The Heritage Hotline

Thanet’s LGBTQ+ history from the 1960s to 2000s

Photo from the collection of Shirley Sullivan, with permission from Charlotte Sullivan

Margate Pride is delighted to have been awarded a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to carry out an 18-month project, ‘The Heritage Hotline: Thanet’s LGBTQ+ history from the 1960s to 2000s’, that will carry out research and create an archive of Margate and Thanet’s LGBTQ+ history, preserving stories and objects that have long been overlooked. 


This intergenerational project will celebrate and invest in the LGBTQ+ community through training, archiving, and research, empowering individuals to shape their own narrative. A public programme will engage the wider community, raising awareness of the region’s rich queer heritage. The archive will be housed in two established repositories, ensuring long-term care and access. The physical archive will be housed in the Bishopsgate Archive, with a smaller version in the Margate Queer Library & Archive. While a digital archive will be hosted online by Queer Heritage South. Partnering with Margate Radio, legacy outcomes will include a radio series/podcast. Further outcomes will include a zine and archive, making these histories visible, shareable, and enduring.

We aim to honour older LGBTQ+ voices and inspire younger generations with a deeper understanding of their cultural lineage. This will also coincide with Margate Pride’s 10th anniversary in 2026, and the 60th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, via the Sexual Offences Act 1967.

Margate Pride is grateful for the support of LGBT+ History Month, Queer Heritage South, Margate Radio, Bishopsgate Institute and Margate Queer Library & Archive. As well as ongoing support from National Lottery Community Fund. 

If you have any stories to share, would like to get involved, or just hear more, please register your interest here: