LGBT people

Shelves full of pamphlets and bookmarks highlighting significant LGBTQ+ writers

Lavender Menace in Edinburgh. Credit: Andrew Thompson.

Stories

Five community spaces that made LGBTQ+ history

Lavender Menace, Edinburgh Founded in 1982, Lavender Menace was the first LGBTQ+ bookshop in Scotland. The shop, and its successor Wilde & West, soon became a hub where people could meet, share experiences and discover LGBTQ+ literature that was hard to find elsewhere. Today it’s been reimagined as

Sunlight shines through a rainbow pride flag hung in front of a window above rows of bookshelves

Lavender Menace's archive space. Credit: Sigrid Nielsen.

Projects

Preserving LGBTQ+ literary heritage at Edinburgh’s Lavender Menace archive

This project is continuing the legacy of Scotland’s first LGBTQ+ bookshops, caring for community history and building a sustainable future.

31/01/2023

A black and white photograph of Jonathan Cutbill looking at a bookshelf

Senate House Library is making Jonathon Cutbill’s extensive collection available to access. Credit: Steve Keay.

Projects

Opening up the landmark Haud Nominandum collection of LGBTQ+ literature

05/02/2026

Housed at Senate House Library, Jonathan Cutbill's 30,000 item archive – one of the UK's largest – reveals centuries of LGBTQ+ stories.

12/11/2025

People taking part in an audio heritage tour in Brighton

Audio heritage tour in Brighton. Credit: Kaleidoshoots / Marlborough Productions.

Projects

Queer Heritage South:Live Archive Brighton & Hove

25/09/2025

The project will build a digital archive and bring to life stories from the LGBTQ+ community.

05/12/2023

Two south asian people stand next to a banner with text: Club Kali Where East Meets West made possible with Heritage Fund

In-person and online activities will bring people together to share memories of the club’s past. Photo: Club Kali Network.

Projects

Where East meets West: Celebrating South-Asian LGBTQ+ Heritage through Club Kali Network

We’re helping the UK’s first safe space for LGBTQ+ people of South Asian heritage to preserve and showcase their history dating back to 1995.

08/05/2024

Four people stand in front of a train engine and hold a progress pride flag

Joanna Jarvis , Imogen Watmore, Ashlynn Hudson-Welburn and Harvey Barker holding Pride banner in front of HST loco in Great Hall, National Railway Museum, (NRM) York. © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum.

Stories

Mind the gap: uncovering missing stories from railway history

People, Pride and Progress is recording the experiences of LGBTQ+ workers to explore unheard perspectives on railway heritage.

Richard Kennedy stands in a living room in front of paintings and a bookshelf

Richard Kennedy was a founding member of Cara-Friend. Credit: Timothy O’Connell.

Projects

Founding Cara-Friend: Preserving At Risk LGBTQIA+ Heritage

18/02/2025

An exhibition and interviews celebrate the trailblazing founders and volunteers of Northern Ireland’s oldest LGBTQ+ charity.

30/09/2024

Isle of Wight Pride. Photo: Héctor Manchego.

Projects

Pride In Self, Pride In Place: the NHS and LGBTQ+ culture on the Isle of Wight

StoneCrabs Theatre is gathering oral histories to uncover the role of the NHS in the Isle of Wight’s LGBTQ+ culture between 1980 and 2000.

24/03/2023

Leaders of the project pose for a group photo

From left to right: Scott Cuthbertson, Director of The Rainbow Project, Mukesh Sharma, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Northern Ireland NI Committee Chair, Cara McCann, Director of HERe NI and Adam Murray, Community Development Manager at Cara-Friend.

Projects

Creating Northern Ireland’s LGBTQ+ heritage archive

A collaborative effort will record and share Northern Ireland’s modern LGBTQ+ history.

06/09/2022

Two people look at an overgrown pond, one person is wearing waders

Restoring a green space in Brighton. Photo: The Wild Mind Project.

Projects

Wild Mind LGBTQ+ natural heritage wellbeing workshops

The Wild Mind Project is restoring a neglected green space in Brighton through nature programmes for the young LGBTQ+ community.

02/08/2023

Queer Looks exhibition at Brighton Museum. Credit: Tessa Hallmann

Projects

Wear it out: The culture and heritage of LGBTQ+ dress in Sussex, 1917-2017

This cultural heritage project explored how some people from LGBTQ+ communities have historically used clothing to express identity. It focused on Sussex in the time period 1917-2017.

20/12/2016

Three young people making a film, one person is holding a microphone, another a clapperboard, and one person is waiting to be interviewed

Young people making a film as part of the I Me Us Boundless project. Photo: Pride In North Cumbria.

Projects

I Me Us Boundless: sharing stories of transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people in Cumbria

Through the collection of stories, this project will document the lived experiences of transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming people in Cumbria.

12/01/2023

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