Queer Ancestor Spotlight: Tryals of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis
Glory holes. Arguably one of the most recognizable cultural artifacts of contemporary gay culture due to it's relationship to cruising and anonymous sex, something that marked the reality of the gay male experience in the Western world for centuries. When loving the person you want, either romantically or physically, is against the law and can land you in prison, an asylum, or worse, you find ways to satisfy your needs as safely and discreetly as possible.
A molly in the pillory, 1763, from Political and Personal Satires
What makes a glory hole? Historically, glory holes have been a hole cut into a partition that allows people to either engage in sexual activity, such as oral or anal sex, or watch others engage in sexual activity. They are most popularly associated with public bathrooms and sex video arcades.
The first documented account of a glory hole, though it was not called that, comes from London, England in 1707. On October 16th of that year four men - Thomas Vaughan, Thomas Davis, John Knight, and Edward Knight - were indicted for attempting to extort money from men over false accusations of sodomy. One of the men, identified only as “Mr. Guillam”, was using a public restroom when “a Boy in the adjoyning Vault put his Privy-member through a Hole”. Shocked and alarmed, Mr. Guillam left the restroom. The boy followed after him, shouting that he would have sex with him. Mr. Guillam was then stopped by Thomas Vaughan who threatened to have him arrested and disgraced unless he agreed to pay for their silence. The men were tried at Hick’s Hall and found guilty, sentenced to be pilloried and whipped, and jailed until their fine could be paid.
The term “glory hole” has a complicated history that, wonderfully, has some of its earliest roots in the art of glass blowing. While the terms association with glass blowing did not begin until the mid-19th century the style of glass furnace it references has been documented as far back as the early 11th century. The earliest recorded printed usage of this term in reference to the sexual practice that would become associated with cruising culture comes from Swasarnt Nerf’s Gay Girl’s Guide, an anonymous pamphlet published in 1949.
Learn more about the 1707 trial and the history of glory holes here:
Trials of Thomas Vaughan and Thomas Davis, 1707 - Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook Compiled by Rictor Norton
Newspaper Reports, 1707 - Homosexuality in Eighteenth-Century England: A Sourcebook Compiled by Rictor Norton
Who Invented the “Glory Hole” - Glass Blowers or Gays? - Slate
The Hidden History of Glory Holes - MEL
