Molly Houses: Sodomy and Prostitution in Medieval London

By Elizabeth Weinberg

‘The Proceedings of the Old Bailey’ was first published in 1674 as a report of felony trials from London’s criminal court (Shoemaker, 2008: 559). While the publication was originally published by the Lord Mayor to illustrate the court’s proficiency in addressing serious crimes, its popularity expanded the publication to become a regular periodical printed ‘eight times a year following each session of the court’ (Shoemaker, 2008: 559-562). Though documented by the chief judges, who later gained publication rights from the Lord Mayor, ‘The Proceedings’ was a commercial enterprise which the printers used to ‘provide entertainment’ to their readers. The demand for exciting stories led to printers presenting colourful and dramatised versions of events which were both incomplete, due to time, space, and ‘the shorthand system of note taking,’ and sometimes incorrect (Shoemaker, 2008: 560). Furthermore, the printers ‘occasionally explicitly adopted the point of view of the prosecution,’ making their case appear stronger, as well as the view of its intended audience of middle and upper class Londoners, which can be assumed by the advertisements within the periodical (Shoemaker, 2008: 568).
In the 1780s, John Langbein cautioned that “when the sessions papers achieved their greatest detail, they were still omitting most of what was said at most of the trials they reported” (Shoemaker, 2008: 560) This was additionally confirmed by the Middlesex Journal in 1775 when the Lord Mayor John Wiles said that the Old Bailey was inaccurate and “had been long and universally complained of” (Shoemaker, 2008: 562). The publication itself noted in a 1742 edition of Select Trials that ‘The Proceedings’ priorly published had been incomplete, which continued even after the papers had been expanded (Shoemaker, 2008: 566). However, ‘The Proceedings of the Old Bailey were not the only reports in circulation at the time, as newspaper reports, criminal biographies, ballads, and a numerous pamphlets and fictional writings were also available to the public (Shoemaker, 2008: 578). These accounts, along with manuscripts of judicial records and other documents, allow historians to compile fragmented excerpts of information to understand the lives of Londoners whose lives would unlikely be well recorded elsewhere during the eighteenth century. However, the circumstances around these people when documented may point to prejudice and slander, which distorts the views of current readers of such reports.

Homosexual or bisexual men were arrested, pilloried and even hanged in numerous cities across Europe (Norton, 2005: 39). According to The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, while there were 56 cases with charges of ‘sodomy’ between 1700 and 1800, there were only two cases where the accused was charged with the ‘sexual offence’ of ‘keeping a brothel’ (Old Bailey). In both cases, the brothels, also called ‘disorderly houses’ or ‘molly houses,’ were not for female prostitutes but only male prostitutes, where all those involved were found guilty. However, in one case, the defendant is accused of committing ‘indecent and effeminate Actions’ as well as adopting ‘female Names,’ yet were never accused of sodomy and therefore both men were charged with ‘assault with sodomitical intent’ and fined. ‘Sodomitical Intent’ included any form of romantic intimacy between men, ‘ranging from deep kissing and groping and mutual masturbation to oral intercourse’(Norton, 2021). This charge was often issued when the courts had little to no evidence of sexual intercourse between men who were accused of being homosexual. In these cases, witnesses were brought forward to give evidence of character in order to ascertain the likelihood of homosexuality, as opposed to bringing evidence of actual fornication (Norton, 2005: 48). It’s also important to note that often consenting partners were each charged with 'assault' upon the other even though no assault had taken place, as the assault was in the act itself; an assault on God and society (Norton, 2005: 46).
The only other case revolved around one of London’s most popular molly houses in the 1720s, which was run by Margaret Clap (Norton, 2021). ‘Mother Clap,’ as she was called, ran a molly house on Field Lane in Holborn which was raided and ‘40 men rounded up and hauled off to Newgate prison’ (Norton, 2021). The house was one of many molly houses which were raided that month due to a police informant, leading to the imprisonment and hanging of numerous ‘mollies.’ When questioned during her trial, Margaret Clap argued ‘I am a Woman, and therefore it cannot be thought that I would ever be concern'd in such Practices.’ (Norton, 2021). Though Clap’s house was a private residence and coffee house owned by her husband John Clap, as opposed to a a public inn or tavern, it was believed that she ‘procur'd and encourag'd Persons to commit Sodomy’ as several men who ‘mimicked the Language of Women’ lived in the house and were accused of ‘making love to one another’ (Old Bailey). Additionally her residence contained numerous rooms with beds, including a 'Marrying Room’ or ‘The Chapel’ with a large double bed where men were ‘marry'd as they call'd it’ by a sort of marriage attendant named Eccleston (Norton, 2021). Margaret’s was found guilty and sentences to ‘stand in the Pillory in Smith Field, pay a Fine of 20 Marks, and suffer two Years Imprisonment.’

