Take Courage

An Homage to Queer Vauxhall in the '70s,'80s & '90s

Funding pending Duckie are hoping to produce a new queer heritage project in 2026

The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s were the heyday for the gay scene in London and 3 backstreet boozers in Vauxhall - the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, the Market Tavern and the Elephant & Castle - were the spit and sawdust cultural epicentre of these halcyon times

Did you visit these pubs of Vauxhall in the last century?

Do you have any stories, photos or ephemera from those days?

Duckie are proposing a history project about these three venues and are keen to hear from punters who were there back in the day

We want to form an intergenerational group of old and young people - Vauxhall Volunteer Veterans and Virgins (VVVVs) - to dig deep into the personal and public archives of the period

As the London tradition of the gay pub falls into long term decline, Duckie asks: Are you a period piece?

Were you a punter, prowler, promoter, performer … or part of the furniture in these pubs?

Are you interested in being part of the this project?

This project is for older people that were there in Vauxhall back in the day and for younger people that were not there, but love a bit of queer history and want to join the dots

Duckie have made an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund to launch this project and have crossed our fingers