Andover

Norman arch from former church

Andover is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire.

LGBT history

In 1924 Lillias Irma Valerie Barker (born 1895), who had transitioned to living as a man under the name of Captain Barker, moved with his wife Elfrida Haward to Andover. Barker ran an antiques business, sung in the choir and joined the cricket club. The president of the cricket club Dr Farr thought Col Barker was a woman. Barker moved to nearby Weyhill. After two years in the Andover District the Barkers settled in Uckfield, Sussex but the marriage collapsed. Barker was convicted of a few theft offences. Barker's last move was to Kessingland in Suffolk where, as Geoffrey Norton, he lived out her final years until her death in 1960 at the age of 64 .

There was an Andover CHE groupfor a short time in the 1970s.

In 1974 the Andover Advertiser called homosexuals sick and refused to allow any adverts for counselling or befriending services for gays .

In 1976 Gay News reported that an Andover Doctor had been convicted on three charges of gross indecency, one involving a 15-year old boy .

There was a Gay Andover Project Youth Group in 2014.

Lesbian and Pansexual flags at Andover Pride 2024 (photo by Dr C Williams)

In 2021 Rev Andy Fitchet was featured in a BBC article entitled: 'Gay minister: I was asked to leave my church when I came out'. Fitchet left the Baptist Church and started preaching at the Methodist Church after he came out as gay . Fitchet stood as the Labour Party candidate in the North West Hampshire Constituency in 2017 and 2024.

Talk at Andover Museum advertised by the Town Council in 2025

In June 2024 Andover held its first Pride event with a grant from the Town Council. The 2nd Andover Pride was held in June 2025. In 2025 Dr Clifford Williams gave a talk at the Museum on Hampshire's gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans history.