Welcome to the SSLH

Chartism Day 2026: venue, date and call for papers.

Founded in 1960, the Society for the Study of Labour History (SSLH) is the UK’s principal organisation dedicated to the study of labour history.

Membership is open to everyone who would like to learn more about labour history and heritage whether on a professional or amateur basis.

The SSLH publishes the journal the Labour History Review, organises regular conferences and actively promotes the preservation of historical resources connected to the labour movement.

What’s new

Books etc

Loose Cannons: a graphic tale of forgotten humanists

A new graphic novel running through the lives and ideas of humanists, both well known and unjustly forgotten, has just been announced. Paul Fitzgerald (Polyp), a Manchester-based illustrator and cartoonist, and Madeleine Goodall, a researcher and writer on humanist history, proposed book sets out to recover ‘unjustly forgotten freethinking humanists’ and bring them back into… Continue reading Loose Cannons: a graphic tale of forgotten humanists

SSLH news

Video: John Goodridge on the struggles of labouring-class poets

Professor John Goodridge delivers the Society for the Study of Labour History’s annual John Halstead Memorial Lecture, titled, ‘Reading by glow worm: the struggles of labouring-class poets’. The event took place at the John Rylands Library, Manchester on Saturday 13 June 2026. Professor Goodridge is President of the John Clare Society. He was introduced by… Continue reading Video: John Goodridge on the struggles of labouring-class poets

Advice & reference

Sources for the history of the 1926 General Strike

To mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike and lock-out, the Society for the Study of Labour History has produced a new subject guide on the 1926 General Strike. Compiled by the Society’s Archives and Resources Committee, the guide provides an overview of key collections held at institutions that are members of the SSLH’s… Continue reading Sources for the history of the 1926 General Strike

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