{"id":562090,"date":"2025-11-10T20:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/562090\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T20:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:13:11","slug":"west-londons-last-remaining-gay-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/562090\/","title":{"rendered":"West London’s last remaining gay bar"},"content":{"rendered":"

West London\u2019s only gay bar has reached a defiant milestone as LGBTQ+ venues decline across the capital.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Ted\u2019s Place first opened in October 1990, nearby Earl\u2019s Court had been a flourishing gay village in London with bars, restaurants, shops and hotels that catered to the gay community.<\/p>\n

Only a stones throw away from the Old Brompton Road scene, the intimate basement bar in Fulham originally opened as lesbian members\u2019 club Fanny\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people walk past it ten times and never find it,\u201d Ted Barnham, founder of Ted\u2019s Place, said. \u201cAnd 35 years later, I\u2019m still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over three decades and a name change later, Ted\u2019s Place has continually evolved to cater for many corners of the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n

Barnham said: \u201cI\u2019ve done boys nights, skinhead nights, leather nights\u2026 but everyone knows it\u2019s Ted\u2019s on a Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside a range of events for the gay community, the founder of Ted\u2019s Place takes pride in hosting one of the longest-running nights for transgender women in London.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

THE PLACE TO BE: Ted\u2019s Place featured in Graham Parker\u2019s go-to guide for London\u2019s LGBTQ+ community. Credit: Gay London (1997)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having read an article on The Beaumont Society<\/a>, the longest-established transgender support group, Barnham reached out to understand how best to support a community largely invisible in nightlife at the time.<\/p>\n

Barnham said: \u201cIf you\u2019re a young kid and you\u2019re not out, you can come here and meet like minded people and get advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alekssandra Ceciliato, founder of Roma Trans Club<\/a>, has been going to Ted\u2019s Place ever since moving to west London in 1999.<\/p>\n

\u201cA safe space is not about having two or three security on the door,\u201d Ceciliato said. \u201cYou feel when the place is safe \u2013 and Ted\u2019s has that vibe. As soon as you get in, you feel safe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before the days of online advertising, Barnham counted on word of mouth within London\u2019s trans community and adverts in the Pink Paper and the car sales magazine Exchange & Mart \u2013 within four months the bar was \u2018absolutely mobbed\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you were at the Philbeach Hotel, you end up at Ted\u2019s, if you were at the Bromptons, you end up at Ted\u2019s, wherever you are, you end at Ted\u2019s\u201d said Ceciliato. \u201cIt was like a ritual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today \u2013 of the twelve gay pubs and bars operating in west London in 1998 \u2013 only Ted\u2019s Place remains.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had Bromptons, Catacombs, Coleherne, Boltons, Manhattans, Copacabana \u2013 one by one they\u2019ve gone,\u201d Barnham said. <\/p>\n

Following wider trends<\/a> across London, a combination of factors including rising rents and gentrification led to the eventual disappearance of Earls Court\u2019s LGBTQ+ venues.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenge of running an independent venue off the beaten track, Barnham says he feels grateful to reach this milestone and celebrate with the Ted\u2019s Place community \u2013 including partner of 32 years Barry.<\/p>\n

Ceciliato added: \u201cIt\u2019s like a chain, you cannot stand by yourself, you need your pieces and the whole community makes it stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information about upcoming events can be found on the bar\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Featured image: Ted Barnham, founder of Ted\u2019s Place. Credit: Carmel Hobbs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"West London\u2019s only gay bar has reached a defiant milestone as LGBTQ+ venues decline across the capital. When…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,179172,393,1625,179173,4884,179174,5763,257,16,15,46787],"class_list":{"0":"post-562090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-earls-court","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-fulham","12":"tag-gay-venues","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-lgbtq-history","15":"tag-lgbtq","16":"tag-london","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-venues"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115527235116819276","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}