The Great War to Race Riots tour explores anti-Black race riots that occurred in Liverpool and other seaports across the country in 1919.
This tour covers the area now known as Chinatown and the Baltic Triangle, which at the beginning of the 20th century was a densely populated and multicultural neighbourhood known locally as ‘sailor town.’ The tour follows the last journey of Charles Wotton, a young Bermudan seafarer who was murdered during the race riots. It finishes at the Queens Dock where Charles was chased into the River Mersey.
During the tour we present press reports from the run up and aftermath of the riots which, although over 100 years old, echo the fear-mongering of today. The tensions around the immediate post WWI economic slump, industrial unrest and mass demobilisation were manipulated so that Black people become the scapegoat, culminating in the racial violence on the streets of Liverpool. In August of this year, history was repeated when race rioting broke out, fuelled by the ‘divide and rule’ tactics of the politicians and the mainstream media. The events of 1919 contain important lessons for today.
The Great War to Race Riots book is available here, containing the full archive and original documents surrounding the 1919 riots.
Starting point: Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, L1 5DW
End point: Queens Dock, L3 4BX
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.
The Liverpool & Slavery Walking Tour was developed and inspired by our Dorothy Kuya Archive Project, in collaboration with National Museums Liverpool. During the project our team revealed the extent of Dorothy’s involvement in the establishment of the Atlantic Slave Trade Gallery, Slavery Remembrance Day and the International Slavery Museum. Along with Liverpool activist and historian Eric Scott Lynch (1932-2022), Dorothy delivered slavery walking tours in collaboration with NML in the mid 1990s. It is local Black activists like Dorothy and Eric that have played an integral role in how Liverpool remembers and commemorates its heavy involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
On this tour we explore the many sites and streets with direct links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Liverpool city centre. We discuss the depth of the city’s connections to the trade of enslaved Africans and the goods they produced long after its abolition in Britain. This tour also considers the legacies of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the origins of anti-Black racism and white supremacy, which in the 18th and 19th centuries were seen as justifications for horrific oppression and continue to encourage racial hatred violence in the present day.
Starting at The Pump House, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AN, the tour will then cover the L1 and L2 districts, ending at Liverpool Town Hall.
Starting point: The Pump House, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AN
End point: Liverpool Town Hall, High St, Liverpool, L2 3SW
Testimonials
“Found the walk very interesting and enjoyable.”
“Wonderful event! Please have a lot more of these through the year, if possible.”
“Fascinating walk and talk. Thank you!”
“Really interesting topics, anecdotal stories really brought me into the life.”
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.
The L8 Activism Walking Tour invites you to take a stroll down the beautiful, tree-lined Victorian boulevard and explore the rich history of Liverpool 8 — the traditional home of the Black community since the mid-20th century. This tour traces the area’s development from its origins as a merchant-class neighbourhood in the mid-to-late 19th century, when Liverpool was considered the second city of the British Empire — its prominence largely built on the Transatlantic Slave Trade — through a period of economic decline, and finally to its resurgence as one of the most desirable places to live in 2025.
As the tour progresses, we cover the vibrant nightlife and culture of the 1950s and 60s and the Black and anti-racist activism that developed throughout the 1970s and early 1980s and which responded to local and international issues. We consider the discrimination faced by Liverpool’s Black community, which Lord Gifford in his enquiry into the causes of the 1981 uprisings, described as ‘uniquely horrific’ which brought worldwide media attention to the area. At the Rialto which, during the uprisings, was set ablaze, we view the area where battle lines were drawn and consider why certain buildings were targeted.
The L8 Activism Walking Tour culminates on the former site of the Liverpool 8 Law Center, an organisation which arose out of the ‘81 Uprisings and which played a key role in the support and empowerment of L8 and the Black communities and then onto empty plinth where William Huskinson once stood. Join us to find out what happened to him and much more history that you won’t find in books.
Starting point: Princes Park North Gates, L8 3TA
End point: Former site of Huskinson statue, Princes Road, L8 1TH
*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.
Since 2009, the Bluecoat has celebrated the life and work of Malcolm Lowry (1909-57), the Wirral-born author of the classic modernist novel Under the Volcano, through exhibitions, performances, commissions, publications, walks, talks and other activities.
This year’s annual celebration on will focus on the Lowry’s early years. A presentation at the Bluecoat by Helen Tookey and Bryan Biggs will include rarely seen photographs from Lowry’s childhood home in Caldy and summer holidays. This is followed by a coach and walking tour of the Wirral. We will visit Caldy, West Kirby and his birthplace, New Brighton where a blue plaque on the promenade commemorates the writer. The afternoon will also take in other Lowry haunts and places that appear in his acclaimed novel Under the Volcano (1947) and other writing.
Please Note:Lunch is not provided but there will be opportunities to eat on the way, so please bring a picnic. There will be some walking including on a beach, so please wear sensible footwear and sustainable rainproof clothing. If you have any accessibility concerns, please email us.
£8 (booking required)
Liverpool John Moores University is leading an exciting new partnership with Malaysian-based music promotor Black Label Productions. Dr Nedim Hassan has developed this collaboration through his industry collective Metal in Merseyside. On 3rd and 4th October Black Label Productions will be bringing extreme metal band Black Fire to play in Liverpool as the first stop in their UK tour. The tour is supported by the Malaysian government with the backing of LJMU which also chairs the UK Malaysia University Consortium. An academic symposium will be hosted at LJMU on the Friday, exploring the impact of metal music bringing together metal music industry practitioners and academics. On Saturday 4th an evening showcasing some of the rising stars of heavy rock and metal music will take place at Liverpool city centre venue EBGBS on Seel Street. Free tickets are available at ticket website
Brian Bilston is one of the UK’s most popular poets. Having started out by sharing his poems online, Brian now has over half a million followers on social media and a raft of bestselling books.
