History Day

Items

• 'Queering the narrative' in the archival records at Bethlem Museum of the Mind
  Looking at the possibilities and perils of investigating same-sex attraction in the historic records of psychiatry.
• Absolute Units: 'Queer Rural Lives: Searching the Archives' with Tim Jerrome
  Queer histories of England have predominantly focused on the country's urban centres and cities - especially London. Yet queer and same-sex relationships have always existed throughout English life. Rural England is no exception. In the first of two podcasts, Joe and Ollie welcome onto Absolute Units former MERL colleague Tim Jerrome (University of Brighton), whose PhD explores the history of same-sex relationships in rural England. Learn about the challenges of finding queer histories in farm archives, the issues of archivist objectivity, and how museums can develop their practices to better surface and represent stories and relationships that were hidden in the past. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. Absolute Units is the official podcast of The Museum of English Rural Life. This series is made possible through the generous support of and Museums Partnership Reading, a partnership of The MERL with Reading Museum. Themetune by Tai Dawson. Co-hosts: Ollie Douglas and Joe Vaughan Producer: Joe Vaughan
• An Englishman in New York
  An online exhibition charting the life of the diplomat, turned artist and writer Valentine Lawford. Recent additions to Lawford’s papers cast new light on Lawford’s creative collaboration with his partner Horst P. Horst and the life they made together as a gay couple in the mid-twentieth century.
• British LGBTQ+ History Podcast Series, 1800 - Present Day
  This podcast series, produced by the Historical Association, focuses on UK LGBTQ+ history from 1800 until the present day. Episodes feature Dr Matt Cook and Dr Sean Brady of Birkbeck, University of London, Professor Sally R Munt of the University of Sussex and Dr Emma Vickers of the University of Reading.
• Constance Maynard's Diaries and Unpublished Autobiography Online
  Constance Maynard, the first Principal of Westfield College, kept confessional and detailed diaries about her life 1866-1935 and these are now available online. She also reflected back on her life 1849-1927 in the 1930s in an unpublished autobiography made available for the first time online. Both are rich sources for the inner life of a queer woman from 1840s-1930s, history of women in higher education and the relationship with faith and sexuality.
• For What Reasons the Murder Was Done: the Destruction of Constance Maynard's Diaries
  A detailed look at the deposit file of Constance Louisa Maynard papers, the first principal of Westfield College and a queer woman, and what it reveals about what is missing from the collection.
• Gender and Bathing in Antiquity
  This blog was written by Dr Giacomo Savani, an expert in Roman baths and ancient senses, and a recent intern looking at gender histories in the Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH).
• LGBT+ at the Linnean Society
  A number of Linnean Society staff, curators, and Fellows share their experiences of being LGBT+ in science
• LGBT+ History in the European archives
  A collection of documents on LGBT+ history in the archives of Archives Portal Europe
• NLGS (National Lesbian and Gay Survey)
  In 1986, Kenneth Barrow, inspired by his membership of the writing panel for Mass Observation, launched a Mass Observation-style project to collect autobiographical reports from gay men and women. The Survey's aim was archival: to gather material which would enable researchers of the future to understand what it meant to live as a homosexual in the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries. A quarterly Directive suggests areas which participants should address. Responses have documented personal stories related to coming out, homosexuality and the law, and the impact of HIV and AIDS. Other Directives asked the participants to write about historical or political subjects, such as: the general election and the death of Princess Diana.
• Patrick Trevor-Roper and the decriminalisation of homosexuality
  Patrick Trevor-Roper (1916-2004), was a successful eye surgeon whose appearance in front of the Wolfenden Committee helped decriminalise homosexuality.
• Queer Constellations: The Histories of Rural Gay Men
  Criminal archives are the most common source of gay histories, as male homosexuality was illegal until 1967. Through searching assize records on Ancestry, and investigating court reports via the British Newspaper Archive, we identified rural occupations for some of the men placed on trial. By comparing these occupations to objects in our collection, we aim to show that these men were more than just a conviction. They were ordinary people living ordinary lives. An online exhibition inspired by the 2021 physical exhibition, 'Queer Constellations: Artistic Trespass and Rural Gay Histories'. 'Queer Constellations' posed the question as to whether there is queerness in rural life. It brought together artists from around the UK and Ireland, including Epha J Roe, James Aldridge, Emma Plover, Gemma Dagger, Eimear Walshe, Claye Bowler and Daniel Baker, to delight in the strangeness of rural life and to feel its enough-ness. The MERL invited users to trespass the space, explore the margins, and to join us in queering the countryside.
• Remembering the East London Gay Community
  The East London Gay Community supported one another and made sure to have a lot of fun! Regular activities ranged from a helpline and coffee evenings to discos and fundraisers. Founded in 1978, the ELGC ran regular events like these for over three decades. Newham Heritage Centre has a significant collection of their newsletters, as revealed in this blog by Heritage Officer, Cas Bradbeer.
• Revealing LGBTQ+ history through Archives Hub
  Archives Hub explores a fascinating range of archives relating to LGBTQ+ history and collections.
• Sheltered from laymans’ eyes’: sex in the RCP library
  Rare books and special collections librarian, Katie Birkwood looks at a once controversial book that relates to LGBT+ history and explores changing attitudes in society and the medical profession.
• SOAS Library Book Display Video: 'Beyond a Ban: Queer Voices Uncensored'
  In celebration of the Queer History and Heritage Trail, this video showcases how SOAS Library recently promoted its Gender Studies collections through a banned book display: 'Beyond a Ban: Queer Voices Uncensored'.
• The Afterlife of Alchemy in the Warburg Institute Library’s Collection
  This blog explores the iconography of the ‘hermaphrodite’ from its origin in classical myth, to the alchemical works of medieval and early modern Europe.