LGBT+ History in the Staffordshire Moorlands
Following the first Moorlands Pride, a group of young people are researching local LGBT+ history. Here are a few things I can offer from my own research which I hope may provide some inspiration about where to look…
Above – The Majestic Theatre in Union Street, Leek before it was demolished; this was the previous site of the Temperance Hall where Oscar Wilde delivered a lecture in 1884
The Staffordshire Moorlands in Ancient Britain
The Celts
Before the Roman conquest the area we now call the Staffordshire Moorlands was occupied by our Celtic ancestors. The area to the North was on the edge of the territory of the Brigantes tribe, to the West the Cornovii and to the east the Coritani.
Evidence of the Celts in Staffordshire Moorlands can be found in the origin of place names such as Lud’s Church and Hen Cloud. There are also bronze age burial sites including the Bridestones, which may be named after Brigantia, a Celtic goddess after whom the Brigantes tribe is named.
Women occupied a significant position in Celtic society equal to or greater than that of men – think of Boudica. Several classical writers in the ancient world noted that Celtic men preferred to have sex with each other. Writing in the 4th century BCE Aristotle (Politics II 1269b) says of Celts that “their men openly preferred male lovers” and in the first century BCE Diodorus Siculus writing about Celtic men says “although their wives are comely, they have very little to do with them, but rage with lust, in outlandish fashion, for the embraces of males” (Bibliotheca historica 5:32).
These quotations are of themselves worthy of further research. Different sources translate them in different ways often reflecting the prejudices of the translators
The Bridestones, a burial chamber about 4 miles north of Biddulph on the Staffordshire Moorlands border Photo © Copyright Colin Park
The Romans
Same sex relations between both women and men are a well documented part of Roman life though it would be wrong to ascribe the modern concepts of lesbian and gay identities to this very different culture. There is evidence of Roman Occupation in sites all over Staffordshire, the road from Leek to Buxton was built by the Romans.
The Leek to Buxton Road. Photo © Copyright Mick Lobb
Victorian Era Visionaries
1884 - Oscar Wilde Visits Leek
Oscar Wilde visited Staffordshire on more than one occasion to deliver lectures as part of his national tours. In 1884 he appeared at The Temperance Hall in Leek to deliver a lecture on “The House Beautiful”. Read more here…
1885 - Oscar Wilde Returns to Leek
Oscar Wilde returned to Leek to deliver a lecture at the Nicholson Institute in 1885 shortly after it had opened in the previous Autumn. Read more on this well researched blog post on the Moorlands Old Times.
1903 – Edward Carpenter Lecture in Leek
Edward Carpenter was an influential socialist of the Victorian era who wrote about same sex desire at a time when homosexual behaviour was criminalised and widely condemned. In 1903 he delivered a lecture at The William Morris Labour Church in Leek on “The Art of Creation” Read more here…
I hope these connections to Oscar Wilde, Edward Carpenter and William Morris will encourage our contemporary LGBT+ community in the Staffordshire Moorlands to explore how gay liberation evolved from foundations laid by the visionary and revolutionary ideas of these well known Victorian figures and others of their time.
Theatre Communities
The culture of communities linked to the theatre was an important part of the origins of some later LGBT+ identities. Unconventional characters such as male and female impersonators were common in the old days of the music hall where gender non-conformity and flamboyant dress and mannerisms were more likely to be tolerated within the artistic and theatrical milieu. Men and women might risk being openly gay within the theatre community or at least feel less likely to suffer serious retribution if their homosexuality were discovered.
Gay men, lesbians, female impersonators, theatre people, prostitutes and sea-queens (gay men in the merchant navy) developed a secret language called Polari. An older form of it called Parlyaree was used in the 19th century by travelling entertainers and fairground people, and from there it found its way into the music halls and then the theatres.
The Temperance Hall and The Majestic
The Majestic was located in Union Street near its corner with Horton Street, on a site now occupied by Buxton & Leek College. It started life as “the Temperance Hall” converted from a chapel that closed around 1864. The Temperance Movement, aimed to prevent people from indulging in the ‘demon drink’. In addition to holding temperance meetings, the hall was used for a variety of entertainments including local theatre.
In October 1884 Oscar Wilde visited The Temperance Hall in Leek to deliver a lecture on “The House Beautiful” and he also appeared in the following year at the Nicholson Institute. Read more here…
in January 1922 the Temperance Hall was converted into a cinema, which was named The Majestic.
The Palace Theatre (circled purple) and The Grand (Circled red)
The Palace
The Palace stood on the corner of High Street and Salisbury Street and was originally the Salisbury Roller Skating Rink. By 1912 it had changed use to silent movies and variety and was later renamed The Regal.
