White swan gay bar

As the story goes, a man named Yardley had partnered bar with a man named James Cook to open the molly house. Both of them, according to all accounts, were perfectly heterosexual and Yardley supposedly had a wife but white greedy. Part tavern, part brothel, the White Swan was notable for the wide gay of attractions it offered for homosexual men.

Although guests of the White Swan were allowed to participate in sexual activities together free of charge, there were also a number of prostitutes offering services for a charge. The White Swan had barely been open for six months when it was raided by Bow Street Runners — essentially the police in London at the time — on July 8, During the swan, a crowd gathered outside — reportedly mostly of women — which was such a vicious mob that some of the prisoners were nearly bar being transported out of the molly house.

Twenty-seven men were arrested — including Cook. Yardley, somehow, seems to have escaped. They were all lower middle class, or even poorer, and certainly unable to afford the bribes that would have been needed to drop the charges. Their names were:. Two others — John Newball Hepburn and Thomas White — were also arrested, though they were not at the White Swan on July 8, due to testimony from an informant.

Gay, because this was his third offense, was also sentenced to three years in prison. On September 27, the city of London provided armed swans on foot, mounted to be present to protect the men while they stood in the pillory which actually involved walking around in a circle around an axis, with your head and hands locked into the frame — not so much just standing.

The constables however, did not do much, and the massive crowd estimated to be thousands of people was vicious. The police actually assisted several women in forming a circle around the six men in pillories so that they could pelt them with mud. Others in the crowd white other things to throw at the men — vegetables, fruit, dead fish, dead cats and dogs, feces, spoiled eggs — basically anything disgusting that they could get their hands on.

They were all pretty seriously injured. Hepburn — a 42 year old soldier — and White — a 16 year old drummer for the guard, who also worked as a prostitute at the White Swan — both received a much harsher punishment: on March 7, they were executed by hanging at Newgate Prison. Cook refused to implicate any of his clients to law enforcement after his ordeal — though, lest we mistake him for an ally, it should be noted that he proceeded to make money by blackmailing members of the clergy who had apparently escaped arrest during the raid.

Until he was imprisoned for an assault that was probably a frame job, and his family was systematically driven out of England. View all posts by queerstorian. Skip to content. Like Loading Published by queerstorian. Published July 20, June 9, Previous Post James Barry.

BJ's White Swan

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