Inside the UK's Biggest Queer & Kink Archive!

[@hamba1998]

The enthusiasm that you and Stef have is wonderful! If this is what prioritising quality over quantity looks like, I can't wait to see what else we have to look forward to in 2023!

[@hannahwitton]

thank you! that means a lot!

[@karenl5765]

@@hannahwitton I think those leather trousers would of suited you lol.

[@yesterdaydream]

It's got to be such an honor to be a guardian to this history. Glad somebody knows where everything is!

[@denniskillin3090]

That was not always the case I remember a time when an archive called Hall Carpenter which contained pre 67 items was needing a home. Hopefully this archive is now included within this archive of our history.

[@kelsie_fl]

I am an archivist and this video is sooooo fun!! Archiving histories like these are the reason that I became an archivist and Stef’s enthusiasm is what we all aspire to have

[@toopunkrockforshul7933]

Fellow archivist hello!

[@artnerd3727]

Literally started crying while wtching this. I'm a 19 year old queer and trans man and seeing so much of queer and kink history being celebrated and documented with care makes me so incredibly happy. I often feel disconnected from queer history and older queers because I haven't had much opportunity to sit down and talk and look at pieces of history. This place is incredible, if I ever travel to the UK I will definitely go

[@eliwest3393]

Look up if there's a queer archive in your area!

[@emmellingwood]

This was so much fun to watch! I’ve spent a lot of time in the queer archives in Toronto, so it’s cool to see what the UK archives are like. There seems to be a rich history in both areas of collecting working class material items (like pins, homemade signs, zines, pamphlets, etc.), which is so interesting. And valuable! Basically this brought out my nerdy queer history major side and I love it haha I need to visit here one day

[@hannahwitton]

Yes we love nerdy queer history!!🤓

[@emmanemsl]

you can tell I was raised by labor activists because not only do I know that Solidarity Forever is meant to be sung to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but I also learned Solidarity Forever before ever learning of the existence of the original song

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@saffodils]

nice!! i think i learned "john brown's body" first, but "solidarity forever" was definitely early. glad to see someone else in this comment section who knew the song!

[@Dan835]

Saaaaaaame, I literally tried to explain this tune to a friend by singing the solidarity forever words and they were like ummm did you mean battle hymn of the republic 😅

[@historical.isolde7918]

There are also a number of variations of Solidarity Forever, often with regional or issue-specific lyrics!

[@hollyabbott2769]

I absolutely LOVE this style of video - more school trips please! x

[@hannahwitton]

Omg school trip yes 🙌🏼 😂

[@stagetopage]

Firstly, I absolutely ADORED this video. Stef seems amazing, would love to see more videos with him. Such an interesting video and will have to put this place on my list of places to visit!

[@martinsakmens8352]

Good morning Hannah witton Perfect day you ☕ Perfect day you and Perfect day 🌹🌹🌹 ilove you beautiful day ☀️☀️💐♥️🥀💐♥️ good morning you ☕

[@Emmsley14]

Hannah, you are one of the few people I can genuinely say is the type of straight ally we need in the queer community. You are inclusive, well informed, and supportive and I absolutely love it! Thank you for all you do!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@lucy714]

I used to volunteer at events at Bishopsgate Institute back when I lived in London. Always had a great time there. Though using their beautiful library as a cloakroom always felt a little wrong 😉 Such a great place and video and so lovely to see Stef again!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@ungracefulgrace02]

I visited this archive a few weeks ago to do research for my history undergrad dissertation!!! such an incredible and inclusive space!!

[@hannahwitton]

So cool!!

[@CharaMcN]

I live in the US and we've got one in Chicago called The Leather Archives and Museum, so if anyone is interested in this kind of thing but lives in the US or can travel to the midwest highly recommend checking them out! Only downside is that admission is ticketed ($5-8) but they also have an online catalogue!

[@toopunkrockforshul7933]

I was looking for this comment, I want to go there so badly!!

[@CharaMcN]

@@toopunkrockforshul7933 yes you totally should! I hope you get to go someday ^^

[@minlife1054]

My queer history and culture nerd is jumping for joy at this. Have been meaning to check out the archive for ages! Thank you for this Hannah!!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@Cat-lp1be]

This is really useful! I would have had no idea that this exists. Thank you for sharing - wonderful video as always ❤

[@hannahwitton]

Yay! So glad to share this place!

