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We Were Always Here: Wiltshire’s Hidden LGBTQIA+ Social History
We Were Always Here, our year-long community history project, has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. With the support of our partners – Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre in Chippenham and Swindon Local Studies Library – we’ll seek out stories in the archives AND with the support of the community, we’ll learn the hidden histories.
Can you help Swindon & Wiltshire Pride discover and share the complete story of how ordinary queer Wiltshire folk lived and loved, suffered and triumphed against social attitudes?
Visit us at an upcoming event
Come and find out more, sign up as a volunteer or share your stories at one of our upcoming events:
9 May 2026
Pride Hub, Swindon
12pm-2pm
Pride Hub, Swindon
6 Jun 2026
Calne Pride
Details TBC
15 Jun 2026
Pride in Chippenham
Details TBC
15 Aug 2026
Swindon & Wiltshire Pride
Details TBC
We are all important parts of this history…
Where did you go? Who did you know? What social or support groups were you part of? Tales of college days, work, nights out, family and social relationships, lust and romance, barriers you faced and/or overcame, acceptance and rejection, places you went to meet, people who helped or influenced you, any trouble you experienced. Family stories about relations or neighbours, local knowledge, tales (even gossip) you’ve heard.
We can all be part of this Wiltshire-wide community history project…
If you can spare some time looking for LGBTQIA+ stories in the archives or talking to the community about their memories, please review our Volunteer Researcher role description and get in touch:
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