Historic England is being criticised for funding a queer history trail in Norfolk, prompting right-wingers to describe LGBTQ+ identities as “controversial” and claim it “creates division.”

The trail in King’s Lynn is part of 21 youth-focused projects across the country which are being funded by Historic England, the public body that looks after England’s historic environment and helps people understand and value it, with grants of up to £15,000 ($19,000).

Other projects approved for funding include LGBTQ+ history explorations in rural Staffordshire, Gateshead and Stockport, a podcast about a mosque in East London, and youngsters with additional needs looking at the social history around the oldest cable tramway in Britain.

The King’s Lynn project will “create a trail” through the town centre, focusing on its LGBTQ+ history.

“This will connect to a permanent artwork created in partnership with True’s Yard [fishing museum]. What form this artwork takes will be in the hands of the young people,” the Historic England website revealed.

However, not everyone was happy at the news. 

Neil Record, the former director of anti-woke pressure group Restore Trust, told The Telegraph: “The promotion of ‘queer’ history by publicly funded bodies is, in my view highly, inappropriate. It creates division by concentrating on this one controversial aspect of sexuality, whereas history itself is complex and subtle, not best seen through a special-interest lens like this.

“It is also worth noting that homosexuality was illegal in the UK until 1967, so sources of information on sexual preferences prior to this date will be intended to be hidden, and hence could be unreliable.”

This is not the first time public bodies focused on preserving British history have come under fire.

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In 2022, anti-LGBTQ+ members of the National Trust asked their peers to support the banning of Pride events, describing taking part as “unaccountable, divisive and an exercise in virtue signalling… [and] unbecoming in a body which should be dedicated to preserving the nation’s heritage for all and being a faithful steward of its members’ subscriptions”.

Members ignored the plea and voted to continue celebrating Pride. “The National Trust was founded for the benefit of everyone,” a spokesperson told PinkNews in 2022.

“We serve the whole of our wonderfully diverse society and we want to do that to the very best of our ability. This includes supporting our staff, volunteers and visitors to take part in cultural celebrations, including Pride, which they have been doing for many years.”