Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History at Tameside Local Studies and Archives Unit

LGBT Books

We collect general books on the history of LGBT people in Britain and any books which relate specifically to LGBT history in the towns of Tameside or the Manchester area. If you know of any important title not held here, please tell us and we will consider adding it to our stock (if it is in print). These books are shelved at L301.4.

LGBT Archive Material

At present we hold very little material relating to the LGBT community in the Tameside area.

We would be very happy to take any records of this type to improve our coverage of the community. Examples of material in a typical archive collection include letters and correspondence, minutes, reports, research notes, photograph albums, financial records. So if you have minutes from a group you belonged to, your old diaries or copies of letters you wrote or received, they would make a great addition to the collection. We can take records as a deposit so that depositors retain ownership. Similarly, public access to records can be restricted until they are, say, 30 or 100 years old.

Photographs

We hold a large photographic archive for the towns of Tameside, but most date from before the 1960s. They include photographs of individuals, buildings, events, pubs and clubs. We are always keen to add photographs to the archive. If you have any you would like to donate, please let us know. You don’t have to give us the originals unless you want to, as we can make copies which can be added to the archive. The photograph database can be searched online at http://www.tameside.gov.uk/history.

Oral History

Oral history recordings are a good way of recording memories. They capture the life stories of people and can really illustrate everyday life in a way no other source can. We have a good collection of oral history recordings and transcripts for the Tameside area, but unfortunately none of them include interviews with people from the LGBT community. We are very keen to rectify this, so if you would like to be interviewed, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you. Interviews usually take around an hour to conduct. Although we do make them available for public use, they can be edited or closed to the public for a period specified by the interviewee.

Ephemera

We collect material designed to be thrown away after a short life - such as posters, fliers, leaflets and short runs of community organisations' newsletters. Relevant material of this type is stored in files at L301.415. We are keen to add to this collection – newsletters are of particular interest.

Recovering LGBT History

We provide a file in the Local Studies Library for researchers to note references to LGBT people when they come across them in the course of their studies. We hope this will eventually become a useful source in itself.

Some Useful Websites

LGBT History Month

Includes useful links and resources, and a calendar of LGBT History Month Events
http://www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk 

Manchester Archives LGBT History Guide

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/448/archives_and_local_studies/520/lgbt_source_guide/1 

Lesbian and Gay Foundation

LGF has an archive and library specialising in HIV, sexuality, sexual health and mental health reference books and lesbian and gay fiction. It also holds collections of Attitude magazine 1994-present, The Pink Paper 1991-present and many other lesbian and gay publications such as Gay Times, Gay News, Diva and Boyz.
http://www.lgf.org.uk 

Labour History Archive and Study Centre

Hold the papers of Peter Tatchell 1971-1999 (ref: TAT), and records of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, 1984-1987 (ref: LGSM).
http://www.phm.org.uk 

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Tameside Local Studies and Archives Central Library Old Street Ashton-Under-Lyne OL6 7SG  View local map
0161 342 4242
0161 342 4245