[@18becbec]

"The Sex Jungle!" "Oh god, not again..." he is a GEM 💎

[@notlikethebook]

im studying to get my masters in archiving now! its so fun to get a tour of an archive and try to see their systems! super cool video also fun fact its actually worse for paper to wear white gloves!

[@jenniferholmes9552]

Stef is an amazing and inspirational guardian of the archive. I saw him speak last year and it was amazing!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@bluerox24]

This was such an interesting video! Genuinely so fascinating to know a place like this exists and I got almost a big emotional seeing how much care Stef clearly takes with everyone’s items

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@sianthesheep]

Love the new documentary style! This place is amazing - you could spent a year here and never get bored! I'm so glad someone is archiving our history for future generations.

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@Beanjast]

I too have been lucky enough to have a look around the archive with Stef! The Sue Sanders section is immense!

[@chri_stelle]

Was so fun to watch ! As a librarian and archivist i would absolutely love to work in a place like this ! ✨💓

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@gemgh420]

The queer history school trip I never had, love love love this 🥹🥹🥹✨✨✨

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@Victoriasm31]

I feel so grateful for the work Stef is doing to preserve our history 🙏🏻

[@emeline_4]

I *LOVED* this video! I had no idea such an institute existed, and am super happy to have learned more about it. Some parts might have made me teary too 😭 It's so wonderful to have a place preserve and celebrate history that has been pretty much systematically erased and condemned!

[@Sophie_Cleverly]

This is incredible, I had no idea this existed but I'm very glad it does

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@JuMixBoox]

I absolutely love this! I have been to some archives that look exactly like this, both during my anthropology degree and just exploring local history, so I know how great it is to collect something seemingly trivial to create a bigger picture. A cookbook, a diary or a shopping list might feel insignificant to you, but they might be the missing link for people who are trying to understand your culture. Absolutely loved the idea of someone giving a train ticket they used to visit their girlfriend - travelling far and being long distance are a part of a culture where openly gay people are few and far between. It's also such a meaningful thing to them personally, which makes it extra meaningful for the rest of us. Gay culture can be lost so easily for so many reasons that disconnect the community over time and space. Having a space like this is something I wouldn't even have dreamed of. I do, from now on, dream of being Stef, though. Archiving and collecting culture all day for decades? That passion and dedication is admirable and I imagine a job like this truly never gets boring. I would love to know what they have on asexual history if I ever come to visit.

[@cariiinen]

Stephs energy is lovely and the spirit of the collection is wonderful!

[@lalaalal7293]

This is just amazing, seeing all these different parts of queer history being kept documented for us to look back on and for everybody to learn about queer culture, fights and history, thank you for doing the important work of archiving all of that

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@charliebradford4369]

I'm curious if they're planning on making the downstairs archives wheelchair accessible as currently it's not. This would not only allow visitors who can't manage stairs to be able to visit, but would also help when moving heavy items and if they have prospective staff/vollunteers who can't manage stairs. As the UK's biggest queer and kink archive all should be able to access it, not just those who can manage the stairs.

[@fonthong3719]

This is my dream 😍 I'm so excited you made a video about the archive. Even more excited for my stay in London in March!

[@elisecollins8467]

I'm a queer archivist (as in an archivist who is a queer, not an archivist of queer material) and I wrote my dissertation on queerness in the archive, and I'm ashamed to say I did not know this archive existed until now!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@ajwb2301]

not usually a commenter but absolutely loved this ! great to see into the bishopsgate institute's archives all the way from nz !!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@StrongImaginationA]

Oh Hannah I started following you after I watched your video on probable birth control methods in Downton Abbey and I'm SO happy you're doing more about queer and feminist history again!!

[@sonyamohe]

i would give so much money to support the continued existence of this, their passion is so wholesome :’)

[@funguscreature6833]

if anyone is curious about the melodies for the songs from which hannah read lyrics near the end, the one called 'cabaret' is a version of the song of the same name from the musical of the same name, and 'solidarity forever' is a famous old union song. you can find hundreds of versions of it anywhere you can find music, and that melody is also used in the songs 'john browns body' and 'glory, glory, hallelujah/battle hymn of the republic' among many, many others.

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@lucileec4495]

Thank you Hannah, this was a brilliant video! I walk past the Bishop Institute so often and had no idea... I'm definitely checking it out now

[@katielouise210]

hannah this is amazing, thank you so so much for sharing and to stef for this time!! i had no idea this existed but wow, i'm so pleased to hear it does. what an amazing record of queer history!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@susannahleopold6788]

This is so cool! I love that you can actually browse though yourself and have a good look! And Stef is such a great tour guide.

[@mmilbeb]

Stef is so delightful! Thank you both for being such wonderful history keepers! Even though I live as far from London as possible while still being on the mainland of the UK I hope to visit Bishopgate Institute one day!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@ErinLOVESmakeupxoxo]

Thank you for your continued thoughtfulness and covering these topics! The collection is remarkable.

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@grubbitt]

Excellent video. Seeing things like this, gay history being stored and cared for, honestly makes me so emotional.

[@KC-cg1dn]

OBSESSED WITH THIS and this guy!! really mad i didn't notice it in my subscription box

[@amyh2623]

I did not think I would enjoy this as much as I did! SO interesting and Steph was a fab tour guide and very funny too 😂😍😍

[@velikaodins-lucas1442]

Thank you so much for making this video! What incredible work Stef does, I'd never heard of any authentic queer archives. Thank you Hannah!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@18becbec]

So cool to see the LGSM materials!! Mike (one of the main activists, played by Joe Gingun in Pride) has his spare room on Airbnb, and he's a fascinating and incredibly kind guy with some amazing stories. I have no doubt he's made some donations to the archive!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@joshrichardson9542]

we've got a queer history archive in norwich too now called queer norfolk. would love to go to london and have a look at this place!

[@nicksiii]

Omg this is amazing! I m from Australia but next time I'm in the UK I'll def be checking this place out!! Thankyou so much for making this video ❤

[@brenna5200]

Thank you so much for this! This video was a lot of fun to watch. I absolutely want to go there if I ever visit the UK now

[@DeusViator]

This reminds me so much of Hank Green meeting Emily Graslie for the first time at the Montana University archive in all the best ways!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@zoedickinson4798]

As a queer person who is also an archivist, this was so cool to watch!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@MadCupcake38]

This makes me so so happy! Preserving history is so important and its such an interesting insight into how life was at different time periods before and after gay rights protests and the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 60s. I would love to visit so much!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@gemma-louisewalsh9688]

This was amazing. I could spend hours listening to Stef - What a diamond.

[@jodie4251]

I didn’t even know this existed! Would love more videos like this in future

[@JimBob4233]

So, _Cabaret_ is presumably the same tune as the song _Cabaret_ from the musical _Cabaret_ and _Solidarity_ _Forever_ is an old leftist anthem that's one of the many songs that uses the same tune as _John_ _Brown's_ _Body_ or _Blood_ _on_ _the_ _Risers_ if you know either of those

[@Eki2456]

Someone needs to watch Cabaret… So great to be able to visit this archive through your video!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@ciara1045]

so cool seeing this video that ik from morehannah so much work and planning has gone into! love the way youre branching out

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@fangirlingballerina5633]

As a queer historian, this makes me so happy!!

[@jamesfv1]

I so wish I lived there, I would spend so much time there. Wow. This is incredible that they want to archive our queer history.

[@EricMVlogs]

Happy Birthday Hannah. I wish everyone a happiest of birthday's and also I believe that no matter what age we turn in 2023 that everyone should celebrate it in any way that they can and do it the best that they want to with friends and family. It should be celebrated in an awesome way.

[@katiesawesomelife]

This video is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful resource ☺️

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@el_2904]

This was such an interesting video and I’m really keen to visit !! Thank you so much Hannah for always showcasing LGBTQIA+/queer topics and people 😊❤

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@JKMeZmA]

What an amazing video! I hope you got more content from here and have found some amazing stories to tell

[@1973InternationalKid]

Stellar content! Thanks for sharing.

[@peaceblossom8]

This was so interesting! I love archives and this is a particularly cool one :) So fascinating to see actual objects from all sorts of times :)

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@laurenschenck5355]

SO EXCITED!!! 💕💕❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍💕💕🤍🤍💕🤍❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍💕💕🤍🤍🤍💕💕🤍🤍🤍❤️❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍💕💕💕🤍🤍❤️❤️❤️🤍🤍💕💕💕🤍🤍🤍❤️❤️

[@charlotteadams2770]

Idk if you’ve done this and I missed it but the vagina museum!!! Unfortunately they’re closing due to loosing their location but when they open again!

