The history of LGBT+ people was supressed for many years. Only recently have the fascinating stories of LGBT+ people been coming out of the shadows and gaining their rightful place in the history of Westminster and more generally.
We begin in Soho to hear stories from the infamous Colony Room Club and how the heart of the ‘gay village’ grew and is linked to a former Bishop of London.
After this it’s off to Piccadilly via a back street immortalised by David Bowie and Piccadilly Circus (‘the Dilly’), where the LGBT + community met people under the radar, risking arrest and prosecution.
Piccadilly sees us walking a part of the Pride route and learning about it’s history from a small protest in 1972 at a time of great prejudice to the massive rainbow coloured celebration it is today. After looking at a bizarre link to an imaginary gay man we will visit central London’s most LGBT + friendly church and will discover the gay secrets of Jermyn Street featuring some rather famous household names!
We will visit the site of where a highly skilled trans fencer with their own section in the National Portrait Gallery fenced, infront of the future George IV before discovering the secrets of possibly central London’s most attractive park!
This is very much a walk for all, it is for anyone with a desire to gain knowledge of an aspect of Westminster’s fascinating, rich and diverse social history.
