Ye Looke of Love
Being Queer in the 18th Century
Robert Maxwell

We tend to have a post-Stonewall view of queer history. We are familiar with the history of Mardi Gras, the riots that took place in 1969 at that bar in New York, the disease known as ‘gay cancer’, then ‘GRID’, then finally ‘AIDS’. Most of us don’t think much about our collective history much further back than the late 20th century. Well, I’d like to introduce you to the friends of Dorothy’s great-great-great-great grandmother...

The London of the 18th century had a relatively large gay subculture. One of the main cruising areas for men was the Royal Exchange. It was a crowded marketplace of fruit sellers, hawkers, chemists, coffee merchants and fish sellers. Being so constantly busy, it lent a certain amount of privacy for men wanting to pick up. The Exchange was paticularly good for gentlemen wanting a bit of rough trade, as sailors and merchant seamen (know as ‘water rats’) were everywhere, and most were gay-for-pay.

Another gay institution of the time was the foundation of Molly Houses. First recorded in 1700, molly houses were part brothel, drag club and bar. They were places where men could drink together, have sex with each other and are largely regarded as the modern beginnings of drag culture. (There was even a ritual of initiation whereby the drag queen in question would take part in a mock lying-in ceremony, give birth, suckle the child and pass it over to attendant midwives. All of course, men).

Most molly houses were a single or two room affair so indiscriminate sex, and indeed orgies, occurred often if the heterosexual police reports are to be believed. According to contemporary accounts, men would assume gender roles, and act out a kind of courtship before actually doing the deed. However, knowing gay boys I tend to think it may have been a bit more random than that.

The most famous, or infamous molly house was in Field Lane, Holbourn in 1726 and belonged to Margaret Clap, known as Mother Clap to her clientele. She is the godmother of all fag hags, and according to the transcripts of her trial for ‘keeping a disorderly house’ she loved her little establishment, and took an active interest in the gay subculture she was an integral part of.
She was found guilty of her charges and sentenced to stand in the pillory at Smithfield market, plus two years imprisonment. It is not recorded what actually happened to her after her trial.

When it came to attracting the attention of your man in a public place, there were certain signals a gentleman could give which signified his interest. Firstly, the admirer would sit on a park bench or somewhere in sight of the intended, and pat the back of his hand. If he noticed and seemed interested, the admirer would stand and walk away, waving a white handkerchief through his coat tails, signifying that he should follow. Once at a secluded spot, the admirer would tap the breast of his jacket to show what he was interested in (right hand tapping - ‘I want to fuck you’, left hand tapping - ‘I want you to fuck me’, drumming the fingers - ‘I will pay’, and so on). They would either then retire to a private residence or a molly house to relieve themselves.

Lesbians do not get much coverage during this period, unfortunately, save but a few references to a ‘vice’ that has travelled to England from the continent known as the ‘game of slots’ (use your imagination). There is also a poem from 1728 called ‘The Kissing Girls Of Spitalfields’ :
‘That one’s a Man is false, they’ve both been felt, Tho’ Jolly swears, Bess is, or sh’ has been gelt. She bullies, whistles, sings, and rants and swears Beyond the Plyers at St. Katern’s Stairs;
She kisses all, but Jenny is her dear, She feels her Bubbies, and she bites her ear: They to the Garret or the Cellar sneak. Play tricks, and put each other to the Squeak. What Pity ‘tis, in such a case as this, One does not pass a Metamorphosis, Then they’d not stop the flowing Breach of Dagnum With Digitus vel instrumentum magnum.’

Of course, discretion was the key in the 18th century. Prior to 1698 homosexuality was more of a secondary offence, and brought up occasionally in trials relating to charges of blackmail, theft, assault etc. However, with the foundation of the Reforming Societies all this changed. Each borough of London had its own society, and these individuals would pose as ‘mollies’ (homosexuals) and use entrapment techniques in order to get a conviction based solely on a person’s sexuality. These moral crusaders would loiter around public toilets (the beat was also a well established phenomenon by the 1700’s), gain entrance to a molly house or frequent the gay cruising areas in their borough, and once they had snared their prey they’d call in the waiting backup hiding just out of sight.

Ironically, the Society for the Reformation of Manners probably did a lot for stimulating the growth of the gay subculture of the time. The publicity that homosexuality gained through the sermons and speeches of the societies must have made gay men realise that there were quite a few others like themselves around, and the clergy occasionally even gave the details of where these ‘mollies’ would gather in numbers (such as the Royal Exchange), which must have proved helpful for the new boy in town, or those who didn’t know where to start looking for a bit of gentlemanly company, so to speak.

It is also due to the Reformation Societies that we today know so much about the 18th century gay subculture. The 18th was the century that birthed surveillance, and although this was a terrifying prospect to our forebears it’s really the only way we know today what Cecil and Lord Battersby got up to in 1732, or how you’d pick up a cute boy in 1781.

Through the study of the gay underground of the 18th century, we reinforce the inherent value and power of community. As we live in a more enlightened time, it’s easy to forget the lessons we’ve learned in the darker periods of our collective history.

The most valuable lesson in all the papers, journals and articles of this period is a simple one, but just as important now in the face of modern discrimination and intolerance that we all battle against:
In numbers, we survive.