The Cowley Club is a libertarian

self-managed social centre Self-managed social centers, also known as autonomous social centers, are self-organized community centers in which anti-authoritarians put on voluntary activities. These autonomous spaces, often in multi-purpose venues affiliated with anarchi ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England. It opened in 2003, providing resources and meeting spaces for groups and individuals active in areas such as workplace and unemployed struggles, international solidarity, animal liberation, ecological defence,

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and queer activism and opposing the arms trade. Its political identity is close to

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

libertarian socialism Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (2 ...

. It also houses a vegan community café, a bookshop, and free English lessons for migrants. The Cowley Club is named after local activist

Harry Cowley Harry Cowley (born 1890, died 1971) was a working class organizer, social activist and anti-fascist in Brighton, England. Biography Born in 1890 in Brighton, and working as a chimney sweep, he became involved in grass-roots social activism from t ...

and is part of the

UK Social Centre Network Self-managed social centres in the United Kingdom can be found in squatted, rented, mortgaged and fully owned buildings. These self-managed social centres differ from community centres in that they are self-organised under anti-authoritarian pr ...

. In their study of the radical social centre movement in the United Kingdom, academics Stuart Hodkinson and Paul Chatterton characterise the Cowley Club as a similar type of collective-ownership initiative to the

London Action Resource Centre The London Action Resource Centre (LARC) is an anarchist infoshop and self-managed social centre situated in Whitechapel, in the East End of London. Previously a school and a synagogue, it was purchased in 1999. It hosts meetings and events from v ...

(LARC), "with the added dimension of a housing cooperative". Chatterton depicts the club as one of a number of resurgent social centres in the 2000s.

History and organisation

The Cowley Club is a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

. As such, assets and control are collectively owned, the idea being that those using the centre share the responsibilities and work that comes with running it. The centre is collectively owned by "shareholders", and run as a base for those involved in grass-roots social change and those sympathetic to such activities. It is run entirely by volunteers – no-one is paid, and no private profit is made. Funding was raised via a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any ...

, loans from cooperative organisations such as Radical Routes, and loan-stock (loans made by individuals on a five-year basis). The building purchase was completed in February 2002, then the renovations began. Much of the property was in disrepair and volunteers worked to renovate it. Volunteers are organised into groups to take on various aspects of running the centre – there are collectives for the café, bar, library, bookshop, mediation, cleaning, finances, maintenance and entertainments. There are monthly general meetings for overall co-ordinating, which have the ultimate responsibility for decisions taken. According to a report in '' The Argus'', the centre was intended to provide "cheap, wholesome food during the day and a member's bar in the evening", as well as "drop-in advice sessions, children's activities, community meetings and a local history archive." It was both critiqued and defended, along with other legal social centres, by articles in radical direct action journal ''Do or Die''. A critical article called it "a posh looking bar", noting that "If meetings do take place in The Cowley Club, for example, and run into bar time, those attending the meeting must sign in to the club". The anonymous author maintained there was a danger in enterprises such as the Club "springing up on the back of the direct action movement, they will divert activist time and energy into an essentially non-radical and liberal project". It was defended in a second article as providing a stable base under collective control for a range of activities, a base which squatting is currently unable to provide on a long term basis.

Principles

The principles of the Cowley Club are summed up as being, "For a social system based on mutual aid and voluntary co-operation; against all forms of oppression. To establish a share in the general prosperity for all – the breaking down of racial, religious, national and sex barriers – and to fight for the life of one earth."

Harry Cowley

The Club is named after Brightonian

, a

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

who was involved in grass-roots social activism from the 1920s until his death in the 1970s. He helped organise the unemployed, moved homeless families into

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

buildings after both

world wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

and was a key figure in confronting fascism in 1930s Brighton. Cowley also campaigned for cheap food, mobilised pensioners, was involved in running social events and social centres and generally organising whatever was needed to provide practical aid for the poor and disadvantaged of the town. His actions were based in local neighbourhoods and outside political parties. The club was named after him as a sign of its aim of furthering this tradition of grass-roots organising and class solidarity.

References

External links

Cowley Club website

Website of cooperatives network Radical Routes
in which the Club participates {{Authority control Brighton Infoshops Social centres in the United Kingdom Libertarian organisations based in the United Kingdom 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom Veganism in the United Kingdom Music venues in East Sussex Libraries in the United Kingdom Bookshops of England Housing cooperatives in the United Kingdom

History and organisation

Principles

Harry Cowley

See also

References

Further reading

External links