BRYDWELL and BAUDRE

 (Bridewell and Bawdry)

1554

The xij day of Desember dyd ryd in a car a-bowt London for baldre one Kay wyffe dwellyng be-syd sant Mare Spytyll at the corner.

1555

 

[The ij of May three persons for their abominable living were carted through the city, from Guildhall to Cheapside, and so through Newgate, and through Smithfield, and back again to the Standard in Cheap, where the proclamation of their unclean living was mad, viz, master] Manwaring a gentyllman, and ij women, on ... Warren dwellyng at the Hale in Chepe, and the odur a gold-smyth('s) wyff, for baudry and hordom, and dyvers [times taken] with-all; and so cared out of Algatt.

The iiij day of Desember was a voman [set in the] pelere [pillory] for beytyng her chyld with rodes and ... to peteusly; and the sam day was a man and a voman cared a-bowt London at a care-arse [cart's tail] for baudry and ...

1556

The xxix day of Aprell was a man baude sette up one the pelere [pillory] for bryngyng unto men prentes [apprentices] harlots, the wyche they gayff hym and them serten of their masturs goodes and wastyd.

The iij day of May dyd ryd in a care a-bowt London a woman that dwelt at Quen-heyffe at the hott-howsse, for a bawde.

The sam day [xxx day of July] stod on the pelere [pillory] in Chepe a man and a woman, wyche wher offesers of Brydwelle, [the which] favered them and convayd from thens sondry harlottes, the wych dyver of them wher taken a-gayn and browth a-gayn.

The sam day [xiij of August] a woman for baldry and procuryng a chyld, she and the chyld beyng on the pelere [pillory]; the wyche she was her chyld browth [brought] to horedome.

1557

The v day of November rod thrugh [the city] a man on horsebake, ys fase toward the horse tail, and a wrytyng on ys hed; and he had a fryse gown, [and] ys wyff leydyng the horse, and a paper on her h[ead, for] horwdom [whoredom] the wyche he lett ys wyff to ho... to dyvers men.

The vij day of Desember ther was a woman [dode] in a care for hordume and bawdre.

The xvij of Desember dyd ryd in a care a yonge man and a women the wyff of John a badoo the bowd, and she was the bowd, and she was wypyd at the care-ar[se], and the harlot dyd bett [beat]; and nold [an old] harlotte of iij skore and more led the hors, lyk a nold hore.

1559

The xiij day of Aprell there came unto Brydewell dyvers gentyllmen, and ruffelars, and servyng men, and ther they began a tymult and or fray, that the constabulles and althermen deputte came to see the pesse [peace] kepte, but they wold have serten women out of the bryd-welle, and ther they druw ther swordes and be-gane myche besenes.

The xviij day of Desember dyd a woman ryde a-pone [horseback] with a paper on her hed, for bawdere, with a basen ryngyng.

The sam day [xx day of Desember] dyd ryd in a cart a-bowt Lundun the wyff of Hare [Harrfy] Glyn, gold-smyth, for being bowd to her own dowther.

1560

The v day of January ryd a-bowt London iiij women for baudere, dwellyng ...

The xix day of January dyd ryd in a care on Laugh, a brown baker, for fornycasyon, dyver times provyd.

The viij day of Marche dyd ryd in a cart abowt Londun  a bocher and a bocher('s) wyff, that was her servand, and the wyche was her hosband('s) brother.

The xxij day of Marche dyd ryd in a care, with a basen tynglyng a-for, ij that rode a-bowt London that cam owt of Sowthwarke, for the woman was bowd to a gyrle of xv yere olde, and browth [brought] her to a stranger.

The xij day of June dyd ryd in (a) care a-bowtt London ij men and iij women; one man was for he was the bowd, and to brynge women unto strangers, and on woman was the wyff of the Bell in Gracyous-strett, and a-nodur the wyff of the Bull-hed be-syd Londo stone, and boyth wher bawdes and hores, and the thodur man and thje woman wher brodur and syster, and wher taken nakyd together.

The xxviij day of June dyd ryd in a care about London mastores Warner, sum-tyme the wyff of master Warner sum-tyme serjantt of the ammeralte, for bawdre to her doyther and mard, and both the doyther and mayd with chyld, and she a hore.

