Saving Queer Spaces in the UK
The English heritage organization Historic England updated their list of sites to recognize their queer significance this week. Oscar Wilde’s 34 Tite Street home in London has had its listing updated, as have the homes of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears, Gerald Schlesinger and Christopher Tunnard, and Anne Lister. The graves of Egyptologist Amelia Edwards and her partner Ellen Braysher have been newly listed, and a memorial that remembers the 18th century spy Chevalier d’Eon has been upgraded.
Oscar Wilde is well known for being queer; his London house is being re-listed since he lived there with his wife for several years before being tried for “gross indecency” in 1895 (“gross indecency” is the British law’s polite way of saying homosexual behavior).
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pear’s home Red House is now the location of the Britten-Pears Foundation, which provides musical education events and provides grants to composers and musicians.
Gerald Schlesinger and his partner Christopher Tunnard created queer architecture by designing their master bedroom so that it could be separated into two rooms, protecting their privacy and the illusion of a platonic relationship.
Anne Lister is described by Historic England as the “first modern lesbian,” she lived with her partner at Shibden Hall in Halifax for several years.
Amelia Edwards was well-known for her relationships with women. She is buried next to her partner under an ankh, and their graves have been newly listed by Historic England to reflect their queer importance.
The Chevalier d’Eon was a spy who dressed in women’s clothing to infiltrate the Russian court. They dressed and lived as a woman for the rest of their lives; though there wasn’t the language to describe it in their time, today many would describe the Chevalier d’Eon as transgender.
Historic England has created these listings as part of their Pride of Place project, which seeks to illuminate the importance of queer people and their accomplishments in British history. As part of the project, Historic England has also released research on England’s queer heritage, a guide for preserving local queer sites that are at risk, and a free app that serves as a walking tour through 130 years of queer history in the SoHo district.
Preserving and celebrating queer history is vital in a time when, despite all of the alleged progress for queer folks, queer existence is still under attack.
Any trans, gender non-conforming, or androgynous person who has tried to use a bathroom in North Carolina can tell you about the lack of safe spaces for queer folks. By championing the history and achievements of queer folks, Historic England is providing a history and a future for queer people and their culture.
Too much of history is whitewashed and sanitized to provide a White, heteronormative account of what happened. Even the movie on the Stonewall Riots erased the Black transwomen who fought for their rights and created a White, cisgender gay man to play the hero (it is important to note that the director, Roland Emmerich, is a White gay man). Historic England understands that queer history is important and should be preserved, not erased. We can only hope that more countries and more heritage organizations can understand that as well.
