View source for Timeline of London Bars and Clubs

[[File:Coleherne.jpg|thumb|The Coleherne]]The gay scene in London has always been centred around the [[West End]], especially [[Soho]]. In the 1980s some clubs opened up in [[Earls Court]], where the rent was cheaper. In the 1990s, the scene reverted back to [[Soho]], revitalised by new style bars like [[The Village]]. [[Vauxhall]] became the locus of gay clubs from 2000. Included in the following timeline are bars and clubs in Earl’s Court and Vauxhall, though they are not strictly in the West End.

== 1720s ==
The Golden Ball (Bond's Stables, off Chancery Lane).

Jenny Greensleeves' Molly House (Durham Yard, off the Strand).<ref>http://www.rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1729neav.htm [[Rictor Norton]], ''Life of Thomas Neaves 1729'', ''Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England''</ref>

Julius Caesar Taylor's Molly House (Tottenham Court Road).<ref name=gu16 />

Plump Nelly's Molly House (St James's Square, St James's).<ref name=gu16>http://rictornorton.co.uk/gu16.htm  [[Rictor Norton]], ''The Georgian Underworld'', Chapter 16, "Mother Clap's Molly House & Deputy Marshall Hitchin"</ref>

Royal Oak Molly House (Giltspur Street, Smithfield)<ref name=gu16 />

Three Tobacco Rolls (Covent Garden).

'''1724''' [[Mother Clap's Molly House]], closed 1726 (Holborn).

== 1770s ==
Harlequin (Nag's Head Court, Covent Garden)

== 1800s ==
'''1810''' [[The White Swan, Vere Street]] (Vere Street)

'''1832''' [[Admiral Duncan]] (54 Old Compton Street, Soho)

The [[Hundred Guineas Club]] (Portland Place)

'''1866''' The [[Coleherne]], gay from the 1950s?, closed 24 September 2008 (261 Earls Court Road, Earls Court)

'''1889''' 19 Cleveland Street, as in the [[Cleveland Street scandal]]

'''1893''' [[St James's restaurant|St James's]]

'''1896''' [[Trocadero Long Bar]] Shaftesbury Avenue

== 1900s ==
'''1905''' [[Criterion]]

'''1912''' The Cave of the Golden Calf (9 Heddon Street, Mayfair)

== 1910s ==
'''1910''' [[York Minster]], later The [[French House]] (49 Dean Street, Soho)

== 1920s ==
The [[Marquis of Granby]] in [[Soho]].

The [[Hungry Horse]].<ref>[[James Kirkup]], ''A Poet Could not but be Gay'', page 195.</ref>

[[Gerano's]] (New Compton Street)

[[Chez Victor]] (Wardour Street, Soho)

The downstairs bar at the [[Ritz Hotel]]

[[The Bunch of Grapes]]

[[Windsor Castle]]

[[Cavour]]

Hambone Club aka The Ham Bone (Ham Yard, Soho)

'''1925''' [[Hotel de France]], now the site of [[Heaven]]

'''1927''' The [[Adelphi Rooms]]

== 1930s ==
[[Black Cat]]

[[Cosmopolitan]] Wardour Street

The Forum Club (Hyde Park Corner)

The [[White Room]]

[[Jamset]]

[[Running Horse]]

'''1931''' [[Gateways club|The Gateways]], closed 1985 (239 King's Road, Chelsea)

'''1934''' The [[Caravan]], opened July 1934 (81 Endell Street, Covent Garden)

'''1935''' [[Billie's Club]] (Little Denmark Street)

'''1935''' [[Careless Stork]] (Denman Street, Piccadilly)

'''1935''' [[Festival]] (Dean Street, Soho)

'''1935''' Shim Sham Club (37 Wardour Street, Soho)

'''1937''' [[Music Box]] (Leicester Place)

'''1937''' [[Sphinx]] (Gerrard Street)

'''1939''' [[Boeuf sur Le Toit]] (Orange Street)

