Elizabeth Needham (right) as portrayed in William Hogarth's A Harlot's Progress

Elizabeth Needham (died 3 May 1731), also known as Mother Needham, was an English procuress and brothel-keeper of 18th-century London, who has been identified as the bawd greeting Moll Hackabout in the first plate of William Hogarth's series of satirical etchings, A Harlot's Progress. William Hogarth (10 November 1697 &ndash 26 October 1764 was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic A Harlot's Progress (also known as The Harlot's Progress) is a series of six paintings (1731 now lost and engravings (1732 by William Hogarth Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1731 ( MDCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year For the 2008 film of this name see The Brothel. For the television series of this name see Cathouse The Series. William Hogarth (10 November 1697 &ndash 26 October 1764 was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic A Harlot's Progress (also known as The Harlot's Progress) is a series of six paintings (1731 now lost and engravings (1732 by William Hogarth Although Needham was notorious in London at the time, little is recorded of her life, and no genuine portraits of her survive. Her house was the most exclusive in London and her customers came from the highest strata of fashionable society, but she eventually fell foul of the moral reformers of the day and died as a result of the severe treatment she received after being sentenced to stand in the pillory.

Character

Nothing is known of her early life, but by the time she was middle-aged she was renowned in London as the keeper of a brothel in Park Place, St. For the 2008 film of this name see The Brothel. For the television series of this name see Cathouse The Series. James. Her house was regarded as the most exclusive in London, superior to those of Covent Garden, even to that of the other notorious bawd of the time, Mother Wisebourne. Covent Garden (Pronunciation kɒvʌnt is a district in London, England, located on the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwest ^[1] She was said to still be attractive in middle-age; Hogarth described her as a "handsome old Procuress. . . well dressed in silk", but mentions "patches on her face" and in his picture her face is seen to be pock-marked. Syphilis is a Sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochetal Bacterium Treponema pallidum pallidum. ^[1] She went by a number of aliases: Bird, Howard, Blewitt and Trent are among those ascribed to her,^[2] although Mother Bird was also the name of another brothel-keeper who was committed to Newgate with Needham in 1724. Needham was apparently ruthless with the girls who worked for her. They were forced to hire their dresses from her, and, if they were unable to pay the exorbitant rentals, she would force them to take more customers or have them committed to debtors' prison until they met her demands (a scheme John Cleland's heroine falls prey to in Fanny Hill (1748)). A debtors' prison is a Prison for those who are unable to pay a Debt. John Cleland ( baptised 24 September 1709 &ndash 23 January 1789) was an English Novelist most famous and infamous Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, popularly known as Once they were too old or too ill to attract customers, she would throw them out. ^[1]

She procured her girls from many sources including the houses of other brothel-keepers, the "Bails" in Covent Garden where homeless girls would sleep rough, Tom King's Coffee House, and even, it appears, from auctions,^[3] but, as depicted in Hogarth's picture, she particularly targeted girls fresh from the country. Tom King's Coffee House (later known as Moll King's Coffee House) was a notorious establishment in Covent Garden, London in the mid-eighteenth century The essayist Richard Steele found her pitching to a newly-arrived girl when he went to meet a wagon bringing him items from the countryside. This is about Richard Steele Irish writer and politician for others see Richard Steele (disambiguation page He described her as "artful", and it seems that she was friendly and engaging with her potential employees, revealing her vicious character only when they were under her roof; in The Dunciad, Alexander Pope warns not to ". The Dunciad (ˈdʌnsiˌæd is a landmark literary Satire by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical . . lard your words with Mother Needham's style". ^[4] Pope mentions her once more at the end of the The Dunciad (1728), making reference to her foul mouth, and again, alongside other notorious madams of the day, in the last verses of his Coronation Epistle (which were suppressed in editions of the poem from 1769 until 1954):

For Want of you, we spend our random Wit on
The first we find with Needham, Brooks, or Briton. ^[5]

Henry Fielding refers to her in his Pasquin (1736) and used Hogarth's representation of her as the model for Mother Punchbowl in The Covent Garden Tragedy (1732). Henry Fielding ( April 22, 1707 &ndash October 8, 1754) was an English Novelist and Dramatist known for his ^[6] Mary Davys's bawd in the Accomplish'd Rake of 1727 is called "Mother N-d-m" and targets young girls fresh from the countryside, just as Needham did. Mary Davys (1674&ndash1732 was a novelist and playwright Life account Born in Ireland, she married Peter Davys master of the free school of St Patrick's ^[7]

