Difference between revisions of "Running Horse"

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'''The Running Horse''' was. Gay pub in Shepherd's Market, London. It had been under police surveillance since 1933. SDI Gavin said:
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The '''Running Horse''' was a gay pub at 5 East Chapel Street, [[Mayfair]], London W1. It had existed since at least 1869.<ref>http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/StGeorgeHanoverSquare/RunningHorseMayfair.shtml ''pubshistory.com''</ref> East Chapel Street was renamed Trebeck Street by 1938.<ref>http://pubcensus.co.uk/streets/London1938/index.shtml</ref> It is adjacent to Shepherd Market.
  
''...men of an effeminate nature do regularly use the house... [who] may be of sodomist tendencies... [but here is] nothing taking place... To which the police can take exception. The appearance of these effeminate ly dressed young men may be repugnant to certain people, but their conduct... Is uh that no objection can be taken.''
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According to the [[National Archives]], there was a court case in 1936, involving lesbianism and "undesirables".
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The pub had been under police surveillance since 1933. SDI Gavin said:
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:"...men of an effeminate nature do regularly use the house... [who] may be of sodomist tendencies... [But here is] nothing taking place... to which the police can take exception. The appearance of these effeminately-dressed young men may be repugnant to certain people but their conduct... is such that no objection can be taken."<ref name=MH>[[Matt Houlbrook]], ''[[Queer London]]'', page 77. He calls it the Running Horse in in Shepherd's [sic] Market.</ref>
  
 
The police had never prosecuted a landlord, preferring to indict individuals caught in the act. But the Canadian Military and Admiralty complained and the police were compelled to caution the landlord on section 44 of the 1939 Metropolitan Police Act (MPA): willfully and knowingly permitting disorderly conduct. When the landlord failed to comply with the ban on drunkenness and serving on cited importuners, he was prosecuted, convicted, fined and the pub was shut down in spring 1937.
 
The police had never prosecuted a landlord, preferring to indict individuals caught in the act. But the Canadian Military and Admiralty complained and the police were compelled to caution the landlord on section 44 of the 1939 Metropolitan Police Act (MPA): willfully and knowingly permitting disorderly conduct. When the landlord failed to comply with the ban on drunkenness and serving on cited importuners, he was prosecuted, convicted, fined and the pub was shut down in spring 1937.
  
The Met had established a precedent, from now on they used the MPA to prosecute proprietors and not the clientele who were more expensive to take action against. The MPA was used against pubs like the [[Fitroy]], [[White Horse]], [[Billy's Snack Bar]] on Bouchin Street and the [[Ham Yard Café]].
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The Met had established a precedent, from now on they used the MPA to prosecute proprietors and not the clientele who were more expensive to take action against. The MPA was used against pubs like the [[Fitzroy Tavern]], [[White Horse]], [[Billy's Snack Bar]] on Bouchin Street and the [[Ham Yard Café]].<ref name=MH />
  
Other clubs and pubs popular with homosexuals at the time were the [[York Minster]], the [[Swiss]] and the [[Marquis of Granby]] in [[Soho]]. [[Peter Wildeblood]] called them "less [than] discreet", rough and cruisy. Throughout the 1930s respectable men in evening dress and camp queans solicited sailors and workmen in the [[Running Horse]]. Other venues included the [[Billie's Club]], the [[Hungry Horse]], [[Gerano's]] in New Compton Street, [[Chez Victor]] in Wardour Street. The downstairs bar at the [[Ritz Hotel]] was frequented by men from high society, nicknamed l’Abri (the shelter), and the [[Trocadero Long Bar]], owned by [[Lyon's Corner House]].
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See [[Timeline of West End Bars and Clubs]].
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
''Queer London – Perils and Pleasures in the Sexual Metropolis, 1918-1957'' Matt Houlbrook, The University of Chicago Press, 2005.
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<references>
  
[[Category:West End]]
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[[Category:Mayfair]]
[[Category:London]]
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[[Category:Pubs and bars]]
[[Category:Bars and Pubs]]
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[[Category:Articles with no pictures]]

Latest revision as of 16:07, 11 January 2014

The Running Horse was a gay pub at 5 East Chapel Street, Mayfair, London W1. It had existed since at least 1869.[1] East Chapel Street was renamed Trebeck Street by 1938.[2] It is adjacent to Shepherd Market.

According to the National Archives, there was a court case in 1936, involving lesbianism and "undesirables".

The pub had been under police surveillance since 1933. SDI Gavin said:

"...men of an effeminate nature do regularly use the house... [who] may be of sodomist tendencies... [But here is] nothing taking place... to which the police can take exception. The appearance of these effeminately-dressed young men may be repugnant to certain people but their conduct... is such that no objection can be taken."[3]

The police had never prosecuted a landlord, preferring to indict individuals caught in the act. But the Canadian Military and Admiralty complained and the police were compelled to caution the landlord on section 44 of the 1939 Metropolitan Police Act (MPA): willfully and knowingly permitting disorderly conduct. When the landlord failed to comply with the ban on drunkenness and serving on cited importuners, he was prosecuted, convicted, fined and the pub was shut down in spring 1937.

The Met had established a precedent, from now on they used the MPA to prosecute proprietors and not the clientele who were more expensive to take action against. The MPA was used against pubs like the Fitzroy Tavern, White Horse, Billy's Snack Bar on Bouchin Street and the Ham Yard Café.[3]

See Timeline of West End Bars and Clubs.

References

  1. Jump up http://pubshistory.com/LondonPubs/StGeorgeHanoverSquare/RunningHorseMayfair.shtml pubshistory.com
  2. Jump up http://pubcensus.co.uk/streets/London1938/index.shtml
  3. Jump up to: 3.0 3.1 Matt Houlbrook, Queer London, page 77. He calls it the Running Horse in in Shepherd's [sic] Market.