Visitors examining items from the RCP archive at the RCP venue in London

Join us for an evening exploring the long, rich and inspiring history of LGBTQ+ lives through fascinating and potentially challenging items from the RCP archives, museum and heritage library.

Register FREE with Art Tickets

LGBTQ+ stories can be traced back at least 350 years in our collections and cover the experiences of LGBTQ+ people, including physicians, as well as the views of a society that medicalised them. What contributions did physicians make to the Wolfenden Report? Which RCP licentiate lived with his male partner and was a leading figure in the Pan-Africanist movement? Who was Dorothy Hare’s ‘inseparable’ companion? And when did two medical students from Cambridge embark on an ‘unbroken marriage of souls’?

There will be short introductions to the items on display at 6pm and 7pm with rare books librarian Katie Birkwood and assistant archivist Felix Lancashire. You can also drop-in anytime between 5.30pm and 8pm to see the items up close and chat to the team.

Explore our exhibitions and collections

While visiting the museum you will also have the opportunity to:

  • Explore exhibition ‘Fortitude: healthcare workers’ experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic’.
  • Discover our fascinating Treasures Room of medical implements, ceremonial silver and the Prujean chest of surgical tools.
  • Enjoy the fine art, and other collections on display around the building.

The Regent’s Perk café will be open for drinks.

LGBT+ History month badge for 2024 showing a rainbow heart circled by a stethoscope

LGBT+ History month

This event is one of two events we are hosting as part of LGBT+ History Month to support the aim to increase the visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT+”) people, their history, lives and their experiences in the wider community. This year's theme is 'Medicine - #UnderTheScope':

'[This month] celebrates LGBT+ peoples’ contribution to the field of Medicine and Healthcare both historically and today. We want to showcase the amazing work of LGBT+ staff across the NHS and in other healthcare settings, in providing healthcare, especially during the Pandemic. Whilst still shining a light on the history of the LGBT+ community’s experience of receiving healthcare which has been extremely complicated leaving LGBT+ people still facing health inequalities even today.'

Find out more about the festival and other events you can attend here.

Book our other LGBT+ History month event here.

Access requirements

Please advise us if anyone in your party has any special access requirements at history@rcp.ac.uk.

We have limited car parking spaces available for disabled visitors please contact us to book these in advance. 

The RCP aims to be welcoming and accessible to all. Find out more about our facilities and access: https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/visit-us/accessibility