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Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and in partnership with Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham and the Swindon Local Studies Library.
We Were Always Here is a groundbreaking year-long community history project to discover the stories of how our community lived in Wiltshire from c19th - 2016
(when same-sex marriage was legalised).
Add your stories as part of this groundbreaking project to discover and share the complete story of how ordinary queer Wiltshire folk lived and loved, suffered and triumphed against social attitudes?
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Use our form to tell your tales, and upload images online
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Get in touch at history@swindonwiltshirepride.org.uk - email us information or we’ll work out a time for a chat
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Meet us at an upcoming event - we’ll listen to your stories. All historical leads are interesting. Bring any photos, posters, flyers you have to show us.
Visit us at an upcoming event
Come and find out more or share your stories at one of our upcoming events:
4 Aug 2026
Why LGBTQIA+ History matters
15 Aug 2026
Swindon & Wiltshire Pride
1100-2000, GWR Park
Visit us in the Community zone to share your stories
More Details
Coming Soon
Memory Socials
We Were Always Here: Project Overview
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. ‘We Were Always Here’ is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we will discover the stories of how ordinary queer Wiltshire folk lived and loved, suffered and triumphed against social attitudes.
We Were Always Here focuses on two centuries of social history from the beginning of the 19th century, when strict laws against any kind of homosexual behaviour were introduced, to 2014, when equal rights were achieved with the passing of the same sex marriage act.
The information, stories and images we uncover will tell Wiltshire’s hidden LGBTQIA+ history through the We Were Always Here exhibition, illustrated history book and online history pages (on this website) so that we will always be seen.
Email history@swindonwiltshirepride.org.uk for further information