Queer* Connections at Osterley House
This guide is designed to help you explore the often-hidden Queer* narratives that can be found in Osterley House. Normal admission applies.
- Booking not needed
- Free event (admission applies)
This March will see the launch of a self-guided Queer Connections tour following Osterley's participation as a case study for the Queer Your Historic House toolkit. The toolkit was created by Indigo Dunphy-Smith and with the Queer Heritage and Collections Network.
Osterley's Queer Connections tour leaflet is available to all visitors at reception.
*'Queer' has begun to be used as a term that encompasses all aspects of gender and sexuality as a spectrum, rather than a series of definite, fixed categories.
*Queer is a term used where other words don’t fully describe your gender identity and/or sexual orientation, or it isn’t known. For example, ‘queer histories.’ These are people: • who lived outside gender expectations of their own time • didn’t have the option to describe themselves in modern language.
The Byres Family Portrait by Franciszek Smuglewicz features in Osterley's Queer Connections leaflet guide, and you can see the painting on display in the Yellow Breakfast Room in the House. There is a new article by Indigo Dunphy-Smith available on the National Library of Scotland website that contains some exciting modern illustrations reimagining James Byres and Christopher Norton's apartment in Rome. https://www.nls.uk/collections/stories/scottish-history/a-jacobite-abroad-queer-lives-in-the-archives/
Times
Prices
Event ticket prices
This event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue.
Check admission pricesThe basics
- Booking details
Normal admission price applies to see experience the self-guided tour.
- Meeting point
Tickets to the House and Gardens can be purchased at the Kiosk to the side of the House. You can also collect a tour leaflet here.
- Accessibility
This leaflet guide is currently not audio described. The main floor of the House is currently not accessible to wheelchairs. There is a wheelchair on the main floor for use, available for visitors who can use the internal staircase with a handrail. Access video on history of the House available on ground floor. This currently does not include the Queer Connections colleciton items.
- Other
Please note, Osterley House is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Last entry is at 15:30, with the House closing at 16:00.
Upcoming events
Nature Spotting Challenge
Bird Bingo is back! Challenge yourself to tick off 5 birds in a row (vertically or horizontally) that you spot at Osterley. Hunt for mini beast (bugs, insects and worms). We have a list of 'mini beast' for you to try and find along the long walk.
Opens 22 May: ‘Journeys – Wedding Shawls, Baghs and Phulkaris from the Karun Thakar Collection'
At Osterley, intricately-embroidered wedding shawls from Punjab will fill Robert Adam’s neoclassical rooms with colour and craft.
The Everyday Cyclist
With a passion for cycling, The Everyday Cyclist has been created by professional photographer Becky Mursell. These powerful portraits will be lining the railings of Osterley Park's lake in time to celebrate the West London Cycling Mela on 13 June.
Craft Cart
Organised by a dedicated National Trust volunteer team, join us at Osterley for popular arts and craft activities for families on a Thursday between 12 am and 3pm during all Hounslow school holidays.