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Meet the Author: Michael Hall - A Queer Inheritance

Queer Britain
2 Granary Square, London, N1C 4BH (view map)

Saturday 9th May 2026 at 2:30 PM

Accessibility - Accessible Toilets, Step Free Access, Wheelchair Accessible

Meet the Author: Michael Hall - A Queer Inheritance

Meet author Michael Hall, writer of ‘A Queer Inheritance - Alternative Histories in the National Trust’.

National Trust houses and landscapes might seem to embody conventional family values, but for generations some very different stories were hidden away. These belong to owners now considered queer for defying the norms of sexual orientation or gender identity – sometimes blatantly, occasionally as open secrets, but most often very discreetly.

Michael Hall explores not only the best-known examples of sexual difference, such as Lawrence of Arabia at Clouds Hill, Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst and the 'Dancing Marquess' at Plas Newydd; he also covers more recently unveiled stories, such as the lesbian community at Smallhythe and the homosexual scandals associated with Clumber. Then there were the quietly confirmed bachelors, keen to pass their properties and collections to the Trust for posterity...

Your ticket also includes admission to Queer Britain Museum - before or after the event, you can explore our exhibitions.

London Events Queer Britain Community Books Talk

The Lineup

Michael Hall has published several books on architecture, country houses and collecting, including Waddesdon Manor: The Biography of a Rothschild House (3rd ed., 2012), George Frederick Bodley and the Later Gothic Revival in Britain and America (2014) and Art, Passion and Power: The Story of the Royal Collection (2017). A former Architectural Editor of Country Life and Editor of Apollo, he was Editor of The Burlington Magazine from 2017 to 2024