Today is the 290th anniversary of the first documented (but little-known) queer fightback. On December 28th, 1725 – 244 years before Stonewall – some 30 men resisted a raid by ‘Peace Officers’ on a Molly House in Hart Lane, Covent Garden, London.

Molly Houses were essentially ‘safe’ houses for queer men and they existed in various cities in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Men went there to engage is a range of activities including socialising, having sex, dragging up and even getting married. Ironically, the only reason we know about them is from police and court records documenting raids on the houses and the subsequent prosecution of gay men caught therein.

However, 28th December 1725 was different. For whatever reason, the patrons decided they’d had enough and fought back against the raid, allowing a number of them to escape. What happened to them in the longer term is unknown: however, I think we should all take inspiration from this event. In the face of extraordinary oppression these men still decided that they weren’t going to simply knuckle under.

I suspect our history is full of cases like this: stories of bravery and fightback that have either never been recorded or have been eliminated from the records because they didn’t fit the morality of the time. And it’s one of the reasons I write this blog: even though I’m only writing about events and issues that happened 30 years ago, it’s surprising how many times people tell me they’ve never heard of them.

If our recent history is already being forgotten, think how much more is being lost the further we go back in time. We all have a duty to remember and record our history; if for no other reason than to honour the men who fought back 290 years ago today.