LGBT Source Guide

About this guide

The history of Manchester's LBGT community is an important part of the social and cultural history of the city and the North West. Manchester has the United Kingdom's largest LGBT community outside London and is renowned for its Gay Village centred around Canal Street. It is the home of festivals such as Pride, queerupnorth and Get Bent, as well as celebrations around LGBT History Month. The Lesbian and Gay Foundation, the UK's biggest LGB charity, is based on Richmond Street, while Lesbian and Gay Youth Manchester has supported Manchester's young people at the Gay Centre on Sidney Street for more than 30 years. Greater Manchester was the birthplace of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality in 1964 and Manchester City Council was hugely influential in the campaign against Clause 28 in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

This guide is intended to be an introduction to archive and printed material held at Manchester Archives and Local Studies and elsewhere relating to the history of Manchester's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community. We are committed to collecting archives relating to Manchester's LGBT community. If you hold archive or historic material relating to Manchester's LGBT or queer communities, or would like to be interviewed to document your own involvement with them, then please do not hesitate to contact us for advice.