Five new rainbow plaques will highlight LGBTQIA+ visibility
London’s LGBTQIA+ history can sometimes feel hard to see or find, as much of London’s LGBTQIA+ history has been hidden or lost.
The national Rainbow Plaque scheme proudly highlights the importance of intersectional LGBTQIA+ visibility in our streets and public spaces.
Rainbow Plaques make sure that this important heritage is found, remembered and celebrated in perpetuity.
Five new plaques
Five new Rainbow Plaques in the London boroughs of Greenwich, Southwark, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea and Haringey are being installed with funding from the Mayor of London’s Untold Stories programme and additional support from Wandsworth Oasis.
Organised by the London LGBTQIA+ Forums’ Network and Studio Voltaire, one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit arts and education organisations, the new plaques represent individuals, organisations, venues and key cultural moments in LGBTQIA+ history.
The Rainbow Plaques programme was established by York Civic Trust and the York LGBT Forum to honour lesbian diarist Anne Lister (1791–1840).
The new programme builds upon existing work established by Wandsworth LGBTQ+ Forum and Studio Voltaire in creating permanent plaques for Oscar Wilde at Clapham Junction Station in 2019 and the 1980s film classic, My Beautiful Laundrette, on Wilcox Road in 2021.
Thirty-five years after its opening, with the approach of Worlds AIDS Day 2023, this plaque will help ensure that London Lighthouse will not be forgotten.
Plaque locations
The plaques’ locations were chosen by an advisory panel of academics, performers, activists, writers, broadcasters, and filmmakers, following extensive community consultation with over 100 people.
Three new Rainbow Plaques have been unveiled so far:
- the first at the Greenwich Tavern (formerly The Gloucester) – featured in pioneering coming out and coming of age film, Beautiful Thing
- the second at the London Lighthouse (now the Museum of Brands), the ground-breaking residential and support centre for people with HIV and AIDS
- the third at the site of the Black Lesbian Gay Centre on Bellenden Road in Peckham.
This will be followed by two more plaques for journalist and Lesbian Rights Activist, Jackie Forster, and one for Section 28 in Haringey.
Plaque design
Each plaque is sixteen inches in diameter, made from cast aluminium with a distinctive circumference in rainbow colours.
The plaques are accompanied by an interpretation panel with QR code to Studio Voltaire's website where images, testimonials and oral histories can be shared.
…I’m delighted that the London Lighthouse is being honoured and its importance in LGBTQ+ history is being recognised.
Untold Stories: uncovering fascinating stories of diverse Londoners across the city
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