{{coord , 51, 30, 49, N, 0, 7, 2, W, type:landmark_region:GB-CMD, display=title The Vere Street Gang at the pillory in 1810

The Vere Street Coterie were a group of men

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

ed at a

molly house Molly-house was a term used in 18th- and 19th-century Britain for a meeting place for homosexual men. The meeting places were generally taverns, public houses, coffeehouses or even private rooms where men could either socialise or meet possible s ...

in Vere Street, London in 1810 for

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

and attempted sodomy. Eight men were eventually

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

ed. Two of them were

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

(as per the then still extant sodomy laws promulgated by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

in 1534) and six were

pilloried The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stoc ...

for this offence. Along with

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's imprisonment for a similar offence, this episode was one of the major events in

gay history Societal attitudes towards same-sex relationships have varied over time and place, from requiring all males to engage in same-sex relationships to casual integration, through acceptance, to seeing the practice as a minor sin, repressing it throu ...

in England during the 19th century. The White Swan on Vere Street in London was established as a molly-house in early 1810 by two men, James Cook and Yardley (full name unknown). The club had been operating for less than six months when, on 8 July 1810, it was raided by the Bow Street police. Twenty-seven men were arrested, but the majority of them were released (perhaps as a result of bribes), and eight were tried and convicted. Six of the convicted men, who had been found guilty of attempted sodomy, were pilloried in

the Haymarket Haymarket is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Piccadilly Circus in the north to Pall Mall at the southern end. Located on the street are the Theatre Royal, Her Majesty's Theatre, New Zealand H ...

on 27 September that year. The crowds who turned out to witness the scene were violent and unruly, throwing various objects (including rotten fish, dead cats, "cannonballs" made of mud, and vegetables) at the convicted men. The women in the crowd were reported as being particularly vicious. The city provided a guard force of 200 armed

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

s, half of them mounted and the other half on foot, to protect the men from even worse mistreatment. A man and a boy, John Hepburn (46) and Thomas White (16, a drummer boy),capitalpunishment.org Newgate executions 1800 - 1836
/ref> were convicted of the act of sodomy, despite not being present at the White Swan during the night of the raid. They were hanged at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...

on 7 March 1811. Vere Street Coterie is also known in connection with alleged

same sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

s there, performed by

Reverend John Church John Church (1780 – c. 1835) was an Independent minister who was most famous for his involvement in the homosexual scandal of the Vere Street Coterie. He is claimed by some as the first openly ‘gay’ ordained Christian minister in England. ...

. The history of the White Swan and the Vere Street Coterie were related by the lawyer Robert Holloway in ''

The Phoenix of Sodom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in 1813.

Notes

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Draft:English_and_Welsh_executions_in_the_Nineteenth_Century&oldid=885832171

References

Rictor Norton Rictor Norton (born 1945) is an American writer on literary and cultural history, particularly queer history. He is based in London, England. Biography Norton was born in Friendship, New York, USA, on June 25, 1945. He gained a BA from Flo ...

''Mother Clap's Molly House''
1992 1810 in the United Kingdom Sex scandals LGBT history in the United Kingdom 19th century in London 19th century in LGBT history 1810 in England

See also

Notes

References