page_title: Wapping Autonomy Centre
section_title: Activities
hierarchical_section_title: Wapping Autonomy Centre / Activities
caption_attribution_description: Steve Ignorant performing with Crass at the Wapping Autonomy Centre, East London, December 1981 Steve Ignorant photo by Graham Burnett (quercus robur). If re-used a credit would be appreciated but is not compulsory!
context_page_description: Wapping Autonomy 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 and The Poison Girls.
context_section_description: 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 who participated in protests and direct action against targets such as vivisection laboratories, the meat industry and the policies of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.  The Kill Your Pet Puppy collective organised events. Some of the bands that regularly played at the centre included Anthrax, The Apostles, Cold War, Conflict, Rudimentary Peni Hagar the Womb were formed in the toilets.
  Albert Meltzer records that the centre was "Ronan Bennett'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.
caption: Crass lead singer Steve Ignorant performing at the Autonomy Centre in 1981
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