30/07/2026
With Brighton Pride just around the corner, we’re delving into the stories of some of Brunswick’s LGBTQI+ residents and visitors.
Brunswick Square - home to The Regency Town House at number 13, and now closely associated with Trans Pride Brighton - has q***r history woven through its streets. Brighton has long drawn artists, writers and people seeking the freedom to live differently, attracted by its seaside glamour and its famously open-minded community.
One of Brunswick’s earliest notable q***r residents was Edward Carpenter, pictured here around 1900 with his partner, George Merrill (image 1). Born at the family home at 45 Brunswick Square in 1844, Carpenter attended Brighton College and later wrote about his growing “friendly attraction” to other men.
A pioneering socialist, writer and campaigner for sexual freedom, Carpenter published *The Intermediate S*x* in 1908. His work challenged contemporary attitudes towards same-sex relationships and helped lay some of the groundwork for later movements for equality and bodily autonomy.
A century later, another q***r icon passed through the neighbourhood. In February 1944, the gender-nonconforming artist Gluck (image 2) stayed with Edith Shackleton Heald at the now-demolished Beaufort Hotel on Brunswick Place while exhibiting paintings at Steyning Grammar School.
According to Gluck’s biographer, the pair spent their holiday drinking tea at the Royal Pavilion and taking day trips to nearby towns, while Gluck telephoned their lover, Nesta Obermer, in the evenings. Not long after the trip, Gluck and Edith began a relationship and went on to share their lives for many years.
Another q***r resident of this period was the landscape designer Peter Coats. His autobiography fondly recalls his top-floor flat at 36 Brunswick Terrace, which he rented for just £90 a year. Overlooking the sea, it was one of his first experiments in interior design and was filled with second-hand treasures, including a papier-mâché chair. Image 3 shows the interior of Coats’s later home in Albany, London.
These stories were uncovered through the newsletters of Brighton Ourstory (https://www.brightonourstory.co.uk/). These were recently digitised for The Keep by one of our volunteers.
Happy Pride to all our readers celebrating in Brighton and beyond! 🏳️🌈