Customers

Chief among her customers were Colonel Francis Charteris and his cousin the Duke of Wharton — Charteris is lounging in the doorway behind Needham in Hogarth's picture. Colonel Francis Charteris, ( baptised 12 January 1672 &ndash February 24 1732) nicknamed "The Rape-Master General" Philip Wharton 1st Duke of Wharton ( 21 December 1698 &ndash Poblet, Spain, 31 May 1731, aged 32 powerful Jacobite ^[4] Ronald Paulson suggests that the model for Moll Hackabout in Hogarth's first scene is Ann Bond, who was lured by Needham and raped by Charteris. ^[8] Charteris, already known as the "Rape-Master General", was convicted and sentenced to death as a result of the Bond rape, although he was later pardoned. Needham's name was not mentioned during the legal proceedings.

The connection with Sally Salisbury only served to heighten the reputation of Needham's house.

Needham may have introduced Charteris to Sally Salisbury around 1708. Sally Salisbury (c1692 &ndash 1724 real name Sarah Pridden and also known as Sarah Priddon, was a celebrated prostitute in early 18th-century London ^[9] Salisbury was the pre-eminent prostitute of the day and was kept by Charteris for a short time as mistress at the beginning of her career. When her previous bawd, Mother Wisebourne, died in 1719, she became a member of Needham's household and brought with her a clientele from the highest ranks of society. ^[10] Salisbury brought further fame to Needham's house by involving another of her girls in the theft of the Earl of Cardigan's clothes. Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England, currently held by the Marquesses of Ailesbury. The two women accompanied him to Newmarket where he became drunk, and after putting him to bed at an inn they stole his clothes and jewellery and returned to London. Luckily the Earl treated the matter as a joke. ^[11]

Some idea of the reputation of Needham's house can be gathered from one of Joe Miller's Jests, which involves her asking her landlord to wait for his money until Parliament and the Convocation sit, at which point she will be able to pay him ten times over,^[12] and by a satirical premature obituary, which appeared in the London Journal. Joe Miller ( Joseph or Josias) ( 1684 - August 16, 1738) English actor first appears in the cast of Sir Robert Howard 's The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories The Convocation of the English Clergy is a Synodical assembly of the Church of England consisting of bishops and clergy The latter describes a will in which she distributes appropriate gifts to her famous clients: "a picture of Sodom and Gomorrah to indorsing D―n; an ounce of Mercuris Dulcis to Beau C―e, of St. Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum Martin’s Lane; her estate to the Duke of Wharton; her library to Ned C―; and a receipt to cure a clap to little Quibus". ^[2] At the time, the figures mentioned would not have been spared their blushes by the omission of their full names, but identifying them now is guesswork.

Her well-connected clientele may have allowed her to escape arrest. Despite the popular notion that Sally Salisbury's 1723 stabbing of John Finch, the son of the Duchess of Winchelsea, had taken place in her house (it had actually occurred at the Three Tuns Tavern in Covent Garden),^[1][13] the first time Needham was raided was in 1724:

Yesterday morning the celebrated Mother Needham and Mother Bird, two eminent conservators of the Game of the Kingdom, were committed to Newgate; their houses being disturb’d the night before by the Constables, who disengaged the Gentlemen and Ladies to a great number, and carried them to the Round-House. This being the first time Mrs Needham ever received publick correction, since her being at the head of venal affairs in this town, ’tis thought will be the ruin of her houshold. Daily Journal, Tuesday 21 July 1724. Events 356 BC - Herostratus sets fire to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World Year 1724 ( MDCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[2]

The constables had found "two women in bed with two men of distinction". The men were bound over, but the women were sent to Tothill Fields Bridewell to do hard labour. Tothill Fields Bridewell (also known as Tothill Fields Prison and Westminster Bridewell) was a Prison located in the Westminster area of central ^[14] Needham's punishment on this occasion is not recorded, but it appears that she was still incarcerated in September when her house burned down, killing one of the inhabitants, Captain Barbute, a French officer. In 1728, several of her girls were arrested, but she appears to have escaped punishment. ^[2]

