A Molly house is an archaic English term for a tavern or private room where homosexual males and transwomen 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. Archaic is a generic adjective that can refer to several things from the past. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Transwomen or trans women are transsexual or transgendered people who were assigned male sex at birth (or, in some cases of intersexuality, later) and feel that this is not an accurate or complete description of themselves. ... For the song Gay Bar by Electric Six, see Electric Six. ...

The most famous of these was Mother Clap's Molly house in the Holborn area of London. In the 18th century, homosexual males in England were prosecuted under sodomy laws, for which the penalty was death by hanging. The court records of their users' trials are the main documentary evidence of such establishments that survive today. On 9 May 1726, three men (Gabriel Lawrence, William Griffin, and Thomas Wright) were hanged at Tyburn for sodomy. Charles Hitchen, the Under City Marshal (and crime lord), was also convicted (in 1727) of attempted sodomy at a Molly house. Margaret Clap (better known as Mother Clap, died circa 1726) was a woman who ran a brothel for homosexual men in London in the early part of the 18th century. ... Holborn (pronounced ho-bun or ho-burn) is a place in London, named after a tributary to the river Fleet that flowed through the area, the Hole-bourne (the stream in the hollow). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as sex crimes. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events George Friderich Handel becomes a British subject. ... Tyburn was a former village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch. ... Charles Hitchen ( 1675 - 1727) was a thief-taker (policeman) and infamous criminal in 18th century London who was also infamously tried for homosexuality. ... Events 1727 to 1800 - Lt. ...

Patrons of Molly houses (who were called "Mollies") often dressed in women's clothing, took on female personae, and affected effeminate mannerisms and speech. Effeminacy is character trait of a male showing femininity, unmanliness, womanliness, weakness, softness and/or a delicacy, which contradicts traditional masculine, male gender roles. ...

References

• Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook. Retrieved on 2006-12-27.
• Kaplan, Morris B. (2005). Sodom on the Thames: Sex, Love, and Scandal in Wilde Times. Cornell University Press, 314 pages. ISBN 0801436788. 

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... Cornell University Press, established in 1869, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States and is one of the countrys largest university presses. ...

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