This event will begin at the Harriet Delph room by the cafe at the Stoke Newington High Street entrance to the park; we will meet there at 2.30pm, then walk together to the O'Brien grave. Afterwards we'll return to the Delph room. Please wear suitable footwear, and be aware that the paths may be muddy and uneven.
Tickets are free, but as there is limited space around the grave site, please book in advance at this link. This is essential in order for Abney Park Trust to manage the event – only those who sign up in advance for free tickets will be able to attend.
Bruno Leipold is a Fellow in Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he will also take up an Assistant Professor position in September 2025. He is the author of “Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the Formation of Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought” (Princeton University Press, 2024) and works on the thought of Karl Marx, republicanism and democratic theory.
Bruno will deliver this year’s Bronterre O’Brien Memorial Commemoration. James 'Bronterre' O'Brien fought, as a Chartist, for a free, untaxed press, universal suffrage and parliamentary reform in the 19th century. O’Brien’s radical politics brought him to the attention of the authorities and in 1840 he was charged with sedition and jailed for 18 months. A life of poverty and ill health followed and, though friends raised money to help a man who’d sacrificed so much for the causes they shared, he spent the last years of his life bedridden. He eventually died in 1864 and was buried in a modest ceremony – as he would have wanted – in Abney Park Cemetery. O'Brien's campaign for banks of credit accessible to all classes and his efforts to bring education to all through his Eclectic Institute, in Denmark Street, Soho, reveal a man with enormous foresight, energy and ideas, worthy of celebration in our difficult times.
Book your tickets here.
In recognition of his lasting legacy, an annual graveside address organised by the Connolly Association had been given for many years, by speakers such as Tony Benn, Arthur Scargill and A. J. P. Taylor interpreting O'Brien's views on politics, radical action and journalism. After a break when the tradition had lapsed, it was revived in 2015. Find out more, and see a list of past speakers, here.
Copies of "Citizen Marx" will be available for sale.
This event is part of Abney Park Trust's 2025 "Radical Writers" festival. The festival explores the works of writers inspired by Abney's and Hackney's diverse history of radical thought and action. We’ll be joined by scribes from across an array of genres, disciplines and backgrounds. And we’ll be thinking about radicalism in many senses – old, new, cultural, political, social and beyond. To see the full line up and book tickets for other events, visit abneypark.org/radicalwriters.
Special thanks to our sponsor, local butcher and deli Meat N16, for their generous support of the festival.