Jane Douglas

Jane Douglas ( – 10 June 1761), commonly known as Mother Douglas, was a brothel-keeper in mid-18th century London. Known at the time as "The Empress of the Bawds", her house in Covent Garden attracted customers from the higher echelons of society. Early career Mother Douglas was born around 1698 to a well-to-do Edinburgh family named Marinet. She had three sisters and at least one brother, but nothing more is known of the family. By the time she was 17, she was already working as a prostitute in London under the name Douglas. She worked out of a house in St James's, Piccadilly and was praised by John Gay as "that inimitable Courtesan". She was on intimate terms with many influential people, both men and women, but had a particularly close friendship with John Williams (later 1st Earl FitzWilliam). At some point she took possession of the St James's house and began to work as a procuress, choosing girls for their elegance, pleasant manners, and sexual expertise. Covent Garden By 1735, she had moved to Covent Garden, home to many of the famous brothels of the time. She took a house in the Little Piazza, to the east of the main piazza on the corner of Russell Street, that had recently been vacated by Betty Careless. As she had done in St James's, she decorated the house in opulent style and hired liveried servants to wait on her customers. The Covent Garden location meant that customers were plentiful. It also had the advantage of being close to the theatres; these supplied a continual flow of beautiful, but poor, actresses—who would supplement their incomes by working for Douglas. The customers coming from the many drinking dens and bagnios that surrounded the square were often drunk and rowdy. This led to disturbances at the house, and occasional raids and arrests. In 1741, Douglas moved to the opposite side of the square into the vacant King's Head. This house was much larger, with a garden and running water supplied to the basement. Douglas made further improvements, installing a drain and cesspool, extending the water supply, and renovating the roof, chimneys, and staircases. This house was decorated to the highest standards with fine furniture, china, glass, and expensive paintings adorning the walls. She added a restaurant with liveried waiters to serve the guests.