== 1940s ==
[[Queens Head]] (27 Tryon Street, Chelsea)

[[The Salisbury]] (90 St Martin's Lane)

[[Cave of the Golden Calf]] (Heddon Street, Mayfair)

'''1941''' [[Arts and Battledress]], closed late 1970s (Orange Street, then Rupert Street (as A&B), Soho)

'''1941''' [[Sam's Café]] (Rupert Street, Soho)

'''1941''' [[Swiss Hotel]], later Comptons (53 Old Compton Street, Soho)

'''1941''' The [[Crown and Two Chairmen]] (31–32 Dean Street, Soho)

'''1946''' [[City of Quebec]] (12 Old Quebec Street, Marble Arch)

== 1950s ==
'''1951''' [[White Horse]] (Rupert Street, Soho)

'''1952''' [[A&B]], previously Arts and Battledress in Orange Street (Rupert Street, Soho)

[[The Rockingham, Archer Street]]

[[Spartan|The Spartan Club]] (Tachbrook Street, Pimlico)

[[Bennett's Festival]] (2 Brydges Place)

== 1960s ==
The [[White Bear]] (Kennington Park Road)

The [[Carousel Club]] (Orange Street, then Panton Street)

The [[Roundabout]]

The [[Coffee House]] (Haymarket)

[[Vince]] (Foubert's Place)

[[Danny La Rue's]] (Hanover Square)

[[La Douce]] (D'Arbly Street, Soho)

[[Peppermint Lounge]] (Piccadilly Circus)

The Castle (later Stonewalls and Two8Six), closed 2012 (286 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham)

The Boltons, closed early 1990s (326 Earls Court Road, Earls Court)

The Catacombs, closed early 1980s (Finborough Road, Earls Court)

The Champion (opening TBC), until 2004 (1 Wellington Terrace, Notting Hill)

The Robin Hood (Inverness Terrace, [[Bayswater]])

The Waterman's Arms (1 Glenaffric Avenue, Greenwich)

'''1962''' The [[Black Cap]], closed 12 April 2015 (171 Camden High Street, Camden Town)

'''1962''' Le Gigolo, closed circa 1978 (328 King's Road, Chelsea)(coffee shop)<ref> Listed April 1977 in Gay News no 117. Not listed Nov 1978 no 156 Gay News </ref>.

'''1962''' The Witches Brew, closed 1963 (Queensway)

== 1970s ==

El Sombrero including Yours or Mine, date TBC (142–144 Kensington High Street)

[[Father Redcap]] (Camberwell)

[[Kings Head]] (Gerrard Street)

[[Golden Lion]] (Dean Street)

[[Green Man]] (Portland Street)

[[The Dog and Trumpet]] (Great Marlborough Street, Soho)

The Dorset Arms (Clapham Road, Clapham)

[[The Chepstow]] (Notting Hill)

[[Apollo]] (Wardour Street, Soho)

[[Pink Elephant]] (Newport Place)

[[Toucan]] (Gerrard Street)

[[The Vortex]] (Tachbrook Street, Pimlico)

Festival Club, 2 Brydges Place (off St Martin's Lane), WC2 <ref> attracted [[rent boys]] </ref>


[[The London Apprentice]] aka The LA (333 Old Street, Shoreditch)

The Masquerade (Earls Court Road, Earls Court)

Princess of Prussia (15 Prescot Street, Tower Bridge)

Club Louise aka Louise's (61 Poland Street, Soho)

The Showplace (Westbourne Grove, Bayswter)

[[The Prince Albert]] (Wharfedale Road, King's Cross) GLF disco from circa 1974, later Icebreakers and GAA (became [[Central Station]] in 1990s)

The Euston Tavern (Euston Road) (Discos held upstairs by Tricky Dicky 1970s/80s)

[[Harpoon Louis|Copacabana]], later named Copa (180–182 Earls Court Road, Earls Court) <ref> Listed Gay news no 154 Nov 1978 advert page 7 Copacabana Nights </ref>

'''1975''' The [[Regency Club]] (Great Newport Street)

'''1976''' Bang! (Sundown Club later named LA2, 157 Charing Cross Road)<ref> During the 1980s & early 1990s, Bang! (Monday and Saturday) and also Propaganda (Thursday) were run at 'Busbys Nightclub' (London) by gay club promoter and DJ Colin Peters (Peter Daubeney), whose brother Jamie continued as promoter for a period following the passing of Colin.