The Grand
The Grand was built in 1909 and stood opposite where High Street car park is today. The Grand started life as a theatre, originally ‘The Grand Theatre and Hippodrome’ later becoming a cinema. Gay carry on star Charles Hawtrey appeared in pantomime here in January 1970. The Carry on Films were enormously popular and Hawtrey was a big name at this time; the Carry on Team had just released “Carry on Camping” in cinemas in 1969.
Clippings from The Evening Sentinel and the Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel Nov 1969.
1891 - A Male Impersonator at Alton Towers
Circus and stage acts that reference gender non-conformity were popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This clipping references a male impersonator (a woman dressed as a man) at an event in Alton Towers in 1891. Read more about male impersonators in this LGBT History Project Blog Spot article
Clipping from the Evening Sentinel 27th August 1891
It may be interesting to dig further into local archives to try and find references to male and female impersonators and other acts that reference gender non conformity and LGBT+ identities performing at these and other local venues.
The Modern Era
1969 - A Gay! Gay! Night in Milton
This gay night in Milton, less than a mile from the border of the Staffordshire Moorlands, is worth mentioning because of it’s early date. Sex between men had only just been de-criminalised in 1967 and the early gay friendly venues around Stoke were not yet openly advertising themselves. During the ten years that elapsed from Wolfenden recommending law reform in his 1957 report to the change in the law that came in 1967 Government had dragged their feet claiming the general public was not yet ready for the decriminalisation of male homosexuality. So it is quite remarkable to find a gay night with a female impersonator at this early date in what is essentially a rural area.
1987 - "The Killing of Sister George" in Longsdon
The Killing of Sister George is a 1968 American film based on the 1964 play by British playwright Frank Marcus. The film attracted considerable controversy due to an explicit lesbian lovemaking scene. Local amateur dramatic societies have occasionally staged the original play such as this performance in Longsdon in 1987. Read more about the controversial 1968 cinema release…
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times, 28 Oct 1987
1990 - Arrests at the Silk Street Public Toilets
Before the advent of our modern online world the only way that some men who desired sex with other men could meet was in public places such as public toilets (cottages) and public parks. The hysteria of public concern about HIV led the Staffordshire Police to mount heavy handed surveillance operations resulting in arrests that ruined the lives of men who were not open about their sexual orientation within their family or wider community. In our modern age there are still large numbers of men who engage in homosexual behaviour who do not identify as gay or bisexual.
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times
20th Jun 1990
1994 - Appeal for Buddy Volunteers
Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men were disproportionately affected by the early years of the AIDS pandemic in the UK.
This clipping from the Leek Post and Times, 13th July 1994 is an appeal for volunteers to join the local Staffordshire Buddies charity established in 1993. That charity still exists today but is now known as “Project 93”.
The reference to “Victims” is typical of the journalism of this period and is a word that was never used by the charity or its members.
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times
13th July 1994
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times
10th July 1996
1996 - AIDS Controversy
This clipping from the Leek Post and Times in in 1994 shows that local Council support for HIV prevention and care was not with controversy. The charity mentioned here was Staffordshire Buddies (see above)
1997 - Parade in Leek Supports AIDS
Changing attitudes to the AIDS pandemic are displayed by the positive coverage of this World AIDS Day Parade that took place in Leek in 1997. The clipping is from the Leek Post and Times, 3rd Dec 1997.
The theme for World AIDS day that year was “Children Living in a World With AIDS”. Perhaps a more publicly acceptable theme than support for gay men who remained the most affected group in the UK.
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times 3rd Dec 1997
1999 - Prejudice and Progress in the New Millennium
This clipping from the Leek Post and Times in 1999 displays some of the opposition and negativity that preceded the equalisation of the age of consent that eventually became law in 2001. We did not enter the new millennium in a universally tolerant culture.
However, the new millennium brought rapid advancement in progress towards equal rights, including an equal age of consent and legal recognition of same sex partnerships. Staffordshire Police put the past behind them, achieving a Stonewall award in 2006. Stoke-on-Trent held it’s first Pride which has since gone from strength to strength. Pride events in other areas have followed since including the first ever Moorlands Pride in 2025.
Clipping from the Leek Post and Times
2nd October 1999
2025 - First Pride in the Moorlands
The first ever Pride in the Moorlands took place over three days in June 2025, with a Pride Torch Relay that started in Cheadle on Friday and travelled via Tean, Waterhouses, Biddulph, and Endon to arrive in Leek for a big celebration on Sunday where Members of the North Midlands LGBT+ Older Peoples Group took part in the parade and had a stall in the marketplace. view our photo gallery…
There is a lot more LGBT+ history still waiting to be discovered!
If you have any suggestions please contact us or leave a comment.
Copyright Notice
The newspaper cuttings featured here have been compiled by the posts author, Andrew Colclough, from online archives as part of his personal research into local LGBT+ history. Copyright, where relevant, belongs to the authors and newspapers that published the original articles. The news cuttings have been shared here by Andrew Colclough on the basis of fair personal/non commercial use.
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