Brighton's LGBTQIA+ scene

In 1826, diarist Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack) spent a few days in Brighton with her lover Marianna Lawton. She clearly approved, writing:

“I would like it exceedingly if we lived for a while at Brighton.”

Oscar Wilde was another notable visitor. He gave lectures at the Royal Pavilion in 1884 and returned a decade later, staying at the Royal Albion Hotel. That same hotel crops up again in our queer history almost 80 years later, when Brighton’s first Gay Pride march in 1973 finished with a Gay Dance there.

By the 1930s, gay and lesbian pubs and meeting places were already popping up around Brighton. These weren’t simply somewhere to go for a drink. At a time when being open about who you were could result in very real consequences, finding somewhere to meet, socialise and find your people was a big turning point for our community.

By the 1930s, Brighton already had a growing network of gay and lesbian pubs and meeting places. At a time when simply being open about who you loved could come with serious consequences, these spaces mattered. Giving people somewhere to meet, socialise and find others like them.

Pride celebrations disappeared from Brighton’s streets for almost two decades. When it returned in 1991, the community was facing the AIDS crisis and fighting back against Section 28.

Then in 2013, Brighton made queer history again with Europe’s first Trans Pride. It remains proudly grassroots and community-led and has since grown into one of the biggest Trans Pride events.

All of this barely scratches the surface. Our LGBTQIA+ history is full of people finding each other, opening venues, organising protests, throwing parties and pushing for change. Plenty of the Brighton we know and love today was shaped by the queer community that came before us.