Bang! changed its name to G-A-Y, expanded from two nights a week to four,and moved from the LA2 to the London Astoria. For some years G-A-Y operated in both venues: the LA2 on Thursday nights and the London Astoria on Saturdays.From Bang & Propaganda @ Busby's 80s-90s on Facebook accessed 11 Nov 2021 </ref>.

'''1976''' Glades (Under the Arches, Villiers Street)<ref> also listed in Gay News Sept 1977 issue 127 as 'Glades Disco at Global Village </ref>.

'''1978''' The Embassy (Old Bond Street, Mayfair)

'''1979''' [[Heaven]] (Under the Arches, Villiers Street)

== 1980s ==
Benjy's (opening TBC), closed 2000s (562 Mile End Road, [[Mile End]])

Stallions, later named Substation and, from 2001, Ghetto (Falconberg Court, Soho)

[[Mud Club]] (Charing Cross Road)

The Bell (257–259 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross) <ref> Closed in 1995 </ref>.

The Market Tavern (Nine Elms, Vauxhall)

The [[Fallen Angel]] (Graham Street, Islington)

Rackets (The Pied Bull, 1 Liverpool Road, Islington)

The Royal Oak, closed 1990s (62 Glenthorne Road, Hammersmith)

The [[Joiners Arms]], closed January 2015 (116–118 Hackney Road, Bethnal Green)

The Link (Bethnal Green Road)

Union Tavern (Camberwell New Road, Camberwell)

'''1980''' Eagle, run by Bryan Derbyshire [1943–2001], closed summer 1981, reopened as the Cellar Bar (Heaven, Under the Arches, Villiers Street, Hungerford Lane entrance)

'''1981''' King Edward VI, closed 2011 (25 Bromfield Street, Islington) <ref> Featured in [[Gay News]] issue 225 October 1981 page 24 Spotlight. At the time the landlords were Keith and Geoff. </ref>

'''1981''' [[Harpoon Louis]], later named Harpo’s and Banana Max (180–182 Earls Court Road, Earls Court)<ref> Gay News issue 220 Spotlight on the Copacabana p 21 states Clifford Bell the straight man who brought you Copacabana and who has just launched Harpoon Louie's bar. </ref>


'''1981''' [[Bolts]] (Lazer, Green Lanes, Haringay)

'''1981''' The Cellar Bar, closed March 1985, then The Altar, then Soundshaft (Heaven, Under the Arches, Villiers Street, Hungerford Lane entrance)

'''1981''' The King's Arms (23 Poland Street, Soho)

'''1981''' [[Subway]] (Leicester Square)

'''1981''' The [[Two Brewers, Clapham|Two Brewers]] (114 Clapham High Street, Clapham)

'''1984''' [[Bromptons]], closed 2008, building demolished 2014 (294 Earls Court Road, Earls Court)

'''1984''' The [[French House]], previously The [[York Minster]] (49 Dean Street, Soho)

'''1984''' Clubbing in London in 1984 – http://history-is-made-at-night.blogspot.co.uk/2008/02/clubbing-in-london-1984.html

'''1985''' [[The Backstreet]] (Wentworth Mews, Mile End)

'''1985''' The [[White Swan, Commercial Road|White Swan]] (556 Commercial Road, Limehouse)

'''1986''' Comptons, later named [[Comptons of Soho]] (53 Old Compton Street, Soho)

'''1986''' [[First Out]], closed 2011 (52 St Giles High Street)

