Check Out These Images Of LGBTQ London In The 1970s

Big Ben, Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

Images of early Gay Pride rallies, controversial actor and singer Divine, and the Porchester Hall Drag Ball go on display in Victoria this February, marking LGBT+ History Month.

Divine starring in 'Women Behind Bars', Whitehall Theatre (now Trafalgar Studios), Whitehall, 1977, Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

Many of the photos were captured by Robert Workman, an employee of Gay News; Workman recorded the earliest Gay Pride rallies in 1972 until the 1980s, as well as the opening of the Gay's the Word bookshop in 1972, and the Porchester Hall Drag Ball, which ran from 1969 to the 1990s.

Gay Pride March, Regent Street, August 1976, Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

The pictures of Denis Lemon, former editor of Gay News, also feature, as well as Ashley Joiner's Are You Proud? documentary, a celebration of the Pride movement and the landmark achievements of LGBT+ campaigners and activists.

Porchester Hall Drag Ball, Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

The images go on display at Westminster City Council's offices in Victoria on 10 February. Cllr Ian Adams, LGBT+ Lead Member for Westminster City Council, said:

The exhibition captures the diversity of our borough and the role Westminster, and Old Compton Street in particular, has played as a focus point for many forms of LGBT+ entertainment, expression and activism over the years.

Woman at Stonewall Gay Pride Winter Fair, 1979, Robert Workman Archive, Bishopsgate Institute

The exhibition is on the ground floor mezzanine of Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, 10 February-30 April. Entry is free.