Though our doors may not be open at the moment, we’re excited to still be able to welcome you into our archives.

“Lives from the Archives” is a series of short videos of members of our team chatting to people whose stories are included in our archives. For this first video, Rachel, our Programmes Manager, is on the phone with Buster, the Chairman of London Fetishmen, about the UK Leather and Fetish Archive.

Since 2016, Bishopsgate Institute has been home to the UK Leather and Fetish Archive, dedicated to documenting the history and heritage of fetish, kink, and BDSM in Britain and beyond. As part of the collections, the Institute holds the archives of most of the British male gay/bi leather clubs (or Motor Sports Clubs) and records of their history stretching back to 1965.

Find out more about the stories featured in the archive, and how it came to end up at the Institute through Buster’s “Lives from the Archives” episode. You can find out more about the UK Leather and Festish Archive at: bishopsgate.org.uk/collections/uk-leather-and-fetish-archive