'''1986''' Madame JoJo's, closed late November 2014 (8–10 Brewer Street, Soho)

'''1987''' Daisy Chain, ended 1990 (The Fridge, Town Hall Parade, Brixton)

'''1988''' The Block, closed 2000s (Touch/200 Balham High Road, Balham and Silks [later Opera on the Green]/126 Shepherd's Bush Shopping Precinct, Shepherd's Bush, then Traffic [later City Apprentice aka The City]/York Way, Kings Cross, then Paradise Club/5 Parkfield Street, Islington, then 28 Hancock Road, Bromley-by-Bow)

'''late1980s''' Prince Regent, near The Angel, [[Islington]] (201-203 Liverpool Road, N1 )

== 1990s ==
Vespa Lounge (15 St Giles High Street)

'''1990''' [[Trade (nightclub)|Trade]], creator Laurence Malice, ended 2015 (Turnmills, 63 Clerkenwell Road, Clerkenwell, then various locations)

'''1990''' The [[Village]], closed early 1990s (Hanway Place)

'''1991''' [[Halfway II Heaven]] (7 Duncannon Street)

'''1991''' Sadie Maisie (London Lesbian and Gay Centre, 67–69 Cowcross Street, Farringdon)

'''1991''' [[Village]], second Village branch (81 Wardour Street, Soho)

'''1992''' The Anvil, opened 11 December 1992, closed 22 February 1997 (The Shipwrights Arms, 88 Tooley Street, London Bridge)

'''1992''' [[Central Station]] (37 Wharfdale Road, Kings Cross)(previously called [[The Prince Albert]])

'''1993''' [[The Edge]], renamed Soho Square November 2015 (11 Soho Square, Soho)

'''1993''' Freedom (66 Wardour Street, Soho)

'''1993''' [[G-A-Y]] (Astoria Theatre/157 Charing Cross Road until 2008, then Heaven/Under the Arches, Villiers Street)

'''1993''' The Little Apple, closed September 2014 (98 Kennington Lane, Kennington)

'''1993''' The Oak Bar, closed May 2013 (79 Green Lanes, Stoke Newington)

'''1994''' 79 CXR, closed October 2012, reopened as Manbar (79 Charing Cross Road)

'''1994''' FIST, ended 2002 (various venues)

'''1995''' [[Club Kali]]

'''1995''' The Glass Bar, closed 2008 (190 Euston Road)

'''1995''' Popstarz, closed 2014 (Paradise Club/5 Parkfield Street, Islington then various venues including Hanover Grand/Hanover Street, The Leisure Lounge/121 Holborn, The Complex [ex-Paradise Club], Scala/275 Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, Sin/144 Charing Cross Road, The Den/16 West Central Street, plus Green Carnation, Hidden, The Coronet)

'''1995''' [[Rupert Street]] (50 Rupert Street, Soho)

'''1995''' The [[Yard]] (57 Rupert Street, Soho)

'''1996''' [[Barcode]], closed 2011 (3–4 Archer Street, Soho), Vauxhall branch opened in 2006

'''1996''' [[Candy Bar]], closed 2014, six years after departure of founder Kim Lucas (4 Carlisle Street, Soho)

'''1996''' [[The Hoist]], closed 11 December 2016 (Arches 47b and 47c, South Lambeth Rd, Vauxhall)

'''1997''' Blush, closed 2015 (8 Cazenove Rd, Stoke Newington)

'''1997''' The Fort, closed August 2011 (131 Grange Road, Bermondsey)

'''1998''' Escape Bar Soho, closed November 2014 (10a Brewer Street, Soho)

'''1998''' The [[George & Dragon]] (2 Blackheath Hill, Greenwich)

'''1998''' West 5, (56 Pope's Lane, South Ealing)

== 2000s ==
The Cock Tavern, opened 2000s TBC, closed 2005 (340 Kennington Road, Kennington)

'''2000''' [[XXL]] (various venues including The Arches/Arcadia in London Bridge, then Pulse at 1 Invicta Plaza, Southwark)

