Stanley Street Quarter

In keeping with Liverpool's history as a major seafaring port, the local gay community can be traced as far back as the Victorian era. Whilst in the past research into this area has been limited and scarce, interest has grown considerably in recent times.

In his 2011 lecture Policing Sex Between Men: 1850–1971, historian Jeff Evans examined 70,000 criminal records dating back to 1850 and was able to shed light on hundreds of records of men prosecuted under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (the law used to prosecute Oscar Wilde) found in the court papers of Liverpool and North West England.[3][4][5]

The legacy of Victorian laws and homosexual criminalisation meant that the city's lesbian and gay community would be largely underground for the next century and little is known about it during this period. However, recent research has highlighted the existence of an unofficial gay quarter around Queen Square from as early as the 1940s, which earned itself the nickname "Covent Garden of the North".[6] Although sex between consenting men was not decriminalised until the Sexual Offences Act 1967, the gay community enjoyed relative acceptance in this area and establishments such as the Stork Hotel, the Roebuck, Spanish House, Magic Clock, Royal Court, and The Dart all boasted a substantial gay clientele, albeit liaisons were still held in secret to a degree.[7][6] By the early 1970s, a society named 'The Homophile Society', which campaigned for homosexual equality, was formed at the University of Liverpool.[8]

The building of the new St. John's Shopping Centre and subsequent demolition of the original Queen Square meant the gay community was forced to find a new home and by 1972, with the opening of Paco's, the community had now began to settle around Stanley Street in what was to develop into Liverpool's modern day Gay Quarter.[9]

Research into Liverpool's gay past took a significant turning point in 2004 as part of the inaugural Homotopia celebrations, the city's home grown gay arts festival. A major project titled 'Tales From Yester-Queer' organised in conjunction with The Armistead Project, Unity Theatre and Liverpool Record Office, became the first ever attempt to pay tribute to the experiences of older lesbian and gay Liverpudlians. The project involved collecting and collating various spoken, written and video sources, as well as a short film commission 'Gayzin Liverpool', produced by local filmmaker Sandi Hughes.[24][25][26]

The event became the catalyst for a major public perspective of gay and lesbian Liverpool and shortly followed was 'Our Story Liverpool', an oral history resource which recorded the experiences of community members from the 1930s to the present day.[27][28]

A similar and more recent project titled "Pink: Past & Present" has also explored the rich lesbian and gay history of the city[29] which had its world premier in November 2010.[30][31]

In June 2008, Liverpool City Council launched a Public consultation on the partial pedestrianisation of streets in the gay quarter, with a view to enhancing the night time leisure experience of the area.[32] The council had originally proposed to restrict traffic in Stanley Street, Cumberland Street and Eberle Street after 6pm with the use of automatic hydraulic bollards at strategic locations.

After concerns were raised over restricted access to the streets by some businesses in the area, the City Council proposed to reduce hours of street closure and held a second consultation in November 2008.[33] It was decided that reduced hours of street closure would be a compromise to accommodate deliveries to some day-time businesses in the area.

As a result of campaigns from the LGBT community, the Council held a third consultation between Friday 23 January 2009 and Friday 20 February 2009, and proposed longer hours of pedestrianisation. After analysing public opinion, the City Council decided that hours proposed the third time round were insufficient in ensuring pedestrian safety.

A fourth and final consultation was held in September 2009 and no objections from the public were lodged.[34]

Liverpool's gay quarter was finally pedestrianised on 10 December 2009. Stanley Street is now closed to traffic between 10pm-6am seven days of the week, Cumberland Street is closed between 6pm-6am seven days of the week, and Eberle Street is closed for 24 hours of the day seven days of the week.[35] This will be further reviewed in 2014 as part of a public consultation on the future aspirations of the area led by the new Community Interest Company.

Thanks to pedestrianisation and a cooperative effort to promote the Stanley Street quarter to shoppers and tourists, a number of day time community events were launched in 2012 including Mother's Day celebrations, an Arts & Literature Day, and a series of monthly markets with street entertainment and pavement cafes.[36][37]

Banners welcome people to the Stanley Street Quarter

Initial plans to revamp Liverpool's gay quarter were unveiled in February 2011 after detailed consultation with the public and stakeholders. City leaders believe a vibrant gay village around Stanley Street is key to the future economic success of Liverpool city centre as an international tourist destination. Urban planner Feria Urbanism carried out a £12,000 study in conjunction with the City Council[38] to formulate a vision for the gay quarter to put it on a par with the best in the UK.[39] The company is consulted with businesses and residents in the area to see how public areas and safety can be improved. With the founding of the new Community Interest Company the area's steering group recognised that there was a need to refresh this strategy and an update, looking in more detail at platemaking is expected to be launched in May 2014, in time for the International Festival for Business 2014.

Cllr Nick Small, cabinet member for employment and skills, said: "We have made strides in recent years and are being seen as a more gay-friendly city than was the case a few years ago. We now need to look at how we can develop and promote the quarter."[40]

As a result of this report in 2011, numerous regeneration options for the Stanley Street quarter were under discussion and include new rainbow coloured paving, artworks, gateway features, street-tree planting, new outdoor seating and street furniture, and a new public square.[41] A consultation on Feria Urbanism's draft report titled "Stanley Street: Strategic direction for a vital urban quarter (May 2011)" has taken place. Suggestions for which organisations and stakeholders should take responsibility for proposed actions and recommendations have also been made, and it is envisaged that initial stages of regeneration should take place over the next 2–5 years, with a longer term vision.[42] As part of the first phase of redevelopment, Liverpool became the first city in the UK to install street signage bearing the rainbow coloured Gay Pride flag on 11 November 2011. The signage identifies the city's Gay Quarter located on Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street.[43]

Leeds delegation to Stanley Street Quarter (March 2012)

In December 2013, Liverpool City Council approved the formation of a dedicated firm to help attract investment into and improve the quarter. The Stanley Street Quarter Community interest company will be registered in time for 2014. The move builds on work that has taken place since 2011 including the setting up of a steering group involving councillors and representatives of the quarter, which has looked at ways of boosting the village's image as a local, national and international visitor destination. The new company will actively seek to involve stakeholders and the public in its efforts to develop the area, including reserved places on the 'Board of Directors' for local businesses and interested members of the public.[44][45]

Map of Liverpool's gay quarter with list of venues (As of August 2013)

VisitBritain, Britain's national tourism agency, acknowledges Liverpool as one of Britain's most notable gay cities, and recognises the growing investment in the Gay Quarter.[46][47] Liverpool City Council hopes that further investment, including partial pedestrianisation will further promote Liverpool as a gay destination.[48] In a similar fashion to most other major British cities, the gay scene of Liverpool is fast changing with several bars and clubs often changing in ownership and offer, but there are roughly a dozen night time establishments operating in the quarter at any given time within a 200-metre (one eighth of a mile) radius of Stanley Street. There are also numerous other gay frequented venues dotted elsewhere around the city centre.[49][50] The oldest and longest running venue is The Curzon which opened its doors as a predominantly gay men's bar in 1988,[51][52] although it is often contested that the oldest venue is in fact The Lisbon which has claimed a considerable gay following since well before the 1970s.[8][53][54]