As LGBT history month is drawing to a close – we’ve selected items from our collection that document the LGBT community and activism in Manchester.

First up we have a promotional  leaflet for Flesh club night at The Haçienda, 29 September 1993. Flesh was one of the North West’s largest gay events – ran in conjunction with the North West Arts Board, It’s Queer Up North and Manchester City Council. For more information, have a look at GB127.M800/FAC51:　Flesh.

The Hacienda Flesh - m800/3/2/1/6
The Hacienda Flesh – GB127.m800/3/2/1/6
The Hacienda - Flesh
The Hacienda Flesh – GB127.m800/3/2/1/6

We hold the Queer up North archive which includes photographs, film and promotional material relating to the festival between 1992 – 2006.  Some items from this collection have been digitised and can be viewed within our LGBT history set on Flickr. By far one of the most popular and striking items is this theatre promotional poster.

GB127.M800.3.3.1.27
‘It’s Queer Up North’ queerupnorth theatre festival poster, Sep 1994 – GB127.M800/3/3/1/27

Next up, is a drawing depicting a police raid on a drag ball in Hulme, in 1880, taken from the Illustrated Police News.

Drag ball, Hulme
Police raid a drag ball in Hulme, in 1880, taken from the Illustrated Police News

Material relating to the campaign against Section 28 can be found within various collections we hold.

'Section 28 - a Guide for workers in the Social Services Department', Manchester City Council, 1988 (GB127.M775/1/5)
‘Section 28 – a Guide for workers in the Social Services Department’, Manchester City Council, 1988 – GB127.M775/1/5
Never Going Underground concert, Feb 1988
Never Going Underground concert, Feb 1988
Gay Unity, Feb 1988
Gay Unity, Feb 1988

A LGBT history source guide, with relation to our collections, is available on our website – The National Archives have also produced a guide which will help you find records relating to gay, lesbian and bisexual history.