Events from the Regional History Centre (RHC)

In partnership with M Shed, the Regional History Centre runs a monthly evening research seminar at M Shed, Bristol. Seminars are normally on the third Thursday of each month but please refer to the programme for variations.

Forthcoming events

Bristol goes bananas – the city’s role in the birth of a globalised fruit trade

Date: 16 February 2023
Time: 18:30-20:00
Venue: Free online event via Zoom

Early in 1901, the Port of Avonmouth took delivery of what was claimed to be Britain’s first commercial cargo of bananas from the West Indies. Over the next decade, the trade boomed. Bananas were already well on the way to becoming Britain’s most popular fruit. This talk examines the reasons why the British government gave a generous subsidy to set up the service, why Bristol was chosen to handle the cargoes and what it meant for the city. It also assesses the development of the public appetite for the new fruit.

Additionally, the talk will consider the way emerging new technologies were harnessed. They created a remarkable ‘just in time delivery’ service to ensure the delicate fruit arrived in perfect condition and, in turn, how this led to the downfall of the original service and the unstoppable rise of multinational banana corporations.

Speaker: Andy Linington, Senior Policy Advisor at Nautilus International.

Please book your place below. Details of how to join the session will be in your registration email. Please check your spam folder if the email does not arrive. Bookings close at 18:00 on Thursday 16 February 2023.

Find out more and register to join

Decoding the Riots of Skimmington in the Forest of Dean and beyond, 1631-32

Date: 16 March 2023
Time: 18:30-20:00
Venue: Free online event via Zoom

A Skimmington is defined as a shaming entertainment usually aimed at humiliating beaten and cuckolded husbands. But in 17th century Forest of Dean, it was also the alias of the leader in a series of riots against the enclosure of common land. This was akin to Robin Hood, Captain Swing or General Ned Ludd.

The Forest anti-enclosure campaign attracted several thousand participants for more than a year and inspired similar disturbances up to a hundred miles away. The grievances which led to the riots are well documented: the granting by King Charles I of woodland and coal resources to his favourites, including the Villiers family and local magnate Sir John Wintour, Queen Henrietta Maria’s secretary.

This talk explores the national, regional and immediate local political contexts, and considers the power of Skimmington as a triumphant act of rebellion in which traditional hierarchies were turned upside down and royal authority significantly challenged.

Speaker: Dr Owen Adams, University of Bristol

Please book your place below. Details of how to join the session will be in your registration email. Please check your spam folder if the email does not arrive. Bookings close at 18:00 on Thursday 16 March 2023.

Find out more and register to join

Past seminars

Recorded past seminars

Past events

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