The Sussex Lancers: Tailor-made Leather Lovers

The Brighton Museum and Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition that looks back at a specific slice of local history: the Sussex Lancers. Running in the Prints and Drawings Gallery until 12 April 2026, "Tailor-made Leather Lovers" focuses on a gay leather motorbike club that was active in Brighton during the 1980s and 90s. The project is the work of Alf Le Flohic, an LGBTQ+ historian and communications officer at the University of Brighton, who had to take a bit of a detective approach to put the display together. Since the club’s official archives were destroyed about ten years ago, the material on display has been gathered from personal collections and the Bishopsgate Institute to reconstruct a history that might have otherwise been lost.

The exhibition moves beyond just the aesthetic of the club, showing the day-to-day lives and social habits of its members. You’ll find rare photographs and personal objects that document everything from their regular presence in the bars of St James’s Street to more quiet, domestic moments, like picnics on the Downs or having tea in Amberley. It’s a look at how they built networks of care and found joy in each other's company, while also addressing the reality of personal loss and activism during the HIV/AIDS crisis. The collection of items helps to illustrate how the group functioned as a community, providing a sense of the atmosphere in Brighton’s gay scene during those two decades.

To bring the narrative up to the present day, the display also features contemporary photography by Antony Edwards. His work documents Leathermen South, a modern group that continues the legacy of leather culture in the city today, showing the link between the original Lancers and the current community. If you’re planning a visit, the exhibition is accessible with the standard museum entry fee. It’s a quiet, informative look at local social history and the ways in which subcultures preserve their own stories, even when official records disappear. Whether you're interested in motorbike culture, local history, or the evolution of Brighton’s LGBTQ+ spaces, the gallery provides plenty of context without being overwhelming.