A Molly house is an archaic 18th century English term for a tavern or private room where homosexual and cross-dressing men could meet each other and possible sexual partners. Found in most of the larger cities, Molly houses were a precursor to the modern gay bar.

18th century illustration of a "homosexual"

In 18th century England, a "molly" referred to an effeminate male, or a sodomite.^[1][2] Mollies, and other third sex identities were the precursor to the 'homosexual' identity of the 20th and 21st centuries.^[3])

The most famous molly house was Mother Clap's in the Holborn area of London.

Patrons of Molly houses who dressed in women's clothing were called "Mollies", they would take on a female persona, have a female name, and affect feminine mannerisms and speech. Marriage ceremonies between a Mollie and her male lover were enacted to symbolise their partnership and commitment, and the role-play at times incorporated a ritualised giving birth.^[4]

At the time, sodomy was a capital offence in England, and court records of sodomy trials of the period provide much of the evidence about molly houses.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 May 1726, three men (Gabriel Lawrence, William Griffin, and Thomas Wright) were hanged at Tyburn for sodomy following a raid of Margaret Clap's molly house. Charles Hitchen, the Under City Marshal (and crime lord), was also convicted (in 1727) of attempted sodomy at a Molly house.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• "Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook". http://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/. Retrieved 2006-12-27. 
• Kaplan, Morris B. (2005). Sodom on the Thames: Sex, Love, and Scandal in Wilde Times. Cornell University Press. pp. 314 pages. ISBN 0801436788. http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=4338. Retrieved 2009-08-04. 

[edit] See also

• Macaroni Club

[edit] External links

• The Gay Subculture in Early Eighteenth-Century London
• The Trial of Thomas Wright
• City of Vice on Channel 4 featured Molly House in Episode 2
• Rictor Norton (Ed), Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook

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