• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MayorWatch

London News and Comment

  • NEWS

British Library celebrates 1,000 years of civil rights

November 3, 2008 by Staff

Britain’s thousand year struggle for civil liberties and freedoms is explored in a major new exhibition at the British Library.

Taking Liberties: The struggle for Britain’s Freedoms and Rights (31 October 2008–1 March 2009, admission free) is guest-curated by Linda Colley, Professor of History at Princeton University, gives visitors an opportunity, and celebrates the forgotten pioneers who helped win the liberties many of us now take for granted.

The exhibition includes iconic and rarely seen documents and objects that have defined the political and social life as we know it in today’s Britain.

Alongside the more obvious and famous items such as Magna Carta and the death warrant of Charles I are more intimate documents such as the prison diary of suffragette Olive Wharry.

The exhibition seeks to make the connection between the historical struggle and contemporary issues and visitors will have the chance to vote in an interactive game that is related to each of the seven zones of the exhibition before seeing how their opinions on critical topics such as CCTVs, DNA databases, stop and search powers, monarchy, student fees and euthanasia compare to those of the rest of the visitors in-gallery and online.

Video contributions from prominent activists such as Peter Tatchell and Shami Chakrabarti feature throughout the exhibition and will inspire visitors to think about what rights and freedoms – or the lack of them – mean in today’s world, highlighting the fact that the 1,000-year fight still continues today.

More information: www.bl.uk/takingliberties

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Filed Under: News

RECENT UPDATES

Tube and rail users to benefit from Oyster weekly fares cap

Mayor and TfL call on ministers to help plug funding gap

Tube to get full mobile phone coverage from 2024

TfL says Direct Vision Standard is already making HGVs safer for London road users




POPULAR

City Hall to move to Docklands as Mayor seeks to raise £55m for frontline services

‘Concern’ over TfL’s ability to deliver major projects in wake of Crossrail cost overruns

City Hall halts London Overground ticket office closures but many will still see opening hours reduced

Transport for London confirms bus cuts will go ahead despite passenger opposition

Copyright © 2025 · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy