LGBTQ+ - Wakefield Museums and Castles

A display case containing rainbow pride memorabilia

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ stories and histories are an important part of the Wakefield district.

Discover drag superstars and inspirational artists. Explore the history of Wakefield Pride from the people who made it happen.

Find out more

A black and white oil pastel self-portrait of Fern, trying to squeeze themself back into a box. The box reads 'Defective - return to creator'

Boxed In (From Whence You Came) by Fern Woodhead

This piece explores Fern's feelings about “being a queer person in an inherently non-queer society”.

A crowd at a pride event from the 2010 Wakefield Pride poster

Organising the first Wakefield Pride

Find out about the ups and downs of organising the first ever Wakefield Pride in 2005.

A bright red bobbed wig with darker red undertones, on a bejewelled and glittery mannequin head on display at Wakefield Museum

Madam Connie's wig, 2010s

Out of the closet - discover Madam Connie's drag wardrobe!

Madam Connie showing off her black velvet and golden hologrammed sequin dress, holding up the golden cape. She is wearing a black bobbed wig and has gold eyeshadow, and looks fabulous!

LGBT+ History Month 2023: Behind the Lens

Discover local legends Sue Riley and Madam Connie in this blog written for LGBT+ History Month 2023.

A sketch depicting two seated schoolboys by the riverbank, with further studies of male figures reclining on one another. The seated schoolboys are in colour, wearing navy blue blazers and shorts, and pale green caps and socks.

Sketches, Albert Wainwright, early 1900s

Albert Wainwright was an important artist from Castleford. His work includes rare depictions of gay intimacy in the early 1900s.

A hardcover book with the title Live and let live: the moral of the Wolfenden Report on it

Live and Let Live: The Moral of the Wolfenden Report, 1967

Lord Wolfenden grew up in Wakefield. His report led to gay relationships between men becoming legal.

A pastel coloured wedding invitation for Michelle and Lyn's wedding at Westgate Chapel in 2016

Wedding invitation, 2016

Michelle and Lyn’s wedding was one of the first religious same sex marriages in Wakefield.