The term 'Molly' is slang for a female prostitute, but was later used more in reference to effeminate men (Norton, 2005: 42). Based on records and satirical pamphlets, it’s likely that the term was mainly used to describe men who ‘did not imitate ladies - they imitated whores’ (Norton, 2005: 44). However ‘The Proceedings’ and courts usually used the terms 'sodomites', 'buggerers' and ‘indorsers' which came from boxing slang meaning 'to cudgel on the back’ (Norton, 2005: 42). Male prostitution became well organised around the end of the seventeenth century, and male brothels gained popularity by 1810, allowing a subculture of gay and cross-dressing men to spread across London (Norton, 2005: 39). Most Molly Houses could be found in the ‘back rooms in gin cellars.. and some were commercial alehouses and coffee houses where 50 or 60 men socialised.’ 'Molly Markets’ were any place where men could find other homosexual men, which often included outdoor public spaces (Norton, 2005: 49).
While reports such as the Old Bailey and other newspapers shamed and mocked these public displays of sin and feminine men, their widespread publication also informed homosexuals about where they could meet other similar men (Norton, 2005: 40). Large thoroughfares and piazzas, public parks, and sanitation facilities were among the most common meeting places for men to meet. London Bridge, the Royal Exchange, Lincoln's Inn Fields, the Savoy precinct, St George's Fields, Moorfields and St james's Park were infamous public spaces where male prostitutes could be found. The path that ran through Moorfields was titled ‘the Sodomite's Walk’ (Norton, 2005: 40). They often communicated using coded gestures and signals such as ‘poking a white handkerchief through the tails of their coats and waving it’ to signal their interest in other men (Norton, 2005: 40). ‘Cottaging,’ or men meeting for sexual acts in sanitation facilities, occurred in public latrines or the 'houses of office' outside alehouses (Norton, 2005: 40).
Another common way to identify gay men was through the use of nicknames, or 'maiden names,’ such as Pomegranate Molly, DipCandle Mary, Tub Nan, Old Fish Hannah, Susan Guzzle and Aunt England (Norton, 2005: 43). Some names included the names of places they lived or worked, for instance the Duchess of Camomile lived on Camomile Street and St Dunstan's Kate lived by the church St Dunstan. Molly Houses would even perform mock baptism ceremonies, similarly to how they performed mock marriages, where they would proclaim their new ‘maiden name’ and their identity as a ‘molly.’ These practices and common shared experiences display the growing community of gay men in London.

This subculture revolved around molly houses and other similar centres where men were free to act and dress how they please. While this sometimes involved prostitution, as the case with Margaret Clap, these communal meeting places were based more around expressing sexuality as opposed to a brothel. However, gay men held a similar ‘public status’ to female prostitutes ‘yet the effects were much more aggressive for men’ (Trumbach, 1991:186). Unfortunately, while female prostitutes were supposedly allowed to return to ‘polite’ society if she changed her sinful ways, gay men did not have the same opportunities (Trumbach, 1991:193). In fact, for centuries prostitution was considered crucial to prevent sodomy, which was why the practice was never completely eradicated from cities. This partly came from the idea that prostitutes by trade belonged to all men, making their sexuality passive rather than active which was linked to male sexuality. However, gay men were considered as fluid in this regars, as they ‘passed back and forth from active to passive rather than remaining in the passive female or active male conditions,’ (Trumbach, 1991:192). Therefore, all gay men were labeled as male prostitutes (Trumbach, 1991:103). This label was dangerous to men in a homophobic society, leading to around 50 trials involving blackmail of sodomy (Norton, 2005: 41).

‘The Proceedings of the Old Bailey’ was written to share news with the public while proving that the Mayor and the courts were proficient in serving justice when faced with serious criminal matters. However, the Old Bailey also allows historians to read about court proceedings and therefore learn about the people in eighteenth century London such as the gay subculture and those who attended Molly Houses.



Bibliography

Norton, R (2005) ‘Recovering Gay History from the Old Bailey’ The London
Journal, 30:1, 39-54, DOI: 10.1179/ldn.2005.30.1.39 (Accessed 16 April, 2021)

Norton, R (2021) ‘The Raid on Mother Clap's Molly House 1726’ Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England. http://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/mother.htm (Accessed 16 April, 2021)

Shoemaker, R.B. (2008) ‘The Old Bailey Proceedings and the Representation of Crime and Criminal Justice in
Eighteenth-Century London’ The Journal of British Studies. jstor.org (Accessed 16 April 2021)

Trumbach, R. (1991) ‘Sex, Gender, and Sexual Identity in Modern Culture: Male Sodomy and Female Prostitution in Enlightenment London’ Journal of the History of Sexuality, vol. 2, no. 2. JSTOR www.jstor.org/stable/3704033. (Accessed 16 April 2021).

Old Bailey Online
https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t17260711-54&div=t17260711-54&terms=Margaret_Clap#highlight (Accessed 16 April, 2021)