‘The outward beauty of the shelves was my main object’: Robert Gathorne-Hardy and the National Trust's libraries as queer spaces

This article explores the work of Robert Gathorne-Hardy (1902–73), the National Trust's first libraries adviser, within the context of the organisation's queer heritage. While recent Trust initiatives have explored LGBTQ+ histories, the queer nature of the presentation of its libraries has been largely overlooked. Gathorne-Hardy, operating within a network of gay aesthetes including Harold Nicolson, Eardley Knollys, and James Lees-Milne, pioneered a distinctive curatorial approach that privileged the visual and atmospheric qualities of country house libraries over their bibliographic content. Gathorne-Hardy's formative relationships with figures such as Logan Pearsall Smith and his partner Kyrle Leng were integral to the development of his aesthetic ideals and his pursuit of library perfection, which in turn shaped the National Trust's post-war presentation of its libraries. These interiors, far from neutral heritage spaces, are enduring expressions of queer taste and sociability, revealing a hidden yet significant chapter in the Trust's cultural history.