In 2024, I showed Oscar from Denver, Colorado the highlights of London. It was his first time in England. In contrast, Thanh and I have been to the capital of the United Kingdom many times. During the weekend of Pentecost 2026, we went together for a weekend of museums, food, and a concert.

Queer Britain or the British National LGBTQ+ Museum has been on my wishlist since it opened in 2022. LGBTQIA+ themed museums and exhibitions are getting somewhat common, so I was curious. 

Queer Britain: preserving and celebrating LGBTQ+ history in the UK

Located on Granary Square in London’s King’s Cross area, Queer Britain is the United Kingdom’s first dedicated museum devoted to LGBTQ+ history and culture. Since opening its permanent space in May 2022, the museum has become an important cultural institution, documenting the lives, activism, creativity and experiences of queer people across Britain while also creating a welcoming and inclusive public space.

The museum occupies the ground floor of 2 Granary Square, close to the regenerated canalside area around King’s Cross. Inside are three connected galleries, alongside a museum shop and additional office and studio spaces below ground level. 

Admission operates on a pay-what-you-can basis, helping to keep the museum accessible to a broad audience. The venue is fully step-free and includes accessible and gender-neutral facilities.

Founded in 2018 by former Gay Times editor Joseph Galliano-Doig and Ian Mehrtens, the project was created to address the absence of a permanent national museum dedicated to British queer history. 

The organisation officially became a registered charity in 2019 and spent its early years organising temporary exhibitions and community projects while searching for a permanent home.

From temporary exhibitions to a permanent museum

Before establishing itself in King’s Cross, Queer Britain organised a number of smaller exhibitions across London and elsewhere in the UK. One of its earliest projects was ‘Our Naked Skin‘, presented in collaboration with Salisbury Arts Centre in 2018. The exhibition explored LGBTQ+ identity and included an oral history initiative titled ‘Virtually Queer‘. In 2019, the organisation presented ‘Chosen Family‘ at Mercer Street Showrooms in Covent Garden, focusing on the networks of friendship and support that have historically played a central role in queer communities.

Queer Britain officially opened its permanent museum on 5 May 2022, shortly before the 50th anniversary of the UK’s first Gay Pride march. Its introductory exhibition, ‘Welcome to Queer Britain‘, drew from the museum’s growing photography archive and introduced visitors to the breadth of Britain’s queer history. 

Shortly afterwards, the museum launched its first major exhibition, ‘We Are Queer Britain‘, which filled all three gallery spaces and explored LGBTQ+ life through personal stories, objects, photography and art. The exhibition later received the Museums Association’s Best Small Museum Project award as part of the Museums Change Lives campaign.

The museum’s collection continues to grow and is partly housed at the Bishopsgate Institute when not on display. Alongside preserving objects and archives, the institution has also embraced digital storytelling and immersive technology, including what it describes as the world’s first virtual reality museum dedicated to queer histories and artistic expression.

Exploring queer stories and identities

Following a refurbishment in late 2025, the museum reopened in February 2026 with a redesigned collections gallery organised around six broad themes: ‘Resist!‘, ‘Club Kids‘, ‘Queer Creativity‘, ‘Body and Mind‘, ‘Live, Laugh, Love‘, and ‘The World Around Us‘. These thematic sections allow visitors to explore different aspects of LGBTQ+ life, ranging from activism and nightlife to relationships, health and artistic expression.

Among the stories and artefacts featured in the updated galleries are materials connected to the Black Lesbian and Gay Centre, the influential South Asian club night Club Kali, the women’s liberation music movement and the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt. 

The museum also explores the relationship between Bloomsbury Group figures Lytton Strachey and Dora Carrington, demonstrating how queer history intersects with broader British cultural history.

Special exhibitions launched alongside the reopening included ‘Queer Print‘ and ‘40 Years of BFI Flare‘, celebrating LGBTQ+ publishing and the long-running LGBTQ+ film festival organised by the British Film Institute. Other displays have highlighted pioneering figures such as Justin Fashanu, the first professional footballer to publicly come out as gay.

A cultural and community space

Beyond its exhibitions, Queer Britain positions itself as both a museum and a community space. The museum shop sells books, greetings cards and merchandise created by queer artists and independent makers, with proceeds supporting the organisation’s work. 

The institution regularly hosts talks, workshops and events that encourage discussion around identity, heritage and representation.

In a relatively short time, Queer Britain has become an important addition to London’s cultural landscape and a visible symbol of LGBTQ+ representation in the UK. By collecting personal histories, preserving archives and presenting stories that have often been overlooked in traditional museums, it offers visitors a deeper understanding of Britain’s queer past and present.

A visit

Queer Britain has relatively limited opening hours, only opening at noon. But other places at the Coal Drops Yard and King’s Cross Central also only opened late. Sop maybe it’s a theme there. 

Queer Britain is a small museum, but it makes the good choice of working with specific themes and not just a broad overview. Hopefully, the exhibitions will change quite often to have visitors coming back. 

The shop has some fun and quirky merchandise, such as a gay bar of soap. But my backpack was full. 

Go and pay Queer Britain a visit. You don’t need hours. 

Pentecost weekend in London 2026

1. EUROSTAR | From Brussels to London in Eurostar Plus (2026).
2. LONDON | Coal Drops Yard at King’s Cross Central.