Event    From 2/7/1888  To 16/7/1888

Matchgirls' strike

A strike of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory. Annie Besant had published an article about the poor working conditions at the factory, 'White Slavery in London'. This angered the management who tried to get the workers to formally refute the article. When they refused the management sacked one of them and the strike was on. They held meetings at Christ Church Hall and were supported by Eleanor Marx, Annie Besant and members of the Fabian Society including Shaw and Sidney Webb.

Diamond Geezer has a much fuller account.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Matchgirls' strike

Commemorated ati

Annie Besant - E3

This plaque was lost sometime July 2021 - August 2022. 

Read More

Bowler plaque - Match Girls

The plaque punningly represents "match girls" - very nice. Hanbury Hall is wh...

Read More

Fairfield Works

This plaque was lost sometime July 2021 - August 2022.

Read More

Hanbury Hall - blue oval plaque

This plaque has a shortened version of the text on the old white plaque.

Read More

Hanbury Hall - white plaque - removed

Christ Church Hall Built in 1719 as a French Hugeonot {sic} church it stood b...

Read More

Other Subjects

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

Formed in 1984 by Mark Ashton and his friend Mike Jackson, this group was only wound down in 2015. The London group used the bookshop Gay's the Word as their HQ. The largest fund-raising event was ...

Group, Gender Issues, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Elizabeth Croll

Elizabeth Croll

Born New Zealand. Scholar at SOAS specialising in the role of women in China. Vice Principal of SOAS. 2007 awarded CMG.

Person, Education, Gender Issues, China/Hong Kong, New Zealand

1 memorial
Gay Liberation Front

Gay Liberation Front

By 1973, GLF had effectively dissipated and had given way to its spin-off organisations.

Group, Gender Issues

2 memorials
Admiral Duncan pub bombing

Admiral Duncan pub bombing

Well known as a gay pub, the Admiral Duncan was the site chosen by Neo-Nazi David Copeland to detonate a nail bomb which killed three people and wounded 70. Copeland, who was also responsible for ...

Event, Commerce, Community / Clubs, Food & Drink, Gender Issues, Terrorism, Tragedy

2 memorials
Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

Author and poet.  Born Marguerite Ann Johnson in St Louis, Missouri, USA. She died, aged 86 years, on 28 May 2014 at her home in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina, USA. Her body was cr...

Person, Gender Issues, Poetry, USA

1 memorial