'''2000''' Friendly Society (79 Wardour St, Soho)

'''2001''' Ghetto, creator Simon Hobart, closed 2008 (Falconberg Court, Soho)

'''2001''' Molly Moggs, closed March 2017 (2 Old Compton Street, Soho)

'''2001''' The Shadow Lounge (5 Brewer Street, Soho)

'''2002''' G-A-Y Bar (30 Old Compton Street, Soho)

'''2002''' The George & Dragon, closed December 2015 (2 Hackney Rd, Shoreditch)

'''2003''' Egg (200 York Way, Kings Cross)

'''2003''' [[Fire]] (39 Parry Street, Vauxhall)

'''2003''' Kaos (Madame JoJo's in Soho, then Stunners in Limehouse, then Electrowerkz in Islington)

'''2006''' [[Area (Vauxhall)|Area]], closed 2014 (67–68 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall)

'''2006''' [[Barcode Vauxhall]], closed 2015 (Albert Embankment, Vauxhall)

'''2006''' The [[Star and Garter]], closed 2014 (227 High St, Bromley)

'''2007''' The Green, closed 2012 (74 Upper St, Islington)

'''2007''' [[Ku Bar]], later named Ku Leicester Square/Ku Klub (30 Lisle Street, Chinatown), plus Ku Soho (25 Frith Street, Soho)

'''2007''' Lo-Profile, closed January 2013 (84–86 Wardour Street, Soho), plus Profile, closed 2009 (56–57 Frith Street, Soho)

'''2007''' The Nelsons Head, closed 2015 (32 Horatio Street, Bethnal Green)

'''2008''' [[Green Carnation (bar)|Green Carnation]], closed 2015 (4–5 Greek Street, Soho)

'''2008''' Vault 139, later named The Vault (139—143 Whitfield St, Fitzrovia)

'''2009''' [[Dalston Superstore]] (117 Kingsland High Street, Dalston)

== 2010s ==
'''2010''' New Bloomsbury Set (76 Marchmont Street, Bloomsbury)

'''2011''' Circa (62 Frith Street, Soho)

'''2011''' The [[Duke of Wellington, Wardour Street]]

'''2011''' Vogue Fabrics aka VFD (66 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston)

'''2012''' Covert, closed 2013, then Club No. 65 (65 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall)

'''2012''' Manbar, opened 1 November 2012, closed January 2015 (79 Charing Cross Rd)

'''2014''' The Glory (281 Kingsland Road, Haggerston)

'''2015''' Bloc Bar, later named The Bloc, closed March 2017 (18 Kentish Town Road, Camden Town) 

'''2015''' The Queen Adelaide, opened December 2015 (483 Hackney Road, Hackney).<ref>http://www.nottelevision.net/the-george-dragon-is-dead-long-live-the-queen-adelaide/. "The George & Dragon is dead. Long live the Queen Adelaide!", ''Not Television'', 18 December 2015. Accessed: 2016-01-29. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6etvqmYdx).</ref>

'''2016''' Her Upstairs, opened September 2016, then ground-floor Them Downstairs April 2017 (18 Kentish Town Road, Camden Town) 

'''2017''' Bloc South, opened March 2017 (65 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall)

==A list of closed bars==

'''TheGayUK''' has a list of 102 bars and 32 clubs that have closed in London since 2000.<ref>http://www.thegayuk.com/gay-bars-that-have-closed-in-london-since-the-turn-of-the-century/. Accessed: 2016-07-12. (Archived by the Web Archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20160413174942/http://www.thegayuk.com/gay-bars-that-have-closed-in-london-since-the-turn-of-the-century/</ref>

== External sites ==
http://qxmagazine.com/pdf/gayhistory-soho.pdf

http://www.kemglen.talktalk.net/stradivarius/

== References ==
<references/>

[[Category:Pubs and bars| ]]
[[Category:Night Clubs]]
[[Category:West End]]
[[Category:Timelines]]