Barnsley

Barnsley Town Hall

Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire.

LGBT history

The Maurice Dobson Museum and Heritage Centre in Darfield captures the life of a gay miner and his partner. For decades, Maurice Dobson (born 1912) and Fred Halliday lived in relative peace as an openly gay couple. They ran a corner shop filled to the brim with cold meats, pantry staples and jars of colourful sweets. Locals recall stepping inside to find Dobson perched on a high stool, dressed in a dapper suit with a cigarette holder in one hand and a parrot on his shoulder. Halliday was comparatively low-key, usually dressed in a brown smock instead.Maurice and Fred were remembered by Barnsley Civic Trust with a new blue plaque at Darfield Museum on Friday 29 August.

The Barnsley Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Forum was launched in July 2008.