The xxj day of August ryd a-bowt London in a care iij for baudre, a man and ys wyff and a woman the wyff of ... Brown dwellyng with-owtt Nuwgatt a talowchandler.

The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, 1550-1563, (ed. JG Nichols, Camden Records First Series, London 1848), ,http://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol 42>

NOTE: By far the most common sexual offence recorded by the diarist is baldre, baudry, bawde, baude, bowd, bawdere, baudere, bawdry, baudre, the act of procuring for prostitution (modern, 'pimping'), rather than the act of prostitution itself, which is called hordom, harlots, horedom, harlottes, horwdom, hore.

'A Hospital and a Prison: Bridewell's Establishment and Administration'

     "Bridewell was founded in 1555 as one of four royal hospitals, which were established  and re-established as a systematic attempt to control poverty in London...

      When Bridewell was founded, other categories of poor in London were, theoretically accounted for:

            poor householders could be relieved by their parish (birthplace),

            poor children could be sent to Christ's Hospital (and School),

            the impotent or sick could be given relief in St Thomas' or St Bartholomews' Hospitals,

            those flung into poverty through a visible descent into madness could be sent to                           Bedlam Hospital...

            Bridewell's founders had in their sights those that fell outside these boundaries:

            'the lewd and idle poor'

3 & 4 Edw. VI c.16 in 'Statutes of the Realm'

     "It is notoryouslye seen and knowne", a statute of 1549 begins, "that Vacabones and Beggars doo dailye encrease within this the Kinges Highnes Realme in to very great numbers..."

The Declaration of the Humble Suit Made to the King's Majesty's Most Honorable Council by the Citizen's of London A.D. 1552

     "It was evident that beggary and thievery did abound; and we ... thought to search the cause hereof, and after due examination had we evidently perceived that the cause of all this misery and beggary was idleness; and the mean and remedy to cure the same must be its contrary, which is labour..."

Ordinances and Rules, Drawn out for the Good Government of the House of Bridewell, 1557

     "Ye that are Governors should understand", the Ordinances explain, "that ye have authority by the King's Majesty's grant, that whensoever two of you or more are present, ye may take into the said house all such suspect persons as shall be presented unto ye as lewd and idle 

... ye may also examine and punish the same according to your discretions ... "

     "In its ordinances, Bridewell's Governors are ordered 'to force and compel the idle, strumpet and vagabond to honest and virtuous exercise' ... 

     Men and women appearing before Bridewell's court were punished for transgressions as diverse as petty theft, disobeying parents, disobeying masters, drunkenness, begging, vagrancy, rape, bigamy, adultery, fornication, prostitution, whoremongering, bawdry, illegitimacy, and abandoning children ...

     The punishments meted out by Bridewell's Governors were also diverse: fines were common in cases of extra-marital sex and illegitimacy; the court ordered the occasional couple to marry; vagrants and migrant workers were ordered to return 'home' to their place of birth; some men and women were carted through London, using shame to emphasise their transgression. By far the most common punishment was whipping ..."

In 1600 Nicholas Breton wrote:                             In the 1640s Richard Chamberlain wrote:

'When Newgate is without a knaue,                    'There's Newgate for Theeves,

And Bridewell found without a whoore,               Bridewell for Whores,

The day of doome will be sure be neere'.             And Bedlam for Madfolke'.

("What we discover is that the institution's connection with the 'whore' was as deep rooted in the popular imagination as Bedlam's connection with 'madfolke'.")

    

      "In his study of the regulation of sex in England, Martin Ingram notes Bridewell court saw 275 charges of sex-related offences in 1560 alone ...

       In the first year the [Bridewell] court books cover [1559-60], Ian Archer finds that around 40% of sexual transgressors prosecuted and 20% of total crimes were 'prostitutes' ...

       Ian Archer's analysis of the Bridewell court books demonstrates that, while the percentage of sex-related transgressions brought before the court varied, the levels were consistently high throughout the late sixteenth century, accounting for over fifty percent of prosecutions ... "

(The London Bridewell: Defining Deviance in Early Modern London, 

 Jennifer Cryar, 2022, PhD thesis, Queen Mary University of London,

 pp. 27, 28, 34, 35, 56, 58, 59.)

