Working Ladies of London Guides

7/30/2014

Premier Models UK Blog

You may have recently read in the news the story of George McCoy, who the busy body deputy Mayor of London is looking to prosecute for creating a guide to London's working girls. Unsure of what exactly the legal grounds for prosecution will be, the deputy Mayor has asked the London Met Police to investigate. Now, obviously we know that this prosecution will go nowhere, and McCoy will face no form of punishment, but the recent news piece in the Daily Mail has certainly kicked up a bit of a stick.

 

The thing is that, like any other service that exists, escort directories are one of the best ways for clients to get a fair and open opinion on the services they're about to purchase. They're the mainstay of all industries, so why should the escort industry not have the same privileges? After all no one is doing anything illegal and it's a thriving industry that puts millions of pounds into the British economy every year...

 

If anything, shutting down these sites, banning these guides and further ruling the use of London escort services illegal will do nothing to the actual escort industry in terms of the punters that use the service and the working girls that provide it, but what it will do is push the whole thing further underground, at which point it will certainly get mixed up in other illicit trades!

 

The Original London Escort Directory

 

The funny thing is that this is nothing new at all, and the original version of the guide which McCoy's is based upon, was in fact written in the 1700's. Known as "Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies for Man of Pleasure's", it was published between 1757 and 1795 by a little known hack writer Samuel Derrick. Released annually, it would list around 120-190 girls offering in depth reviews of the working girls and their services often crossing over into the world of erotica. 

They roughly estimate that around 8,000 copies were sold each year, which in the less densely populated London of those days is a considerable amount. However, it wasn't all plain sailing. 

Ultra religious and conservative spoil sports got fed up of the sex trade in London, and decided to petition parliament to band the escort guide. The Proclamation Society, which was set up in 1987 by King George III to rid England of, "loose and licentious Prints, Books, and Publications, dispersing Poison to the minds of the Young and Unwary", took it upon themselves to bring Harris's Guide down.

 

They finally got their way in 1795 and the authors and printers of the books were fined and put in jail. The main culprits James Roach, who had been previously convicted of selling the guide, received a year in Newgate Prison and a hefty fine of £150, whilst printer John Aitkin was fined £200.

 

It was only in 1857 that legitimate laws were established concerning the publication of this type of journal, as the Obscene Publications Act was legislated, making it illegal to sale of any 'obscene' material illegal, and gave the police the right to confiscate and destroy any material they did find. However this act has been repealed and no longer holds weight. Though there was a new act comissioned in 1959, its seriousness is laughed at my modern standards.

 

We don't think Harris's guide would have had pictures like this ;) 

It's quite ridiculous that over 50 years after the new act that the Deputy Mayor of London is now looking to clamp down on this age old tradition. It's clear for anyone to see that prostitutes, working girls, London escorts, erotic masseuses and dominatrix have been around for ever and will continue to be so. What is also clear to see is that the men and women who use this service will continue to write about it, review it and purchase literature on it!

 

We're already governed by enough laws and told by too many people how we can and can't have fun. 

 

All this talk got you hankering for a London escort? Then come this way...

 

Best Reviewed London Escorts

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