Earls Court: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:06, 10 July 2026

Earls Court, or Earl's Court, is a district of London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

LGBT History

In the 1970s and 1980s it was one of the main gay areas of London, but most or all of the businesses aimed at gay men have disappeared, as Soho and Vauxhall established themselves as the focus of gay nightlife.

The first public nightclub aimed at a gay clientele, The Copacabana, opened in Earls Court Road in the late 1970s, but was re-themed as a general venue in the late 1990s. The bar upstairs, Harpies and Louies, was until the late 1980s the most popular gay bar in London. It is now the Wagamama restaurant.

In 1964, The Lord Ranelagh Pub (opposite the former Princess Beatrice Hospital) spearheaded the local demand for live entertainment with the "Queen of the Month" contest was born. The pub underwent several different incarnations as a gay nightclub, the last as "Infinity", but is now closed.

The Coleherne dates from the 1880s and had a long history of attracting a bohemian clientele before becoming known as a gay pub. A life-long resident of Earls Court Square, Jennifer Ware, recollects as a child being taken there to Sunday lunch in the 1930s, when drag entertainers performed after lunch had finished. In the 1970s it became a notorious Leather bar, with blacked-out windows, attracting an international crowd including the likes of Freddie Mercury, Kenny Everett and Rudolf Nureyev. It also became infamous as the stalking ground for three separate serial killers from the 1970s to the 1990s: Dennis Nilsen, Michael Lupo and Colin Ireland. It sought to lighten its image with a makeover in the mid-1990s to attract a wider clientele; to no avail, as in December 2008 it underwent a major refurbishment and repositioned itself as a gastro pub as "the Pembroke".

The Boltons, near the Coleherne, was "one of the seedier gay venues, with drugs and prostitutes helping to create a pretty depressing atmosphere. The brewery eventually called time changing it to a Victorian Dining room and later an Irish Theme pub."^[1]

The Adonis Art Gallery flourished near the Coleherne for many years, but the business is now web-based only.

In the 1970s Harold Haywood and others were involved in the Earls Court Project, aimed at helping gay young people in the area ^[2].

1997 Listings for Earl's Court

Gay London, 1997 lists 20 establishments in Earls Court:

Pubs & Bars

Hotels

Gyms

Earl's Court Gym

Cafés & Restaurants

References

Partly based on a Wikipedia article.

↑ http://www.kemglen.talktalk.net/stradivarius/OurHistory1.htm
↑ HCA Archives at LSE- Albany Trust Youth Officer papers have a set of minutes for a meeting of the Earls Court Project 19 May 1977

[1] ttp://www.kemglen.talktalk.net/stradivarius/OurHistory1.htm

[2] HCA Archives at LSE- Albany Trust Youth Officer papers have a set of minutes for a meeting of the Earls Court Project 19 May 1977