 

The Misbehaving Parson of Trinity the Little Parish

1559

The xxviij day of July cam home [ser Thomas Chamber] from Whytchyrche and be-syd

The twenty-eighth day of July came home from ... from Whitechurch and beside

 

Winchester at nyght [parson of Trinity at] Quen-heyff [Queenhithe] and agaynst the Blake Bull

Winchester at night the parson of the Trinity at Queenhithe, and against the Black Bull

[he met] a yonge man servand unto the woman that owr [parson] delt nowghtly [naughtily]

he met a young manservant unto the woman that our parson dealt naughtily 

with ys masteres the Fryday a[fore, and the] sayd yonge man haskyd ym [asked him]

with, his mistress, the Friday before. And the said young man asked him

why that he dyd or ...so evyll, and so thay changyd a blow or ij, [and by] chanse ser  

why that he did or ... so evil. And so they exchanged a blow or two. And by chance Sir

Thomas Chamber hyt ym on ... with a botell that he browth [brought] from Wy[nchester],

Thomas Chamber hit him on the head with a bottle that he brought from Winchester.

and the sam nyght the parsun was had to the [counter], and ther lay fryday at nyght, saterday,

And the same night the parson was had to the Counter and there lay Friday at night, Saturday,

so[nday, and] monday tyl iiij at after-none, and ther wher serten of the offesars of Brydewell

Sunday, and Monday till four at afternoon. And there where certain of the officers at Bridewell

fechyd [him] from the conter in Wodstrett, and so cared hym [to Bride]well, a-for master 

fetched him from the Counter in Wood Street and so carried him to Bridewell before Mr.

Grafton, master Hakworth, and master Sy[monds, and] mony mo masturs 

[Richard] Grafton, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. [William] Simmonds, and many more masters

of Brydwell, and ther was ... and dyvers men of Trinite parryche and women; and he sayde

of Bridewell. And there was ... and diverse men of Trinity parish and women. And he said

that he wold no tare [tarry] longe, and desyred them to gett a-nodur preste to serff ys turne,

that he would not tarry long and desired them to get another priest to serve his turn,

for he wold nott tarre, for he wold gett a-nodur serves as sune as he cold gette,

for he would not tarry, for he would get another service as soon as he could get,

but or he whent h ...

but ere he went home.

The diarist Henry Machyn was parish clerk in the same church (Trinity the Less) that had Thomas Chamber as its parish priest. This was the second time that Machyn had cause to note Chamber's embarrassing behaviour.

1557

The sam [xix day of Aprelle] owre master parsun and entryd in-to helle and ther ded at the

The same hour Mr Parson and entered into hell, and at the 

barle-breyke with all the wyffe of the same parryche; and ever was master parsun in the

barley-break with all the wife of the same parish. And ever was Mr. Parson in the 

fyre, ser Thomas T Chambur; and after they whent and dronke at Hogston vij(x) in

fire ― Sir Thomas Chamber. And after, they went and drank at Hoxton seven shillings in

bred and bere, butt ij quarttes of claret, alle, and after they cam to the Swane in 

bread and beer, but two quarts of claret ale,. And after, they came to the Swan in 

Wyttyngtun college to on master Fulmer a vetelar, ther they mad good chere, 

Whittington College to one Mr. Fulmer, a victualler. There they made good cheer ...

and payd for yt.

and paid for it.

The errant priest saga was the sort of case that ended up before the Bridewell Court. Sordid and awkward, and therefore the type of dispute that had nowhere else to go. By Charter and Ordinance the Bridewell Governors were prevented from hearing felonious crime ―"yet for order sake it shall not be convenient that ye do proceed to the correction or punishment of any notable or heinous offence". Their commission was rather "to force and compel the idle strumpet and vagabond to honest and virtuous exercise". 

In this more modest purpose they were meant to correct behaviour as well as punish. They failed with "ser Thomas Chamber". True to his boast that he "wold gett a-nodur serves as sun as he cold gette", he is listed at St Mary Bothars in London for 1562-1563. But he then turns up in Northampsted, Herts, from 1563-1565, "where he was deprived".

The interlinear excerpts for 28th July 1559 and 19th April 1557 are from The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London, 1550-1563 (British History Online) and A London Provisioner's Chronicle, 1550-1563, by Henry Machyn (Michigan University Online)