Gay cruising in England and Wales

Gay cruising describes the act of searching about a public place in pursuit of a partner for sex. The activity has existed since at least the 17th century in Great Britain, and has a colourful legal history. It differs from prostitution in that the parties involved do not seek money for sex, and from gay nightclubs or bathhouses in that they are not on private premises, although they may take place on private land to which the public have been granted access.

History

The history of gay cruising is fairly poorly documented, as the illegality of gay sex meant that those who used such cruising grounds were likely to be discreet about them.

Rictor Norton, author of Mother Clap's Molly House (a reference to Margaret Clap), is one of the few historians to address the topic. He believes that the first gay cruising grounds and gay brothels in London may have sprung up in the early 17th century. Theatres were sometimes denounced as such by moralists of the time.

Norton lists a number of cruising grounds during the Georgian era. These included St. James's Park, Moorfields, the public privies at Lincoln's Inn, and Smithfield prior to the Gordon Riots.

Before the 20th century, anal sex, whether conducted in public or private, was illegal under sodomy laws, including the Buggery Act set down by Henry VIII in 1533. The penalty for anal intercourse during most of this period was death, however, specific proof of successful anal penetration was required for this verdict to be brought; the lesser crime of "gross indecency" carried penalties including the pillory (as in the case of the Vere Street Coterie, who were arrested in a raid of a gay club in 1811), transportation, imprisonment, etc.

The death penalty for anal sex was lifted in 1861, however, gay men have continued to be at risk of prosecution for public sex. An 1855 law prohibited "gross indecency" including mutual masturbation and oral sex. Eventually, in 1967, the Wolfenden Report led to the legalisation of homosexual sex in private; no such legal privilege pertains to sex in public places either for homosexual or hetorosexual sex.

A number of well known people have been arrested for sex in public places in Britain. They include:

• Wilfrid Brambell was arrested in a toilet in Shepherd's Bush (date unknown).
• Guy Burgess
• Peter Dudley, arrested in 1982 in a toilet in Didsbury.
• Sir John Gielgud, arrested for "importuning" in 1953 in Chelsea.
• Joe Meek, arrested in a toilet in Islington in 1963.
• Stedman Pearson, arrested in a toilet in New Malden in 1990.
• Simeon Solomon, who was arrested in a London toilet in 1873 with a 60-year-old stableman. He was later also arrested in France for a similar offence.
• Michael Turnbull was arrested for gross indecency in 1968, before he became Bishop of Durham.
• Peter Wyngarde, arrested for gross indecency in Gloucester in 1975.
• Leigh Bowery, arrested for gross indecency at Liverpool Street Station in 1985.

Current situation

The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which prohibits "sexual activity in a public lavatory", has nothing to say about sex in other public places. However anyone who engages in homosexual or heterosexual intercourse in public can find themselves charged with offences under the Public Order Act, if the police have sufficient evidence to convince a court of law that the activity was witnessed by a third party, or there was a high likelihood of the activity being witnessed by a third party.

Presently, there is an active population of men who visit cruising grounds, which include parks, picnic areas and lay-bys where sex takes place in the bushes or other sheltered areas. The attitude of the police to cruising at any given location varies, according to the time of the day or night, and the level of public concern measured by the number of complaints from local residents and councillors. Occasionally, police will visit a cruising area during the early hours of the morning with the intention of advising cruisers of the risk of homophobic attacks, and any persons seen to be involved in sexual behaviour will be asked to move on rather than being arrested.

Many cruisers complain about the practice of leaving evidence of sexual encounters, such as discarded lubricant and condom packets, soiled toilet tissue and used condoms, because it draws the attention of other people to the fact that the area is a public sex environment, even if no sexual activity has been seen by others[1]. The presence of such debris leads to complaints to the police and local council on moral or environmental grounds, and an increased police presence.

During an interview on BBC News24, George Michael, who was allegedly caught cruising in Hampstead Heath by News of the World photographers, claimed that his cruising was defacto private because it occurs at 2am. "[2] This is not the case for other cruisers who take part in sexual encounters in the Heath from 6pm all year round - often in broad daylight and in the open. The wooded West Heath part of the famous Hampstead Heath is frequented by hikers, dog-walkers, young families on treks, groups of friends having bonfires/picnics and in the bushes - homosexual cruisers. Cruisers usually identifiy each other by carrying a shoulder bag which can lead to some embarrasing propositions for park-goers walking back from work carrying their computer laptops.

As Michael said in the BBC News 24 interview, the police do not visit the area anymore leading residents and users of the local parks to imagine that police at least unoffically accept gay cruising.

Cruising areas in Britain

Cruising areas are to be found in all parts of the United Kingdom, including in isolated rural areas. Many are short lived; the owners of private premises frequently deploy security guards or install security cameras after becoming aware that cruising is taking place on their premises.

A small number of cruising areas, mainly in London, have been mentioned in the national media, usually in the days and weeks after a well known individual has been discovered to have used the area.

• Hampstead Heath, London
• Streatham Common, London
• Clapham Common, London (see Ron Davies)
• Rose Garden, Hyde Park, London (only after dark)
• Stave Hill, London
• The Nudist Beach, Brighton
• Southampton Common, Southampton
• The Downs, Bristol
• Bute Park, Cardiff
• Brompton Cemetery, London
• Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow
• Strathclyde Park, Motherwell
• Old Trafford, Manchester

• Colwick Woods, Nottingham

See also

• Cottaging
• Cruising for sex
• Gay bathhouse
• Dogging
• Gay cruising in Japan
• Gay cruising in Canada

External links

• The Gay Subculture in Early Eighteenth-Century London
• UK Gay Cruising map.
• The Cruisin' Ground
• Squirt - Your neighborhood cruising guide
• The Complete Gay Cruising List Worldwide
• A Recommended International Gay Cruising Site