Three men arrested at Mother Clap's Molly House

Three men arrested at Mother Clap's Molly House, are hanged at Tyburn

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The infamous 'Mother Clap's was a private residence and a coffee house located in Field Lane near Holborn, and although owned by John Clap, it was run by his wife Margaret ‘Mother’ Clap.

It was a very popular molly house amongst the underground gay community during its two years of existence.

She cared for her visitors and, often let men lodge at her house for months at a time, and even provided false testimony to get a man acquitted of sodomy charges.

Unlike other molly houses, it was not a brothel, so she likely did not host for a profit.

The safe space Mother Clap had created was exposed when police raided one night in February 1726.

One officer reported he ‘found near Men Fifty there, making Love to one another as they call'd it.’

Margaret Clap was brought to trial for keeping a ‘disorderly house’, which was a euphemism for a brothel.

Found guilty, she was sentenced to stand in the pillory at West Smithfield, pay a fine, and imprisoned for two years.

Many mollies present on the night met a far harsher punishment.....

Three men, Gabriel Lawrence, William Griffin, and Thomas Wright were tried for sodomy, and hanged together at the Tyburn gallows on the 9th May 1726.

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https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/.../mother-claps-molly-house

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders

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Raids on Molly Houses were common in the 18th century as there was a rise in police monitoring after the founding of the Societies for Reformation of Manners in 1690.

London Picture Archive No. 26875