Wapping Autonomy Centre (also known as The Anarchist Centre) was a self-managed social centre in the London Docklands from late 1981 to 1982. The project was initially funded by money raised by the benefit single ''Persons Unknown''/''Bloody Revolutions'', as well as benefit gigs by

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestylism, way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the ...

and The Poison Girls.

Project

The centre was set up in a rented space in Metropolitan Wharf,

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

in 1981. The initial costs were paid using funds raised from a benefit single. It was a split single composed of ''Persons Unknown'' by The Poison Girls and ''Bloody Revolutions'' by

. The warehouse had been suggested by

Andy Martin Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide ...

from the anarchist Little A printers who worked in the building. Like later squatted centres, it had no alcohol or music licences.

Activities

During its short lifespan, the Autonomy Centre became an important focal point for the anarcho-punk movement in the UK and Europe. Most of those involved with the project were

anarchists 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 necessari ...

who participated in protests and direct action against targets such as

vivisection Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for Animal testi ...

laboratories, the meat industry and the policies of then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

. The

Kill Your Pet Puppy ''Kill Your Pet Puppy'' was a UK punk zine that ran for six issues between 1979 and 1984. It was edited by Tony Drayton (Tony D) who had previously produced Ripped and Torn fanzine, which he started in October 1976 and for 18 issues until 1979. ...

collective organised events. Some of the bands that regularly played at the centre included Anthrax, The Apostles, Cold War,

Conflict Conflict may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton * ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne * ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...

Rudimentary Peni Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on a ...

Hagar the Womb Hagar the Womb are an English punk rock band, originally active in the early 1980s and part of the anarcho-punk movement. In hiatus from 1987, members went on to form We Are Going To Eat You and Melt, with vocalist Julie Sorrell. A 2011 compi ...

were formed in the toilets.

Albert Meltzer Albert Isidore Meltzer (7 January 1920 – 7 May 1996) was an English anarcho-communist activist and writer. Early life Meltzer was born in Hackney, London, of Jewish ancestry, and educated at The Latymer School, Edmonton. He was attracted to ...

records that the centre was "

Ronan Bennett Ronan Bennett (born 14 January 1956) is an Irish novelist and screenwriter. Background Bennett, the son of William H. and Geraldine Bennett, was born in England, but was raised in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, in a devout Roman Catholic famil ...

's brainchild." He goes on to say that "the punk support, especially from followers of Crass and Poison Girls, was substantial. Punk has lasted a couple of decades, long outlasting the proposed club. With the punks' money came the punks, and in the first week they had ripped up every single piece of furniture carefully bought, planned and fitted, down to the lavatory fittings that had been installed by Ronan from scratch, and defaced our own and everyone else's wall for blocks around. In the excitement of the first gigs where they could do as they liked, they did as they liked and wrecked the place. Loss of club, loss of money, loss of effort. End of story." The centre eventually folded when the benefit parties failed to pay the rent.

Legacy

Many of those involved with the centre went on to become active at the

Centro Iberico Centro Iberico, London, in the 1970s was a Spanish anarchist support centre, which after moving into a squatted school building in Notting Hill, London became a self-managed social centre, a live venue and a studio. Origins Centro Iberico was i ...

, a squatted project with similar aims and ethos in west London. The centre also inspired other squatted self-managed projects in London such as the Ambulance Station on

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...

, Molly's Café on

Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Penton ...

and the Bingo Hall (now the

Garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

) at

Highbury Corner Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...

. Penny Rimbaud from Crass commented "It was a good try. We’d made all this money to defend Persons Unknown and it wasn’t needed. I think it was something in the region of ten grand, which was a lot of money in those days."

References

External links

Photographs
from the centre on the

website * The Autonomy Centr
record label
{{coords, 51.50658, -0.0527, display=title Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom Social centres in the United Kingdom Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Wapping 1981 in London 1982 in London Infoshops Anarchist collectives 1981 establishments in the United Kingdom 1982 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Anarcho-punk venues

Project

Activities

Legacy

See also

References

External links