Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony

Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony

Depictions of the colony from the Illustrated London News.
Formation	1895
Dissolved	1898
Type	Rural anarcho-communist commune
Location	Forest Hall, North Tyneside, England
Key people	Franz Kapper

Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony was an anarcho-communist commune from 1895 until 1898 in Forest Hall, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. The commune was part of the back-to-the-land movement, operating a 12-acre farm under collective ownership and democratic control.[1]

History

The commune was founded by Franz Kapper and William Key.[2] The founders were in part inspired by the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin who in correspondence with the colony expressed his general support, but also stressed his scepticism of small, rural, non-federated, experimental communities.[3] In an 1897 article Italian anarchist Errico Malatesta expressed his support for the colony, but with similar reservations to Kropotkin. Malatesta also raised concern that were reportedly 27 men in the commune, most of whom were young, and only 4 women.[4]

The colony failed in part because of a lack of capital and internal disagreements and tensions.[5] The nature of the internal tensions and disagreement are to some extent still faced by contemporary intentional communities, such as issues of gender and housework, and the sharing of labour more generally.[6][7][8]

Bibliography

• Todd, Nigel (2015). Roses and Revolutionists: The Story of the Clousden Hill Free Communist and Co-operative Colony 1894-1909 (2nd ed.). Nottingham, England: Five Leaves Publications. ISBN 978-1-910170-17-5. OCLC 936011582.

References

1. Henderson, Tony (16 December 2015). "How Clousden Hill communist agricultural colony in Newcastle sought to change the world". ChronicleLive. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
2. Bevir, Mark (13 December 2016). The Making of British Socialism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691173726. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2021 – via Google Books.
3. "On A Proposed Communist Settlement A New Colony for Tyneside or Wearside. Peter Kropotkin" (PDF). Tyneside Anarchist Archive. 13 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
4. Malatesta, Errico (28 October 1897). "The experimental anarchist colonies". Libcom.org. Translated by Paul Sharkey. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
5. Howkins, Alun (2002). "From Diggers to Dongas: The Land in English Radicalism, 1649-2000". History Workshop Journal. 54 (54): 1–23. doi:10.1093/hwj/54.1.1. ISSN 1363-3554. JSTOR 4289798.
6. Greenway, Judy (17 September 2013). "Sex, Politics and Housework". Judy Greenway. Archived from the original on 6 December 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
7. Greenway, Judy (1993). "Sex, Politics and Housework". Diggers & Dreamers 94/95: The Guide to Communal Living. Buckinghamshire, England: Diggers and Dreamers. ISBN 978-0-9514945-2-3. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
8. "Book Review: Roses and Revolutionists". Freedom News. 24 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.