London Riots, Rebellions & Protests

Online
Book Now

This course will take place online, for a reduced rate of Full £79 / Conc. £59

Join this five-week course to look at the history of popular disturbances in London, their causes, and their impact.

While London’s streets have often been a place of protest they have seldom turned to outright revolution. This course will look at the role of street protests from William Long Beard in 1196 to Extinction Rebellion in 2019 and ask where events like the Gordon Riots fit into that story. Where does protest end and riot begin?

Explore photographs of protests in London as part of photographer Angela Chrisofilou's Lives from the Archives.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone with an interest in London history.

Will I need any equipment or materials?

This course will be held via Zoom. You need a computer/laptop or mobile phone to access the Zoom website, and a reliable internet connection. For further information on how to join a Zoom meeting, you can watch the joining video here.

Will I be assessed?

There is no formal assessment for courses at Bishopsgate Institute. However, to monitor your learning and progress, tutors will assess your participation in classroom activities.

Image: Angela Christofilou Archive

You will learn

By the end of this course, you will have learnt:

  • About how street protests have been a constant feature of London life
  • How protest had a role in the development of democracy
  • About places that have had a role in protest
  • How to use online archives and libraries to take studies further.

Meet the Tutor

Robert Smith

Robert studied London History at Birkbeck College and then qualified as a guide at the University of Westminster.

His love affair with London began at the age of ten when his father took him on a whirlwind tour of the city. Robert knew from that moment that he would come to live in London, and he has been living and working in the capital for nearly thirty years.

He loves the stories hidden in the streets of the city, especially about crime, spies, military, and industrial history. As well as guiding, Robert also teaches London history at Morley College and South Thames College.

Learn more

Course Overview

Week 1

Disorder on Medieval Streets

William Long Beard’s protests, the Peasants Revolt of 1381 and Evil May Day – was rioting the only recourse for those without wealth in Medieval London?

Week 2

Tudor and Stuart discontent

Political and religious intrigue is played out on the London street

Week 3

The London Mob in the eighteenth century

Violent uprising is never far away in Georgian London. How did Spitalfields weavers use protest on the street as a way of asserting their labour rights? Why did we not have a revolution like France?

Week 4

Riot and protest on the way to democracy

How the Spa Field Riots, the Chartists and Suffragettes used protests to create modern democracy

Week 5

Riot and protest today

Is street protest still necessary in the era of the internet?

Need to Know

Metadata

Time
19:00 – 21:00
Price
Full £79 / Conc. £59
Day
Thursdays
Duration
120
Venue
Bishopsgate Institute
Tutor
Robert Smith
Max Students
16
No. of Sessions
5
Course Code
LN21211

Dates and Times

London Riots, Rebellions & Protests

– , 19:00 - 21:00

Book Now

The Art of Protest

Online

–

An Introduction to Charles Booth's London

Sold Out

–

A Short History of Twentieth-Century London

Sold Out

–

A Short History Of London's East End (1880s-1970s)

Sold Out

–