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Earls Court''' is a district of [[London]], in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In the 1970s and 1980s it was one of the main gay areas of London. More recently the number of businesses aimed mostly at gay men has dwindled to a couple of retail outlets, including [[Adonis Art Gallery]], as [[Soho]] and [[Vauxhall]] established themselves as the focus of gay nightlife. The first public nightclub aimed at a gay clientele, The [[Copacabana]], opened in Earls Court Road in the late 1970s, but was re-themed as a general venue in the late 1990s. The bar upstairs, [[Harpies and Louies]], was until the late 1980s the most popular gay bar in London. It is now the Wagamama restaurant.
+[[File:Earls Court Exhibition Centre.jpg|thumb|Earls Court Exhibition Centre]]'''Earls Court''', or '''Earl's Court''', is a district of [[London]], in the Royal Borough of [[Kensington and Chelsea]].
-In 1964, The [[Lord Ranelagh]] Pub (opposite the former Princess Beatrice Hospital) spearheaded the local demand for live entertainment. A young, non-gay, male band, The Downtowners, attracted considerable attention. They persuaded many of the local cross-dressers to come into the pub and perform. Thus, the Queen of the Month contest was born. Every Saturday night the pub was packed to capacity. The show ran from September 1964 until May 1965 when the News of the World ran an article entitled 'This show must not go on.' On that Sunday night the pub was so packed that every table and chair had to be removed. Crowds spilled out on to the pavement onto Old Brompton Road. The police closed the show. Many well known celebrities were among the clientele and the Lord Ranelagh is considered to have played a role in the history of gay liberation. The pub underwent several different incarnations as a gay nightclub, the last as "Infinity", but is now closed.
+==LGBT History==
-The Pembroke pub, formerly the [[Coleherne]], dates from the 1880s and had a long history of attracting a bohemian clientele before becoming known as a gay pub. A life-long resident of Earls Court Square, Jennifer Ware, recollects as a child being taken there to Sunday lunch in the 1930s, when drag entertainers performed after lunch had finished. In the 1970s it became a notorious Leather bar, with blacked-out windows, attracting an international crowd including the likes of [[Freddie Mercury]], [[Kenny Everett]] and [[Rudolf Nureyev]]. It also became infamous as the stalking ground for three separate serial killers from the 1970s to the 1990s: [[Dennis Nilsen]], [[Michael Lupo]] and [[Colin Ireland]]. It sought to lighten its image with a makeover in the mid-1990s to attract a wider clientele; to no avail, as in December 2008 it underwent a major refurbishment and repositioned itself as a gastro pub with a new name.
+In the 1970s and 1980s it was one of the main gay areas of London, but most or all of the businesses aimed at gay men have disappeared, as [[Soho]] and [[Vauxhall]] established themselves as the focus of gay nightlife.
+The first public nightclub aimed at a gay clientele, The [[Copacabana]], opened in Earls Court Road in the late 1970s, but was re-themed as a general venue in the late 1990s. The bar upstairs, [[Harpies and Louies]], was until the late 1980s the most popular gay bar in London. It is now the Wagamama restaurant.
+In 1964, The [[Lord Ranelagh]] Pub (opposite the former Princess Beatrice Hospital) spearheaded the local demand for live entertainment with the "Queen of the Month" contest was born. The pub underwent several different incarnations as a gay nightclub, the last as "Infinity", but is now closed.
+The [[Coleherne]] dates from the 1880s and had a long history of attracting a bohemian clientele before becoming known as a gay pub. A life-long resident of Earls Court Square, Jennifer Ware, recollects as a child being taken there to Sunday lunch in the 1930s, when drag entertainers performed after lunch had finished. In the 1970s it became a notorious Leather bar, with blacked-out windows, attracting an international crowd including the likes of [[Freddie Mercury]], [[Kenny Everett]] and [[Rudolf Nureyev]]. It also became infamous as the stalking ground for three separate serial killers from the 1970s to the 1990s: [[Dennis Nilsen]], [[Michael Lupo]] and [[Colin Ireland]]. It sought to lighten its image with a makeover in the mid-1990s to attract a wider clientele; to no avail, as in December 2008 it underwent a major refurbishment and repositioned itself as a gastro pub as "the Pembroke".
+The [[Boltons]], near the Coleherne, was "one of the seedier gay venues, with drugs and prostitutes helping to create a pretty depressing atmosphere. The brewery eventually called time changing it to a Victorian Dining room and later an Irish Theme pub."<ref>http://www.kemglen.talktalk.net/stradivarius/OurHistory1.htm</ref>
+The [[Adonis Art Gallery]] flourished near the Coleherne for many years, but the business is now web-based only.
+In the 1970s Harold Haywood and others were involved in the Earls Court Project, aimed at helping gay young people in the area <ref> HCA Archives at LSE- Albany Trust Youth Officer papers have a set of minutes for a meeting of the Earls Court Project 19 May 1977 </ref>.
+==1997 Listings for Earl's Court==
+[[Gay London, 1997|''Gay London'', 1997]]  lists 20 establishments in Earls Court:
+===Pubs & Bars===
+*[[The Coleherne]]
+*[[Earl's]]
+*[[Stiffy's]]
+*[[Brompton's]]
+*[[Club 180]]
+===Hotels===
+*[[Hotel George]]
+*[[Hotel Halifax]]
+*[[New York Hotel]]
+*[[Philbeach Hotel]]
+===Gyms===
+*[[Earl's Court Gym]]
+===Cafés & Restaurants===
+*[[Balans West]]
+*[[Café Au-reole]]
+*[[La Liberté]]
+*[[Roy's]]
+*[[Wilde about Oscar]]
 ==References==
-Based on a Wikipedia article.
+Partly based on a Wikipedia article.
+<references/>
 [[Category:London]]
+[[Category:Earls Court| ]]
+[[Category:Localities in London]]