Chesterfield campaigners' walk to honour life of LGBT+ pioneer Edward Carpenter

Poet and philosopher Edward Carpenter, born in 1844, lived as an openly gay man at a time when it was illegal to be gay.

He was way ahead of his time and celebrated for being the ‘last gay man standing in Britain’ when most of gay London fled to Paris in the wake of Oscar Wilde’s imprisonment in 1895.

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Campaigners Luke Povey and Coun Ed Fordham, editors of a soon to be published book, The Chesterfield Letters of Edward Carpenter, will join Derbyshire LGBT+ chief executive Ian Robson to honour Edward’s life on a special walk on Sunday, August 30 from 11am.

The route will head from Chesterfield to the rural Derbyshire village of Millthorpe – a walk regularly taken by Edward himself.

Born in Hove, Sussex, he had lived in Chesterfield before moving to Millthorpe with his partner George Merrill.

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The 5.3 mile walk will begin at The Chesterfield Arms, in Chesterfield, and finish at The Royal Oak, Millthorpe, on the closest Sunday to Edward’s birthday – he was born on August, 28, 1844.

Luke said: “A lot of people ask why there is still a need for LGBT support in these times, they assume that things are now great for LGBT people in the UK.

“Our experience however is the complete opposite. Statistics show us that over the last few years hate crime against LGBT people has dramatically risen and we know HIV infection rates are rising higher every year.

“Bullying in schools is still a major problem, and we still face inequality in goods and services.”

Luke added: “Our service is needed now as much as it has ever been.”

Edward Carpenter wrote extensively on vegetarianism and vivisection, and corresponded with famous figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Keir Hardie and William Morris.

Work is underway to place commemorative plaques on buildings and locations in the Chesterfield area where Edward and his colleagues lived and worked.

Visit Luke’s Justgiving page to find out more about the walk or to sponsor him. He is raising money for the LGBT drop-in centre on Rutland Road.