Camden's LGBTQ+ stories
Camden has a significant LGBTQ+ social, political and cultural heritage. We are proud that Camden was home to pioneering plastic surgeon Dr Harold Gillies, who conducted one of the first UK gender-affirming surgeries in 1946 paving the way for transgender medicine.
It was also home to many significant campaigners including LGBTQ+ rights activist, Antony Grey who spearheaded the campaign for the decriminalisation of homosexuality through the Sexual Offences Act of 1967.
The UK’s oldest LGBTQ+ bookshop, Gay’s the Word opened in 1979 in Camden and has hosted groups and meetings since. Activists Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson established the support group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LSGM) in 1984 and they met regularly at Gay’s The Word campaigning and fundraising to support the miner’s strike of the mid-1980s. In December 1984, their ‘Pits and Perverts’ concert at Camden’s Electric Ballroom raised £20,000 for the miners.
In 1982 Camden’s first Lesbian group opened a community centre on Phoenix Road and the Camden Lesbian Centre joined with the Camden Black Lesbian Group two years later, fostering collective intersectional activism.
Camden has also been home to many LGBTQ+ venues, including the iconic Black Cap in Camden Town and The Bell in King’s Cross.
There are so many Camden LGBTQ+ stories to celebrate. Scroll down to Keep Exploring and click on the stories to find out more!
Camden has a significant LGBTQ+ social, political and cultural heritage. We are proud that Camden was home to pioneering plastic surgeon Dr Harold Gillies, who conducted one of the first UK gender-affirming surgeries in 1946 paving the way for transgender medicine.
It was also home to many significant campaigners including LGBTQ+ rights activist, Antony Grey who spearheaded the campaign for the decriminalisation of homosexuality through the Sexual Offences Act of 1967.
The UK’s oldest LGBTQ+ bookshop, Gay’s the Word opened in 1979 in Camden and has hosted groups and meetings since. Activists Mark Ashton and Mike Jackson established the support group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LSGM) in 1984 and they met regularly at Gay’s The Word campaigning and fundraising to support the miner’s strike of the mid-1980s. In December 1984, their ‘Pits and Perverts’ concert at Camden’s Electric Ballroom raised £20,000 for the miners.
In 1982 Camden’s first Lesbian group opened a community centre on Phoenix Road and the Camden Lesbian Centre joined with the Camden Black Lesbian Group two years later, fostering collective intersectional activism.
Camden has also been home to many LGBTQ+ venues, including the iconic Black Cap in Camden Town and The Bell in King’s Cross.
There are so many Camden LGBTQ+ stories to celebrate. Scroll down to Keep Exploring and click on the stories to find out more!
