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Marx Memorial Library

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Marx Memorial Library & Workers' School was founded in 1933 with the aim of advancing education, knowledge and learning in all aspects of the science of Marxism, the history of Socialism and the working class movement.

At the heart of the British Labour Movement for over eighty years, the Library is home to a unique collection of published and archival sources on related subjects including the trade unionism, peace and solidarity movements and the Spanish Civil War.

The Library’s education programme – online and onsite – examines subjects ranging from Marxist political economy to socialist art. The Library itself is a historic building rooted in Clerkenwell’s radical tradition. We are a charity, financed by members and affiliates.

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Marx Memorial Library & Workers' School was founded in 1933 with the aim of advancing education, knowledge and learning in all aspects of the science of Marxism, the history of Socialism and the working class movement.

At the heart of the British Labour Movement for over eighty years, the Library is home to a unique collection of published and archival sources on related subjects including the trade unionism, peace and solidarity movements and the Spanish Civil War.

The Library’s education programme – online and onsite – examines subjects ranging from Marxist political economy to socialist art. The Library itself is a historic building rooted in Clerkenwell’s radical tradition. We are a charity, financed by members and affiliates.

From Clerkenwell 101

54 The Marx Memorial Library was founded in Clerkenwell Green in 1933. It was in this building, number 37a, that Lenin penned many revolutionary articles and edited his newspaper ‘Iskra’ (The Spark) between 1902 and 1903. Iskra was also printed here, then smuggled into Russia. The building is now a museum and has Lenin’s original desk, as well as banners of the British battalion of volunteers who went to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War, and artefacts from major industrial disputes – such as the mine workers’ strike and Wapping strikes of the 1980s. Its door is red. Naturally.

55 Lenin used to enjoy a pint in the Crown and Anchor pub (now known as The Crown Tavern) on the Green. He lived on Percy Circus, half a mile north of Clerkenwell Green.