Accrington draws LGBTQ+ literary tourism from across the UK
Accrington draws LGBTQ+ literary tourism from across the UK
Internationally renowned but locally less recognised, Author Jeanette Winterson’s Accrington roots put the town on the cultural map.
Tourists from across the UK travelled to Accrington during LGBTQ+ History Month to trace the roots of internationally renowned author Jeanette Winterson, marking what local leaders say is the beginning of a renewed cultural recognition of one of the town’s most influential people.
The group of eleven literature enthusiasts journeyed from as far as Glasgow, the Midlands and Devon as part of an ongoing exploration of British women writers and the places that shaped them. Their visit to Accrington, described by members as “an unlikely stop on Britain’s queer literary map”, focused on the early life and formative influences of Winterson, whose groundbreaking novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit helped redefine LGBTQ+ representation in British literature and television.
The visitors met at Accrington DOME, a developing cultural hub space on the town square, toured the Carnegie Library, and walked to the War Memorial overlooking Pendle Hill -locations referenced as places of solace and inspiration in Winterson’s early life.
Despite Winterson’s international acclaim as a novelist, broadcaster and professor, a recent local survey found that only 1% of respondents in Accrington were familiar with her work, something the Council says it is determined to change.
Ali Conway, who organised the visit and approached the council to question lack of local recognition for Jeanette’s work, said:
“Jeanette Winterson is widely regarded as a pioneering writer in both subject and style. For many of us, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit gave us confidence and courage to be ourselves in what could feel like a hostile environment.
As a group we’ve travelled to Cornwall for Daphne du Maurier, to Bloomsbury for Virginia Woolf, to Haworth for the Brontës – and in Accrington we found something really meaningful: real conversations with the people who are shaping how Jeanette might be recognised in her hometown. We got in touch with the council to ask about how Jeanette is recognised and this sparked a wider conversation about long term plans which we are really pleased to be part of.
There is something powerful about standing in the place where a writer’s story began. Accrington may not yet be known as a literary destination, but it absolutely deserves to be on the map.”
The visit was hosted by the council and local actor and writer Julie Hesmondhalgh, who is a key member of the advisory group for the town’s emerging heritage and cultural hub development.
Hesmondhalgh said:
“Jeanette Winterson is one of the most important living writers this country has produced – bold, brilliant and uncompromising. Her work changed lives. It certainly changed mine.
For too long, awareness of her impact here in her hometown has been surprisingly low. But that is changing. Accrington has a proud tradition of raising change-makers and Jeanette is one of ours.
Celebrating her work is about northern cultural pride, about recognising voices that challenged dogma, and about showing young people growing up here today that world-changing stories can start on these streets we walk on every day.”
Cllr Kimberley Whitehead, Deputy Leader of Hyndburn Borough Council and Portfolio Holder for Culture and Heritage, said the visit demonstrates the town’s growing cultural pull:
“To see visitors travelling from across the country to Accrington to research Jeanette Winterson is both humbling and inspiring. Jeanette is internationally celebrated, yet historically under-recognised locally. We believe it is time to change that.
Following this visit we are truly inspired and are now working with Idle Women, a nationally recognised artist-led collaboration based in Accrington, to take the first steps towards meaningful local recognition of Jeanette’s contribution to global literature and to LGBTQ+ history.
Rachel Anderson and Cis O’Boyle said:
‘It means a great deal to us to work on this artistic celebration of Jeanette Winterson, she is one of the most important writers of our time.
Over the years we’ve taken a number of visitors to follow her childhood footsteps from Water Street to the library, hers is a powerful reminder of the transformation that art can offer and the possibilities that can be reached for beyond the horizon.
This visit shows that there is a real appetite for cultural tourism in Accrington. Our heritage, our writers and our stories matter, not just to us, but to people across the UK.”
With plans progressing for a new permanent heritage and cultural hub in the town centre, council leaders say the momentum generated by this visit could mark the beginning of a new chapter in how Accrington presents its cultural identity.
Ali Conway added:
“Every place we’ve visited, from Cornwall to Bloomsbury, understands the power of literary heritage. Accrington has something just as powerful. We would love to see Jeanette celebrated here in a way that matches her global reputation.”
