Hunters Pride month happenings: the queer history of Soho
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During my time at Hunters I have found that everyone seems to have a keen interest in local history (understandable given we work in such a wonderful location!) - and it seems to me that there is something about working for a firm that is over 300 years old that makes you think about your own place in history too.
And so in honour of Pride Month, it seemed particularly apt for our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) team to organise a walking tour of Soho, following Historic England's excellent '130 Years of Queer Soho (or thereabouts)' map.
On a balmy June evening, we set off on our walk and learned about all male bars in Piccadilly in the late 1800s, the words we've inherited from Polari, and the shared history of lesbian bars and punk music - as well as the more traumatic aspects of LGBT+ history in London, like the bombing at the Admiral Duncan just 24 years ago.
I cannot recommend Historic England's tour enough - a huge amount of learning but also food for thought in terms of our own role in contributing to a more open, diverse, equitable, and inclusive society.