The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album Birling Gap was released in 2021.
A couple of years ago, word reached Rob and Amelia that Brian was a big fan of their music. Given that they, in turn, were fans of Brian’s poetry, introductions were made, friendships were formed, and Sounds Made By Humans took shape.
The album isn’t a set of readings with musical backdrops: it’s a collection of songs, where words and music have become completely intertwined. There are verses, and there are choruses. There is no ‘riffing’, no improvisation. In many ways, Brian’s poems are already like pop songs: brief, direct, and witty; sometimes poignant or political; but always economical and accessible.
Age Guidance: 10+ at the discretion of a parent or guardianUnder 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Have you ever considered how a single weapon could change the course of history? What stories lie behind the guns that shaped empires, wars, and even criminal underworlds? How did these firearms influence not just battles, but entire societies?
Known for his acclaimed documentaries Black and British: A Forgotten History and A House Through Time, David Olusoga offers remarkable storytelling in this powerful, unexpected and enlightening social narrative. Join David as he uncovers the story of the Thompson Sub-Machine Gun or ‘Tommy Gun’, the Maxim gun that enabled Europeans to conquer Africa and later became one of the biggest killers in European history on the Western Front, and the Lee Enfield rifle – the weapon the British Army took to war in 1914 and 1939.
See these legendary firearms up close on stage and delve into their mind-bending hidden social histories.
You’ll also have the chance to ask David your own questions about any historical topic.
Age Guidance: 14+ Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Ivor Novello Award-winning musician and artist Rebecca Lucy Taylor (aka SELF ESTEEM) takes us on a journey through womanhood–whatever the hell that means.
Voice of a generation, Rebecca Lucy Taylor joins us for a cathartic scream. In conversation, the musician, better known as Self Esteem, will share a subversive, anti-Bible of advice for any woman who has ever cracked under the weight of impossible expectations; who has done unto others the damage that has been wrought upon her; and who has discovered deep within herself a resilience that surprised her.
She says:
“Sometimes when I drink wine out of a globulous glass with the thinnest of rims, blocking out the fact it’s billed at £14 a pop, I think of baby Becky. Hair so blonde it’s neon white, cheeks so chubby you can’t see her eyes. What must she think right now? She must think she made it. We’re a great big adult person. That was always the plan, right?”
Each ticket includes a copy of ‘A Complicated Woman’ by Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem £22 RRP
Join Liverpool Irish Festival‘s John Maguire (also of ArtsGroupie) on a revealing journey through Liverpool city centre. Spectators will hear about how the Victorian tragedy of the Irish Famine changed Liverpool’s streets. Trail walkers will learn about how locations were used for sanctuary, nourishment and safety. They will also hear and understand the benevolence of Liverpool’s people. Using a new trail app, headsets and recent Walk of the Bronze Shoes experience, your guide will really help you to walk in the shoes of Liverpool and Irish people 180-years ago.
This walk leaves at 11am. (There is a later walk at 12.15am.) Bookers for this walk are asked to gather from 10.45am at the Pilotage Building (near the Museum of Liverpool), for a tour taking walkers up to Fenwick Street and back. The walk will last approximately 45mins.
Bookings for these walks close at 5pm on Fri 17 Oct 2025.
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This year at Squash we’re celebrating our 10th annual Harvest Auction Fundraiser! Come slong for a magical eve of comedy and fun, win some locally grown and made harvest delights, and help raise funds for communities close to our heart, including:
- Squash’s own ‘Soup It Forward’ initiative, making sure neughbours in need can eat free in the Squash cafe, especially going into the colder months
- local charity Habibti Liverpool who support the medical staff and children at Al Sabeen Hospital in Sanaa, Yemen
- the African Caribbean Centre, a thiriving L8 hub, empowering a healthy, connected community
- the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, a Palestinian non-governmental organisation dedicated to supporting farmers and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Following the attack on the Local Palestine Seed Bank on July 31st this year by Isreali forces, twinned organisation Exeter Seed Bank are fundraising to help restore and protect remaining seed sources in Palestine.
If you can’t make the auction but would like to donate please do so here.
Growers and Cooks! Have you grown something you’re really proud of this year? Or made an amazing jam? Donations of home or allotment-grown fruit & veg and preserves, ferments, or other delicious homemade seasonal treats can be dropped off at Squash on Saturday 13th, Wednesday 17th, Thursday 18th, Friday 19th between 10am and 4pm.
Harvest Competition! The catagories for our annual harvest produce competition are:
-BEST WONKY FRUIT OR VEG
-BEST SQUASH/ PUMPKIN
-BEST PRESERVE (jam/ chutney/relish/ferment- entries require a whole jar and a sample for judges)
-BEST DRESSED AT THE HARVEST AUCTION (get your best Autumn kecks on!)
-BEST IN SHOW
If you would like to enter, please note this on the Auction Lot Entry form when you drop off your goods
For more info or to donate an auction lot email clare@squashliverpool.co.uk or call 01517077897
