Nottinghamshire History

On March 5th 1990, Nottingham City Council, then as now Labour-led, met to set the Poll Tax rate for the city. Protesters burst into the council chamber dressed as Robin Hood. Several councillors were custard pied and the campaigners were arrested by the police. Despite expert evidence that custard pies were not dangerous, the Magistrate failed to see the funny side and two of the campaigners were sent down. This action was part of a wave of protests, disruptions and riots at council meetings across the country which set the scene for the famous riot in Trafalgar Square at the end of March, the day before the tax was to come into force in England and Wales.

To mark the 20th anniversary of this event, Nottingham Radical History Group organised an event to look back on the struggle. This is part of a wider project to make available documents from the time and to record interviews with some of participants in the struggle so that the lessons of the campaign are not lost.

Upcoming event: Wednesday March 31st 3pm Trafalgar Square to commemorate 20th anniversary of Poll Tax Riot. "Open loud hailer, top speakers, Class War, misty-eyed memories, pub afterwards!"

On the newswire: The Poll Tax: twenty years on

Links: The Sparrow's Nest | Nottingham anti- Poll Tax 1989-91: press cuttings, newsletters & leaflets | Notts Indymedia History newswire

The annual remembrance celebrations in Nottingham are traditionally associated with some manufactured controversy or another. This year was no different with the subvertising of a poster featuring Mansfield serviceman by anti-war campaigners.

In Nottingham, campaigners held a march from the city centre to the grounds of the castle where they laid a wreath in memory of the uncounted Afghanis who have died in the present conflict at a memorial to British soldiers killed in an abortive attack on Afghanistan in the 1870s.

The county council meanwhile, has taken time out from laying off staff long enough to rearrange the Spanish Civil War memorial so as to hide its political content.

On the newswire: Remembering Afghani Dead - Pictures | Remembering the Afghani Dead | Notts County Council rewriting history?

National feature: Remembrance conflict

Links: Nottingham Stop the War Coalition | White Poppies

Since a few days, a group of people have occupied the Old County Hall on High Pavement as part of the international days of action for free culture and autonomous spaces. Also see feature article. The building, also known as 'the Judges' Lodgings' has both a fascinating history and is a building of outstanding beauty. So what is its history? Who's been living there over the years? And why has been sitting empty for so many years?

"For many years it was used as the Judge's Lodgings, and behind it is a really charming garden which forms an oasis of greenery which it is very difficult to see from anywhere else than the windows of the schoolrooms of Halifax Place Chapel. It is a 17th century house which was greatly altered about 1833, about which time it was purchased from the Fellows family, who had removed thither from a smaller house a little to the west. Before their time it was occupied by Lady Hutchinson, the mother of Colonel Hutchinson." That's an extract from an article on Notts History, an online collection of copyleft articles on Nottinghamshire's vibrant history. Reading through articles about the history of the Judge's Lodgings, one thing is certain. And that is that some very high ranked individuals have lived here over the centuries.

Photos: New Squat Occupied: opp. Galleries of Justice [1] | [2]

Links: Nottinghamshire History | Announcing The New Squat: Location (Nottingham) | Nottingham Braced For Squat Actions (feature) | Days of Action for Squats and Autonomous Spaces

It is now five years since the invasion of Iraq and its consequences are obvious for all to see. Estimates of the death toll, suggest that more than a million Iraqis may have been murdered since the invasion. In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that more than 2.2 million Iraqis are internally displaced, with a further 2 million having fled to neighbouring states, particularly Syria and Jordan. The explanation for these stark figures lies in the surge in sectarian conflict, widespread state repression, ongoing US-UK military operations, endemic criminality and growth of Islamic fundamentalism, all of which have been facilitated, if not actively encouraged, by the US-UK occupation.

This carnage has not taken place without opposition. The anti-war movement globally, nationally and locally has campaigned against US-UK imperialism in Iraq since the possibility of an attack was first mooted shortly after September 11th. The movement's concerns echoed in Nottingham as they did elsewhere, encouraging many local residents to get active.

Newswire: Stop the War: Five Years on (report) | Stop the War: Five Years on (photos 1) | Stop the War: Five Years on (photos 2) | Notts Indymedia Iraq Topic Page

Links: Nottingham CND | Nottingham Stop the War Coalition | Nottingham Student Peace Movement | Veggies Against War

As Britain continues the 2007 celebration of 'Abolition 200', the legal end of Britain's official involvement in trans-Atlantic slave trading, and with most eyes on the main slave trade ports like Bristol and Liverpool, our local councils seem quite unconcerned about direct or indirect involvement with the profits of slavery in Notts and East Midlands, and seem happy just to leave local churches to do the soul searching. Let's ask some questions...

An easy example of Notts involvement in slavery is the well-known Mellish family, whose name is probably best associated in local minds with a Nottingham school. The family is known to have had involvement with ownership and official dealings with plantation estates in the West Indies in the 18th century. Even a cursory look at the Mellish family online archive record reveals inheritance of slave plantation estate property from the governor of the Bahamas (John Tinker), and we can read about William Mellish's official dealings with plantation monies in Jamaica as Receiver General for the Customs & Excise (he was also MP for Retford).

Photos: George Africanus: Re-dedication of former slave's grave

Links: The Mellish and Buchanan Families of Blyth and Hodsock - A Brief History | The Nottingham Sparrow, Nottingham AF | 'Slavery - the Hidden History', Bristol Radical History Group | Anti-slavery march demands reparations for slave trade

To celebrate the McLibel Human Rights Victory Anniversary, there was a small demo on Thursday at the McDonalds restaurant at Exchange Walk

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg declared that the notorious and long running McLibel case was in breach of the right to a fair trial and right to freedom of expression, thereby voiding any solace that McNasty may have enjoyed from the trial.

The Court ruled that UK laws had failed to protect the public’s right to criticise massive corporations whose business practices can affect people’s lives, health and the environment. Meanwhile after spending £10 million to suppress free speach, McDonalds find that the most widely distributed protest leaflet ever, continues to be distributed worldwide... Mainly by a group in Nottingham!

Audio: Interview with an activist about McDonald's and all its works | Short bit of the interview

Previous reports: Nottingham Another Anti-G8-McDonalds event (2004) | Nottingham McDonalds Celebrating the McLibel Two (2005) | Nottingham Day of Action against McDonald's (2005) | Nottingham's part of the Worldwide Day of Action Against McDonalds (2006)

Links: McSpotlight | Veggies