In the week leading up to Margate Pride 2026, team Heritage Hotline took over Pie Factory Gallery to display our ongoing research into Thanet’s LGBTQ+ heritage from the 1960s-2000s. Rather than wait until the end of our 18-month project to present everything we’ve found, we decided to show what we have so far, including the question marks, gaps in our knowledge, and dead ends we’ve hit to help crowdsource information.
We weren’t subtle about it. Big signs next to photos asked questions like ‘Do you know who these drag queens are?’ and ‘Let us know what we’ve missed.’ An investigation board with a map of Thanet in the middle helped visualise our research so far. Red string connected newspaper articles and photos to locations. Unsurprisingly, most of our research has been Margate-centric (as most of the team are based here), highlighting the need to cast our net further afield. Visitors were encouraged to contribute to our growing LGBTQ+ map of Thanet by adding queer venues and memories on Post-it notes.
One of our favourites read: “Sundowners Gay Bar - Came down from London to visit a friend in 2007 to go to our first gay bar as underage secret dykes. A hot woman asked me for my age, and I forgot to lie - then she pulled out her police badge, scared the crap out of me as a joke, then bought me a vodka.”
True to Margate Pride’s DIY ethos and grassroots aesthetic, a LOT of the exhibition was fashioned out of cardboard (and bulldog clips). This included archival material we were showing, such as protest placards collected from Pride marches over the years, and a dress made entirely of coasters, worn by drag queen Tracey Ermine, reading ‘UKIP put me off my beer!’ We also made much of the exhibition from cardboard scavenged from the street on recycling day, such as our hot gossip chalkboard, made in homage to the one outside the New Inn pub in the late 80s.
Our most high-tech piece was the Heritage Hotline phone, where people could leave disclosures after the tone. This was made true guerrilla style by Alex Menace, who taught herself coding to turn an old phone into a recording device…something about a Raspberry Pi?! While most recordings were of people hurriedly putting down the receiver, some gems came through, including intel about a secret gay bar in someone’s house, where they used an ironing board as the bar.
The number of conversations the exhibition prompted was high, with visitors recognising old friends and even themselves in pictures from previous Pride parades and nights out at Rumours gay club in the early 90s. Whilst installing the exhibition, Tony Wait (who runs the Anthony Wait Gallery next door) came in with photos from Thanet Area Gay Group’s trip to 1987 London Pride. These, along with recollections from Michael Davidson, who organised the trip, made it into the exhibition at the last minute.
Michael at 1987 London Pride, Photograph courtesy of Tony Wait Collection
This really was a community effort, with volunteers helping install and invigilate the exhibition, as well as over 1500 visitors who came in during the week it was open and contributed stories, memories and tip offs. We hope to take the Heritage Hotline phone on tour around Thanet, so watch this space. Thank you to everyone who witnessed and added to our growing archive of queer life in Thanet. If you have any tip offs, leads or a rumour that’s been waiting for decades, please call the Heritage Hotline on 07752852118 and leave a message, or email Jen at heritagehotlinemanager@gmail.com
History is waiting!
Written by Jen Scott
This project was made possible with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to research, preserve and share Thanet’s LGBTQ+ history, which has long been overlooked.