Out There
The information given below on gay and lesbian archives is not comprehensive. The aim is to highlight major collections held in publicly accessible archives in England and Wales and to povide links to archive websites covering Scotland and Northern Ireland where available.
Gay and Lesbian Archive Links Online
Glamorgan Record Office
The Glamorgan Record Office collects preserves and makes accessible documents relating to the former counties of Mid Glamorgan and South Glamorgan and the administration of the whole of the historic county of Glamorgan before 1974.
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Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA)
LAGNA consists primarily of a collection of 200,000 press cuttings covering all aspects of lesbian and gay life from the 1930s to the present. The collection has expanded to include a library of about six hundred titles, full runs of Gay News and Gay Times, banners, posters, badges, tee-shirts and other non-print material relation to campaigns and demonstrations from GLF to Outrage!.
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Manchester Archives and Local Studies
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The University of Sussex Special Collections
The University of Sussex holds a number of internationally acclaimed archival, manuscript and rare book collections, mostly relating to twentieth-century literary, political and social history. The collection includes the personal papers of Rudyard Kipling, The New Statesman Archive, a number of Bloomsbury-related collections (such as the Monks House Papers, the Leonard Woolf Archive, the Nigel Nicolson Papers, and the Charleston Papers), and over 60 other manuscript collections. The Mass Observation Archive is also in the care of the University's Special Collections, and newer material for the project has been collected consistently since 1981.
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Dudley Archives and Local History service
Black Country History, is a searchable online catalogue for the Black Country archive services. The website allows you to search simultaneously across all four Black Country record office catalogues to find information about records held by Dudley Archives and Local History Service, Sandwell Community History and Archives Service, Walsall Local History Centre and Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies.
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Sheffield Archives
The Edward Carpenter Collection comprises the personal archives and the library of Edward Carpenter (1844-1929), socialist poet, writer, lecturer and reformer. Living openly, though discreetly, as a homosexual, he was a champion of social, political and sexual reform, women's rights, 'simplification of life', vegetarianism, anti-vivisection, pacifism and smoke abatement (or clean air?). The core of the collection was given to Sheffield City Libraries by his literary executors in two instalments, in 1933 and in 1956. See the Sheffield City Council website for more information on Sheffield Archives.
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Borthwick Institute for Archives
The Borthwick Institute holds a wide variety of collections related to Yorkshire and the northern counties, reflecting all aspects of life. A number of these have relevance for LGBT history.
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Brighton Ourstory
Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual history group and archive, established in 1989. Brighton Ourstory collects and preserves oral histories and other material relating to Brighton & Hove and the wider Sussex area.
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London Metropolitan Archives
London Metropolitan Archives' holdings are increasingly coming to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the capital itself. The wide variety of communities living in London has always been an intrinsic part of the core collections held at LMA relating to the government of London. Records relating to the rich and varied histories of LGBT communities are held within a wide range of collections.
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Archives, London School of Economics and Political Science
The Library of the London School of Economics is one of the largest libraries in the world devoted to the study of the economic and social sciences. The Archives Division holds the records of gay rights organisations and LGBT activists which form part of the Hall-Carpenter Archives. These date from the homosexual law reform movement of the 1950s and include the papers of the Albany Trust, Campaign for Homosexual Equality, Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement and many other groups and activists.
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The National Archives
The National Archives has published a research guide: Gay and Lesbian History at The National Archives: An Introduction. DocumentsOnline has digitised documents on LGBT history available to download. The online Catalogue can be used to search the collections on LGBT history.
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National Register of Archives
The National Register of Archives (NRA) contains information on the nature and location of manuscripts and historical records that relate to British history. It is maintained and updated by the National Advisory Services at The National Archives. An annual survey of accessions to repositories is carried out and new material is uploaded each year.
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A2A
The Access to Archives (A2A) database contains catalogues describing archives held throughout England and dating from the 900s to the present day. A2A does not yet offer a full description of all the archives in England, but it is regularly updated, so revisit often for newly included catalogues. In December 2005, the A2A catalogue contained over 8.7 million records from 395 repositories.
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Archives Hub
There is a guide to collections relevant to LGBT history at Archives Hub. The Archives Hub website provides a single point of access to descriptions of archival collections that are available for research in UK universities and colleges. Anyone may use the Hub. The Hub includes descriptions for the archives of a wide range of individuals, families, and organisations, from medieval times right up to the present day.
Contact information
Enquiries about individual collections should be made to the relevant archive listed above. For comments and enquiries regarding this portal, please contact The National Archives using the contact form.
To find out more about the partnership project, please contact the London Metropolitan Archives:
London Metropolitan Archives
40 Northampton Road
London EC1R 0HB
Tel +44 (0) 20 7332 3820
Fax +44 (0) 20 7833 9136
Email: ask.lma@corpoflondon.gov.uk
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