When it comes to queer history, there is a certain level of pressure to ‘prove it.’ How can you tell that an object, a space, building or area of a city has a queer past? There are so many hidden histories that are simply forgotten about over time but queer communities have always been here. CJ De Barra recounts the stories of some of the objects on show at Nottingham Castle, on their LGBTQ+ audio walking tour.
So many queer stories were never written down, whether that be because of the law, stigma, or homophobia in society, yet queer people have always existed and glimmers of their history are to be found in art and things around us. ‘They were roommates’ is one typical reading when looking at queer art - now a meme-worthy joke online - but thankfully, we increasingly have historians working to collect stories, patch together fragments of forgotten queer histories and also, to teach us how to look at objects differently. To 'queer' them by applying, well, what if?
Nottingham Castle is a space of rebellion so it is only right that it would have stories of queer lives. After all, queer life is a rebellion and a protest in itself.
This is the case of Nottingham Castle, which has just unveiled a new audio history tour that takes in objects around the space and the space itself. Midlands4Cities and Nottingham Trent University PhD student Emma Fearon designed the tour while researching the collection the castle owns. The tour demonstrates how we can find and interpret LGBTQI+ histories and examine artworks and stories to find evidence of LGBTQI+ lives and lovers.
Nottingham Castle is a space of rebellion so it is only right that it would have stories of queer lives. After all, queer life is a rebellion and a protest in itself - to exist and take up space in a straight world is not always easy when rights are being rolled back and Pride months erased from certain calendars.
Emma, who also narrates the audio tour, digs deep for the research, going right back to 1640 but also including recent histories such as Nottingham Pride (or ‘Pink Lace’ as it was initially called) from 1998 and 1999. The tour is called Nottingham Castle’s LGBTQI+ Lives and Lovers and can be accessed for free via the Nottingham Castle guide on the Bloomberg Connects app. The tour has eight stops, each marked on a floor plan accessed on the app and takes less than half an hour to complete.
One of the most intriguing items is the Lover’s Bowl created by ceramist Karen Atherley in 1994. The bowl was commissioned by the family, friends and colleagues of Neil Millner, who worked at Nottingham City Museums as a trading manager until he died in 1993. The bowl was created by Neil’s partner, Andrew Chamberlain. Neil fell in love with an identical piece called the Lover’s Vase by the same artist. He was heartbroken to learn it had sold, but overjoyed to find out his partner had bought it for him.
The beautiful ceramic bowl has painted depictions of lovers as a celebration of love and sexuality. It is a stunning object that almost appears Greek in design.
The earliest piece is the painting Hercules Vanquishing Diomedes, which is the earliest-known work by the French artist Charles le Brun, painted in about 1640. This was one of a series, depicting the ‘Labours of Hercules’, which were commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu for the Palais Cardinal (now called the Palais Royal). Although there is no queer history behind the painting or painter, Emma’s tour highlights how there are famous stories that resonate with LGBT+ lives. After throwing his friend Iphitos over the walls of the city of Tiryns in a murderous rage, Hercules is ordered to live in servitude to Queen Omphale. Omphale orders Hercules to dress and live as a woman. This resonated with a transgender artist who designed a performance piece based on this artwork in 2022.
Nottingham Castle has been a part of Pride celebrations over the years, including being the location for the event itself in the late 1990s. The second and third Prides were joyful celebrations, and where is more Nottingham to hold such an event than our castle? Hundreds of local, and some not so local, LGBT+ people visited the space for the event, which had stalls, live music and performances.
In fact, thanks to the deliberate choice to hold Nottingham’s Pink Lace festival in September, it meant that it was the last celebration of the season. This also means that in 1999, Nottingham Castle was the location for the last LGBT+ Pride celebration of the century. Saving the very best for last.
To listen to the audio tour, visit Nottingham Castle, download the Bloomberg Connects app and search for Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery.
nottinghamcastle.org.uk
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