to this year’s successful applicants to the BME small grants funding scheme. The scheme provides small grants of up to £1,000 to support Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) historians working in the UK and/or on histories of BME people. The successful projects from the 2022 round are: The scheme is administered by the Social History Society in partnership with the Economic History Society, History … Continue reading BME small grants scheme backs six projects

EditorMCFebruary 27, 2023

Commentary, SSLH news

In Our Time: Chartism

On 21 May 1838 an estimated 150,000 people assembled on Glasgow Green for a mass demonstration. There they witnessed the launch of the People’s Charter, a list of demands for political reform. The changes they called for included voting by secret ballot, equal-sized constituencies and, most importantly, that all men should have the vote. The Chartist were the first national mass working-class movement. In the … Continue reading In Our Time: Chartism

EditorMCFebruary 8, 2023February 11, 2023

SSLH news

SSLH members’ newsletter out now

The first issue of our new members’ newsletter is out now. If you are a member of the Society for the Study of Labour History, you will have received this in a PDF document by email. You can also download it from the Members’ Resources page here on the website. The newsletter is not sent to non-members, who are, instead, invited to join us. Continue reading SSLH members’ newsletter out now

EditorMCDecember 20, 2022

Books etc, SSLH news

Communist lives in twentieth century Ireland

Above: Mike Mecham presents Meirian Jump of the Marx Memorial Library with a copy of Left Lives in Twentieth-Century Ireland, Vol. 3: Communist Lives, edited by Francis Devine and Patrick Smylie (Umiskin Press, Dublin, April 2020). An inscription in the book reads, ‘Presented by Umiskin Press, Dublin, to the Marx Memorial Library in recognition of its major contribution to the preservation and enhancement of Socialist … Continue reading Communist lives in twentieth century Ireland

EditorMCDecember 15, 2022

Events, SSLH news

Big Jim Larkin: reflections on the identity, politics and legacy of a socialist and trade union leader

The first annual John Halstead Memorial Lecture in memory and in honour of a labour historian who served the Society for the Study of Labour History for six decades took place in the splendid Gothic Revival surroundings of the John Rylands Library on Saturday 29 October. The full video can be viewed below. More than sixty people were present in person or online to hear … Continue reading Big Jim Larkin: reflections on the identity, politics and legacy of a socialist and trade union leader

EditorMCOctober 31, 2022November 1, 2022

SSLH news

SSLH AGM 2022: register now

The annual general meeting of the Society for the Study of Labour History will take place at the John Rylands Library, Manchester, at 12.15pm on Saturday 29 October. The AGM is open to SSLH members. If you would like to attend the meeting, please register your interest in advance by emailing: sslhmembership@gmail.com. Continue reading SSLH AGM 2022: register now

EditorMCOctober 18, 2022

Labour History Review, SSLH news

LHR postgraduate essay prize 2023

Postgraduates are encouraged to submit articles for consideration for the 2023 essay prize to the editors of Labour History Review. This annual prize awards £500 for the best essay, which will be published in the LHR. The essay prize is open to anyone currently registered for a higher research degree, in Britain or abroad, or to anyone who completed such a degree no earlier than February 2020. … Continue reading LHR postgraduate essay prize 2023

EditorMCSeptember 13, 2022

Labour History Review, SSLH news

Society names LHR essay prize winner for 2022

The Society for the Study of Labour History is pleased to announce a winner for the 2022 Labour History Review postgraduate essay competition. The competition awards an annual prize of £500 for the best essay, which will also be published in Labour History Review. This year’s award goes to Gregory Billam for his essay entitled ’Breakdown in the Communist Anglosphere? The Communist Party of Great … Continue reading Society names LHR essay prize winner for 2022

EditorMCAugust 4, 2022September 13, 2022