Dora Noyce (born Georgie Hunter Rae, 1900
–1977)
was a Scottish
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
keeper ("madam") based in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
Early life
Born Georgie Hunter Rae in
Rose Street
Rose Street is a street in the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a narrow street running parallel between Princes Street and George Street. Today, it is principally a shopping street, however, it is well known for its many bars and ...
, Edinburgh,
the youngest of five, her parents were Alexander Rae, a cutler, and his wife Mary.
The poverty of her upbringing led Rae to prostitution and was working in the occupation before she reached her majority, soon adopting the accent of the affluent
Morningside district of the city. Although not her first offence, she did not receive her first conviction for living off immoral earnings until 1934.
Noyce had a daughter Violet (b. 1923), and took the surname of her child's official father to use as a pseudonym.
17 Danube Street
Noyce had begun to operate as a madam from premises at 17 Danube Street,
Stockbridge, Edinburgh
Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, i ...
by the end of the
second world war
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and it remained her base until she died.
She owned two floors of 17 Danube Street, plus other properties in the city and in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, although none of these are believed to have been used as brothels.
Overseeing 15 resident prostitutes, Noyce was able to draw on up to 25 other women in busy periods.
She could call on a contact in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and additional women would arrive in taxis. Her employees had regular health checks in line with the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 which legislated that "habitual prostitutes" should be checked for
sexually transmitted diseases
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral sex ...
.
While she claimed in an interview that demand for her services was greatest during the
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...
, her second busiest period was when the general assembly of the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
was in session each May. Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier ''
USS John F. Kennedy'' docked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits.
Noyce disliked the description of her premises as a brothel, preferring "a house of leisure and pleasure"
or "a YMCA with extras" and once observed: "In my profession there is no such thing as bad publicity, so do make sure you print the correct address in your newspaper".
Scottish writer Roddy Martine stumbled into Noyce's establishment in the early 1970s, though remained uninvolved: "I remember it being rather scruffy. There was a big television and girls sitting about on sofas with drunken men. Dora served glasses of dry white wine and asked the suddenly sober stag night revellers if they were sailors".
Because of its notoriety, neighbours in the vicinity of Noyce's brothel managed to gain a reduction in their rates because of the impact on the value of local properties.
A
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
supporter who displayed banners for the party in her windows during elections, Noyce embarrassed her member of parliament by turning up at garden fetes.
[ Her reputed display of Conservative Party banners is described as an "urban legend" in ] She also attended
Kirk
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
, the services of the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
.
Law and order
Known for dressing in a fur coat, twinset and pearls, giving an outwardly respectable image, Noyce was charged 47 times for living off immoral earnings, but generally paid the fine immediately (sometimes up to £250).
When charged, according to a former senior Edinburgh policeman, she would only admit to "doing what comes naturally" and "would simply accept it as part of the job". She would pay the fine, keep a low profile for a day or two and then" continue "as if nothing had happened". Other accounts relate that she would converse with the press at Deacon Brodie's pub (in the
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
) after a court appearance.
Pleading guilty to charges relating to running a brothel, she was sentenced to two terms of three months in prison on 31 May 1972,
serving for four-months,
in what turned out her last period in custody. On her release, she said her sentence "was very stupid of the court. I was just a burden on the ratepayers and, goodness knows, they have enough to put up with already".
She served as a police informer on occasion, which helped to reduce the number of raids,
and reportedly had an "arrangement" whereby she would only be raided about twice a year in exchange for information, often about stolen goods.
On one official visit, she reputedly asked: "Business or pleasure, gentlemen?"
Local councillors commented that they received more complaints when Noyce was in prison because her business was less well managed.
Death
She became one of Edinburgh's characters, well known to locals, who was mourned when she died. A neighbour corresponded to ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' newspaper in a letter published on 26 August 1977: "I confess to having felt something of affection for Dora Noyce. At least she was prepared to accept responsibility for what occurred within and outside of her premises... It may well be that Mrs. Noyce was right when she always claimed that she offered a necessary social service". The establishment finally closed not long after she died.
See also
*
Prostitution in Scotland
Prostitution in Scotland has been similar to that in England under the State of Union, but since devolution, the new Scottish Parliament has pursued its own policies.
In Scotland, prostitution itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noyce, Dora
1900 births
1977 deaths
Scottish brothel owners and madams
Businesspeople from Edinburgh
20th-century Scottish criminals
20th-century British businesspeople