Rainbow Plaques is a national scheme organised by the London LGBT+ Forums Network and Studio Voltaire that identifies hidden and lost LGBTQIA+ heritage, whilst highlighting the importance of queer visibility in our streets and public spaces. The new Rainbow Plaque in Ladbroke Grove is the second of five to be installed across the capital in celebration of significant people, places and moments in LGBTQIA+ history.

Unveiled on 17 November 2023, the Rainbow Plaque in Ladbroke Grove is the second of five new plaques to be installed across London. Rainbow Plaques is a national scheme organised by the London LGBT+ Forums’ Network and Studio Voltaire that identifies hidden and lost LGBTQIA+ heritage, whilst highlighting the importance of queer visibility in our streets and public spaces.

London Lighthouse was a ground-breaking residential and support centre for people living with HIV and AIDS which was opened ​​on 23 November 1988. It aimed to develop and deliver high-quality services empowering people to live and die well; and to promote the changing of attitudes, as well as good public policy and services.

Against the backdrop of chronic discrimination and abuse at the time, London Lighthouse developed an integrated model of care, providing support from diagnosis to death, with users at the heart of designing and delivering its services. These included information, counselling and training, welfare rights advocacy, complementary therapies, a home support service, respite and terminal care.

Facilities included a café and a beautiful memorial garden where the ashes of many people who died at London Lighthouse are scattered and can still be visited today. The Ian McKellen Hall hosted conferences and concerts, public meetings and parties, fundraisers and funerals, and weekly open days with visitors from around the world.

Robert Sproson, the architect, consulted with potential users to determine the building’s design, aiming to express the project’s vision and was formally opened by Princess Margaret in November 1988.

With the arrival of new anti-viral treatments in the mid-1990s and a decline in public funding, London Lighthouse closed the residential unit, focusing on life-long support for people living with HIV. In 2000 London Lighthouse and HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust joined forces, continuing to provide services from this site until 2013, when the building was sold to become the Museum of Brands.

Five new plaques will be placed at sites in Greenwich, Peckham, Westminster, Ladbroke Grove and Haringey.

More than 100 people participated in consultation workshops alongside an advisory panel to decide on the five new plaques. The advisory panel was Dr Justin Bengry (MA Queer History course convenor at Goldsmiths, University of London), Fisch (Performer and Activist), Tessa Havers-Strong (Director of Forum +), Juliet Jacques (Writer and Filmmaker), Nathan Lewis (Programme and Partnerships Manager of Black Thrive & Chair of Southwark LGBT Network), DJ Ritu (DJ, Broadcaster, Producer) and Marc Thompson (Curator and Activist).

This plaque is supported by Untold Stories, part of the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm, with additional support from Wandsworth Oasis.

Visiting Information

The Museum of Brands, 111-117 Lancaster Road, Notting Hill, W11 1QT.
The closest station is Ladbroke Grove (3 minutes).

Access Information

The artwork can be viewed at street level from the pavement.