Arrest, conviction and death

In late 1730, Sir John Gonson, a Justice of the Peace and fervent supporter of the Society for the Reformation of Manners, spurred on by the furore surrounding the Charteris rape case,^[4] began conducting raids on brothels all over London. Sir John Gonson (died 1765 was a British Judge for nearly 50 years in the early 18th century serving as a Justice of the Peace and Chairman of the A Justice of the Peace ( JP) is a Puisne Judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace The Society for the Reformation of Manners was founded in the Tower Hamlets area of London in 1691 By early 1731 he had arrived at St James, where some residents of Park Place reported "a Notorious Disorderly House in that Neighbourhood". ^[7] In truth, Needham's house was hardly unknown, having served the upper echelons of society for years, but she was arrested by Gonson and committed to the Gatehouse by Justice Railton. ^[7]

On 29 April 1731, Needham was convicted of keeping a disorderly house, fined one shilling, and sentenced to stand twice in the pillory, and "to find sureties for her good behaviour for 3 years". Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans. Year 1731 ( MDCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The shilling is a unit of Currency used in current and former Commonwealth countries and was continued to be used in countries that left the commonwealth ^[2] On 30 April she was taken to the pillory near Park Place to stand for the first time. Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Perhaps because of her connections, she was allowed to lie face down in front of the pillory and a number of guards were paid to protect her. Despite this she received such a pelting that it was thought likely she would die before her punishment was completed. ^[4] The crowds that had gathered to see her pilloried were so large that one boy fell on an iron fencing rail while trying to get a better look and was killed. ^[3]

Needham was taken from the pillory alive, but died on 3 May 1731, the day before she was due to stand in the pillory (this time at New Palace Yard) for the second time. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1731 ( MDCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year With her last words she apparently expressed great fear at having to stand in the pillory again after the severe punishment she had received the first time. ^[15] The Grub Street Journal, the satirical journal allied with Alexander Pope and others of Hogarth's friends, sardonically reported that the populace "acted very ungratefully, considering how much she had done to oblige them". Published from 1730 to 1737 The Grub-Street Journal was a Satire on popular journalism and hack-writing as it was conducted in Grub Street in ^[2] Her demise was celebrated in a mocking rhyme:

Ye Ladies of Drury, now weep

Your voices in howling now raise

For Old Mother Needham's laid deep

And bitter will be all your Days.

She who drest you in Sattins so fine

Who trained you up for the Game

Who Bail, on occasion would find

And keep you from Dolly and Shame

Now is laid low in her Grave. . . ^[3][a]

Hogarth was still at work on A Harlot's Progress when she died, so she never saw herself immortalised. ^[16] There were other madams ready to step into her shoes, but it was not until Mother Douglas took over the King's Head in Convent Garden in 1741 that a brothel reappeared with a reputation to match that of Needham. Jane Douglas (c1700- 10 June 1761) commonly known as Mother Douglas, was a Brothel -keeper in mid-18th century London ^[17]

Notes

Citations

References

• Burford, E. J. (1986). Wits, Wenchers and Wantons - London's Low Life: Covent Garden in the Eighteenth Century. Hale, 260. ISBN 0709026293.  
• Grose, Francis (1788). A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. J. Hooper, 248.  
• Linnane, Fergus (2003). London - The Wicked City: A Thousand Years of Prostitution and Vice. Robson Books Ltd, 256. ISBN 978-1861056191.  
• Linnane, Fergus (2005). London's Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime. Robson Books, 372. ISBN 1861057423.  
• Miller, Joe (attrib. ) [1739] (1790). in John Motley: Joe Miller's Jests. London: William Lane, 144.  
• Moore, Lucy (2000). The Thieves' Opera. Harvest Books, 304. ISBN 0156006405.  
• Paulson, Ronald (1992). Hogarth: The Modern Moral Subject, 1697-1732 Vol 1. Lutterworth Press, 444. ISBN 0718828542.  
• Paulson, Ronald (2000). The Life of Henry Fielding. Blackwell Publishing Limited, 416. ISBN 0631191461.  
• Paulson, Ronald (2003). Hogarth's Harlot: Sacred Parody in Enlightenment England. Baltimore, Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, 448. ISBN 0801873916.