Welcome to the website of OutStories Bristol. We collect and preserve the social history and recollections of LGBTQ+ people living in or associated with Bristol, England. Use this website to tell us your story. Visit our Facebook page. @OutStoriesBris
Annual John Addington Symonds lecture
Each year OutStories Bristol in collaboration with the University of Bristol Institute of Greece, Rome, and the Classical Tradition (IGRCT) presents a public lecture to celebrate the life of John Addington Symonds (1840-1893).
This year Sam Rutherford will entertain us with How to Bring Your Canon Up Gay: John Addington Symonds, Eve Sedgwick, and the Intellectual History of Male Homosexuality.
Saturday 5th October, 2pm to 4pm, at the Wills Memorial Building. Click here for details.
Vera Wentworth: defiant lesbian suffragette
Vera Wentworth was a militant suffragette who lived in Bristol for about five years from 1909. During this time she played a prominent role in the campaign for votes for women, both locally and nationally.
Jonathan Rowe has written about Vera’s remarkable life.
Basil Pattison
New Zealander Basil Pattison was a pioneer of modern dance and spent several years in the 1950s dancing and teaching in the UK, mainly in Bristol. Read here about his local connections.
‘Gay West’ book now available as a free download
In 2011 Robert Howes published a wonderful book Gay West: Civil Society, Community and LGBT History in Bristol and Bath 1970 to 2010. It analyses the development of the local movement, focusing on the history of social and support group Gay West, but also other local LGBT+ organisations set up in the mid-1970s. The story continues with the battles against HIV/AIDS and Section 28 in the 1980s and the development of the commercial gay scene.
This book is now available from OutStories Bristol as a free PDF download (15MB).
Rare witness statement reveals tragic story of gay couple executed in 1753
In 1753 Richard Arnold and William Pritchard were executed for “the detestable crime of buggery”. They were observed in the backroom of a Bristol alehouse by the innkeeper. A recently discovered witness statement reveals rare details. Read more.
LGBTQ+ in Bristol Archives
Bristol Archives have produced an excellent guide that lists their LGBTQ+ collections and gives general advice on researching our history.
Sources for research: LGBTQ history.
Get involved with OutStories!
Come help us:
- Record the lives of LGBT+ people in the Bristol region, past and present.
- Explore Bristol Archives and other local resources.
- Collect peoples’ memories using oral history recording.
- Add these stories to this website and our LGBT+ Life map.
Get in touch and we’ll help you become involved. Contact us via our webform or email contact@outstoriesbristol.org.uk.
An Anglo-American love story
Andrew Foyle tells the story of a remarkable gay couple, John Judkyns and Dallas Pratt, and the museum they founded – the American Museum & Gardens at Claverton Manor, near Bath.
From their chance meeting in 1937 until John’s tragic early death their love and lives embodied a passion for collecting which inspired them to create the museum.
Telling the stories from Bristol LGBTQ people going back 300 years
In this 42-minute podcast from the Bristol Cable OutStories’ Andrew Foyle discusses with Tom Brothwell the stories of LGBTQ people throughout Bristol’s history, from the 17th century to the present day.
Wonderful documentary ‘Talking LGBT+ Bristol’
Bristol’s listings and features magazine Bristol24/7 and Tusko Films produced a wonderful documentary Talking LGBT+ Bristol. This Heritage Lottery funded video shares the rich heritage of LGBT+ life in Bristol over the last century, with contributors coming from all backgrounds and ages from across the city. It prominently features some OutStories people.
Watch it now!
Explore our map of Bristol’s LGBTQ+ past
You can explore Bristol’s LGBTQ+ past online through our map that uses pictures, oral history recordings, archival documents and personal stories to bring our hidden histories to light. Go to the map now!
The map also appears on Bristol City Council’s website Know Your Place which brings together multiple layers of Bristol’s diverse history.
Finally …. a 5-minute slideshow about OutStories and some of our achievements.
Video for stall at Bristol Pride 2020 from Cheryl Morgan on Vimeo.
Read about Bristol ….. quirky, diverse, historic.
The opinions expressed in this website are the views of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of OutStories Bristol.
*LGBTQ+ means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, including all gender, sexual, and romantic minorities.
