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Did you know that an 18th century Duchess and her husband were in a polyamorous relationship with another woman?

Don't beat yourself up if you didn’t – London’s queer past has always been shrouded in mystery.

Stonewall’s 2017 survey found that two in five school students had never been taught anything about LGBTQ+ issues in class.

For now, it’s up to all of us to do our own research. Next year, we're set to get our very own museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ stories, but until then there are plenty of places in London where you can learn about queer heritage, whether by delving into the archives or dancing in a drag bar.

Bishopsgate Institute

The library in the Bishopsgate Institute has a whole section for LGBTQ+ history, with areas dedicated to the collections of significant organisations. It holds placards and press cuttings for groups including Outrage!, set up in response to the murder of gay actor Michael Boothe, who campaigned through non-violent action for the human rights of queer people. The Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive contains around 250,000 press cuttings about the LGBTQ+ experience from the late 19th century to now, as well as t-shirts, banners and club flyers.

230 Bishopsgate, EC2M 4QH, bishopsgate.org.uk

Gay’s The Word

As the only dedicated LGBTQ+ bookshops in the country, Gay’s The Word is a treasure. The shop has everything from young adult fiction to crime and romance, as well as enough non-fiction books to last you through till next LGBT History Month. Many will have learned about Gay’s The Word from hit film Pride, which told the story of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners). The bookshop served as headquarters for the campaign group, who raised money and support for striking Welsh miners in the 1980s. A plaque for Mark Ashton, who led the group before he died age 27, adorns the outside wall.

66 Marchmont Street, WC1N 1AB, gaystheword.co.uk

Royal Vauxhall Tavern

The best lessons are learned outside the classroom – and over a drink. The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a pillar in London’s LGBTQ+ community. It has long been the pub and performance venue of choice for many in South London, including Paul O’Grady, Sir Ian McKellen and Graham Norton, who all successfully campaigned for it to be given Grade II listed status. The most famous tale of its star punters is Freddie Mercury sneaking Princess Diana into the bar in drag in 1988. It continues to be a popular venue for club nights and drag shows with the best in the business gracing the stage.

372 Kennington Lane, SE11 5HY, vauxhalltavern.com

Museum of London

The Museum of London’s exhibits date back to its Roman origins and it boasts a range of LGBTQ+ artefacts from throughout history. In the mid-1500s, homosexual acts between men became a criminal offence – this only became legal in 1967 – and the museum holds records of these prosecutions, sometimes executions. A number of protest badges are also on display, including those for early Pride marches and pink triangle badges, which were worn as a reference to the cloth badges gay prisoners were made to wear by the Nazis.

150 London Wall, EC2Y 5HN, museumoflondon.org.uk

Chiswick House

As same-sex female relations were never a criminal offence, it can be difficult to find record of lesbian and female bisexual histories, but “romantic female friendships” were apparently all the rage in the 18th century. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and resident of Chiswick House, though married to a Duke, had a number of affairs with women, which we know about through letters. She and her husband even entered into a polyamorous relationship with a Lady Elizabeth Foster, who they invited to live with them.

Burlington Lane, W4 2RP, chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk

London Transport Museum

Many underestimate how important a part transportation plays in the LGBTQ+ community. For some, taking public transport can be incredibly dangerous, but on the other hand, it links together previously separate communities. The London Transport Museum has been collating stories and artefacts to build their LGBTQ+ collection, which currently contains posters, pins and London’s first rainbow zebra crossing.

Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E 7BB, ltmuseum.co.uk

BFI Southbank

BFI Flare is an annual international festival of queer film running in March, showing the best classics and new works from around the world. Luckily the movie magic continues all year round, with regular screenings of features and documentaries. The BFI Southbank’s Reuben Library also gives free access to books, journals and documents about LGBTQ+ lives in film and TV.

Belvedere Road, SE1 8XT, whatson.bfi.org.uk

Admiral Duncan

A stalwart of Old Compton Street in Soho, the Admiral Duncan has been open since 1832, when it was home to a wooden-legged ex-sailor who was charged with throwing stones at King William IV and sent to Australia. Later, in 1999, it was the target of a neo-Nazi nail bomb attack, which killed three and injured more than 70. A plaque in the bar commemorates the dead and injured, and a memorial chandelier reads “we shall never forget our friends”. Showing the queer community’s strength of spirit, the pub reopened weeks later and is still the home to drag nights of raucous fun.

Old Compton Street, W1D 4UB, admiral-duncan.co.uk

Queer Tours of London

If you like to get hands on in your education, Queer Tours of London and their experts lead all sorts of trails around the city. You can find out about the secrets of theatreland and Soho, the history of London’s lesbian and trans communities and queer stories told through the lenses of disability and migration.

queertoursoflondon.com