Clerkenwell’s radical history of socialist activism is being reignited, as preparations get under way for this year’s May Day Rally. Trade unionists, migrant worker organisations, women’s groups and politicians are preparing to gather on the Green to mark 100 years since the General Strike in 1926 – a nine-day nationwide work-stoppage called in solidarity with miners.
Mary Adossides, a member of the London May Day Organising committee, said this will be the focal point of the day. Roughly 1.7 million workers participated in the 1926 strike, led by the Trades Union Congress. May Day will remember “those nine days that the country was on strike in support of the coal miners who were being threatened with a pay cut.”
For centuries, left-wing radicals and industrialists have gathered on Clerkenwell Green, a prominent geographical aspect of London’s political folklore. Wat Tyler camped there during the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, and the Green hosted the first-ever May Day march in 1890.
The Marx Memorial Library, situated on the Green since 1930, will open its doors to May Day marchers. Meirian Jump, senior archivist, said the library is “a cornerstone of Clerkenwell’s radical history, a royal treasure.”
“It’s a really good opportunity for us to bring people in to celebrate May Day and to have a look at our historic site, our wonderful collections on socialist history and connect with that past, whilst looking to the future,” she said.
The library is home to a rich history of printing and socialist ideology. Ms Jump said: “This building was home to the Social Democratic Federation, the first socialist party in this country with people like William Morris and Eleanor Marx [Karl Marx’s daughter] as members.”
Vladimir Lenin worked there for thirteen months when he arrived in Clerkenwell in 1902 with his wife. He moved the socialist news publication, Iskra, here. During this time, the library bore witness to several Russian Communist Party meetings, led by Lenin.
What was once the perfect industrial base for workers to gather and demand better conditions has undergone a major cultural shift. Clerkenwell’s rapid gentrification over the past few decades has visibly wiped out its industrial past.
Finsbury, to which Clerkenwell was formerly allocated, was one of the poorest boroughs of London during the nineteenth century. Local tour guide Nigel Smith traced Clerkenwell’s epic transformation from the place where Charles Dickens chose to set Oliver Twist, depicting it as “a den of thieves and pickpockets and terribleness”, to a trendy hub for artisan shops and designers.
A particular symbol of this shift is the imminent closure of the historic Smithfield market, expected later this year, and the longstanding trading culture that embodied the working-class origins of the area.
Mr Smith said: “[Smithfield] has been a meat market since the 1860s, but that’s ending … all those market traders are being essentially forced out.”
Despite the area’s evolving social landscape, Clerkenwell’s past of left-wing politics still beats on today. May Day will reignite this history, where socialists have fought for centuries to better workers’ rights.
Visitors can expect a speech from Sarah Woolley, the first ever woman to lead the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union, on the Green. The procession will follow The Big Red Band all the way to Trafalgar Square, where there will be more speeches.
Ms Adossides added: “It’s a celebration”, [it’s about] how workers, if they’re united, can actually impact positive developments for society.”