[@hannahwitton]

I heard!! 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼 I did an interview with the founder Florence on my podcast, Doing It, a few years ago if you’re interested though!

[@rachele8380]

love this videooooo. would love to see more collections

[@gabz9977]

What a fascinating video. Love Stef!

[@thisismissem]

As much as I loved learning about this, I'm fearful that publicising it may lead to bad actors discovering it and harming the collection 😰

[@giuliadesai]

This was fun! And Stef is delightful!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@denewst01]

A fun little mix of Hannah Witton, Tom Scott & Eurotrash all rolled into one, love it

[@ellieleetham4873]

Love this video but would love it even more if it was longer 😂

[@Blobbob54]

I absolutley adored this video thank you so much

[@sidneyn1366]

So cool!!! I love archivists!

[@sucrecandy]

This is so amazing it made me all emotional 🖤 I had no idea it existed!!!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@sambailey9573]

This is literally my dream job

[@aellalee4767]

Awesome video! Now I know a new place I need to go when I eventually come to the UK.

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@soupytho]

Loving the new content on this channel!!!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@denniskillin3090]

I enjoyed this video however I wonder if you have the hall carpenter archive that used to be held in the LSC I ask because when my partner and I did some research fifteen years ago and at that time much of the pre 67 documentation was housed there. I would also like to drW your attention to a website called Pioneers and progress

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@mpcasey]

It would be amazing to spend a few weeks (months, years...) there uncovering treasures!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@ariannaavina2466]

I absolutely love this video. Please more like it 💖

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@mariegray9397]

I would love to go there, and as it happens, I am going to visit London in a vew months. But I don't have any experience with archives. Does anyone have a tip for how to search and find interesting things or what is usually interesting to have a look at?

[@cariiinen]

Speak to the people who work there! In my experience, curators and librarians are often passionate about their work and they love helping people find things that speak to them. :) Enjoy!

[@mariegray9397]

@@cariiinen Thank you! I'm a little shy, but I'll do my best. ^-^ Stef for sure seems like a lovely person!

[@cariiinen]

@@mariegray9397 I totally feel you! It can be quite challenging to start a conversation with strangers. Maybe it helps to remember that this is part of their job, so they totally expect to be answering people's questions and are probably excited to showcase this wonderful collection. Perhaps you can simply tell them something like this: "Hi. I'm really interested in this topic and would love to learn more, but I don't really know where to start. Do you have any advice? Or would you share one of your favorite exhibits with me?" I hope you have a lovely time. Update us here on how it goes, if you'd like :)

[@mariegray9397]

@@cariiinen I will. It will have to wait till end of may though. Having a shared interest to talk about will probably already help a lot with conversation. Thankyou gor being so kind :)

[@cariiinen]

@@mariegray9397 For sure! :)

[@ericmatson117]

Great job, in Chicago we have the LEATHER ARCHIVES, a great day trip

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@greensteve9307]

Great vid!

[@sarkavlckova9439]

Absolutely amazing, wonder if our country have something like this. If not, it should. Thank you

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@smileykam]

What an amazing place! Must visit some day!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@mjmomo541]

Now that´s what I call brilliant and unique content! xx

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@hannahpickford6889]

So interesting!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@orboles13]

I love Stef!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@Mariajustmary]

Amazing video!! Thank you!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@annlatc]

Wow Stef is amazing, I loved watching this

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@BrittneyStAubin]

Stef is badass!

[@diplomog]

Such a cool place

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@MirandaPurpleClouds]

This is a very interesting video!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@merelymayhem]

great video

[@manicantsettleonausername6789]

This is amazing!

[@saskiahorton]

this is my nerdy queer archivist dream!!!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@JaffaCakeGecko]

Any plans to digitise the collection?

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@musicbyella3769]

I am once again thinking I may want to be an archivist… anyway tumblr will love this one, great video!

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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[@CaityLouise85]

Great video - I love seeing people just be passionate about what they do! Personally I would suggest not having music play over the whole video, I find it quite distracting when people are talking and not sure what the benefit would be.

[@Hannah_Witton.]

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