We're delighted that @FuturesBroken will be doing this month's #QBTakeover with a queer walking tour of Reading. Broken Futures is a community-based project delivered by @SupportULGBT a support and wellbeing charity in the Thames Valley.

This is Reading’s Assizes Court. Before 1967, sex between men was a criminal offence and travelling judges would come to conduct trials here. This is where the majority of the men in our research had their cases heard. Find out more at http://www.brokenfutures.co.uk  #QBTakeover

Reading Gaol is where a number of ordinary Berkshire men were imprisoned as a result of having sex with other men, along with famous inmate Oscar Wilde. It’s now closed, and there is an ongoing debate about its future. Listen to our seminar series http://www.brokenfutures.co.uk/seminars 

The Wynford Arms, or Wynnie, was the first and longest serving gay pub in Reading and opened in 1992. During the times the Section 28 of the LGA and amidst the AIDs epidemic, it was a vital meeting place for the LGBT+ community. It closed after 22 years following a rent rise.

The Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, held in Reading, used this factory name as a euphemism: homosexuals were Huntleys, and prostitutes were Palmers. Designers also secretly incorporated a number of queer elements into the factory’s biscuit tins.

Reading’s University has links with the Wolfenden Committee, run by its former Vice-Chancellor Lord Wolfenden. The committee recommended that homosexual sex should be decriminalised in certain circumstances, and these were enacted into law 10 years later http://www.thewolfendenreport.com 

The 3Bs bar quickly became the go to place for the local LGBT community after opening in 1989. Even in the midst of the prohibition on local authorities promoting homosexuality as a so-called 'pretend family relationship’, this council-owned site was open to the queer community.

LGBT+ support charity in Thames Valley and celebrates 10 years in 2021! Holds vital services: from frontline support, group support and counselling, to heritage projects like @FuturesBroken. The charity has been a vital centre for the community. http://www.supportu.org.uk/contactus 

This thread is by @FuturesBroken is a community-based project that has trained volunteers in archival and genealogical research to trace men convicted of offences involving sex with another man in Berkshire between 1861 – 1967. Funded by @HeritageFundUK http://www.brokenfutures.co.uk