February marks LGBTQ+ history month – a chance to learn and educate ourselves on LGBTQ+ history, and celebrate those who have fought, and are still fighting, for a more inclusive society and the right to be their truest self. Kent has long been home to people who challenged the conformist norms around gender and sexuality, and we’re proud to celebrate them and their impact in their fields of work and on our history. Let’s raise the rainbow flag together...
Smallhythe Place was the home of Edy Craig, costume designer and founder of the Pioneer Players, a group of writers dedicated to creating and producing propaganda plays addressing societal issues of the time. Edy lived with her partners, the writer Christopher St Josh, born Christabel Marshall, and artist Clare ‘Tony’ Atwood. The trio lived extraordinarily uncloseted during their time living together from 1916-1947 with Christopher and Tony adopted male names and masculine clothes too - the three’s openness to their own gender fluidity and sexuality influenced their pioneering work that is still significant today.
Knole Park was the family home of novelist, poet and gardener Vita Sackville-West before she married diplomat and writer Harold Nicolson. They enjoyed an open marriage and a series of same sex-relationships, and most notable among them was Vita’s relationship with the writer Virigina Woolf. They had a passionate relationship until Virginia’s death and inspired much of their writings. Virginia famously used Knole as the setting for her novel, Orlando, and a manuscript gifted to Sackville-West is on display at Knole today. Upon Vita’s fathers death, Knole was passed to her cousin, Eddy Sackville-West.
Sackville-West and her husband moved to Sissinghurst Castle in 1930, where the stunning gardens designed by Vita still attract visitors from across the country. During their time at Sissinghurst, a photograph of Virginia Woolf sat on Vita's desk, alongside another portrait of a former lover, Violet Trefusis. There are also over 11,000 books sit at Sissinghurst today that were owned by the couple, including radical queer authors such as Virginia Woolf, W.H.Auden, D.H.Lawrence, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman and Stephen Spender.
Racers, start your engines! Many drag queens have graced Ru Paul’s stage, but two of Kent’s own made herstory when they represented our county on season three of Drag Race UK! Our – spoiler alert! – winner of season three Krystal Versace celebrated her roots with her Garden of England-themed look for the Hometown runway challenge, and who could forget our Kentish queen River Medway, who wears her hometown name proudly! Now everyone, do the Thomas Waghorn pose…
