LGBTQ+ history at the Georgian House

The bedroom

The engraving on the left of the fireplace appears to depict an intimate encounter between Diana and her huntress Callisto. However, on closer inspection, the Eagle with lightning in its talons indicates that ‘Diana’ is Jupiter transformed. The Georgian period marked a revival of classical imagery and themes, such as this vignette of Diana and Callisto, which, as an engraved print, would have circulated widely. The popularity of all things classical extended to the poet Sappho, whose name became associated with desire between women. The origin of the word Lesbian is a direct reference to Sappho and the Greek isle of Lesbos, where she lived. The use of the word ‘sapphic’ to describe same-sex desire between women first appeared in English texts in 1761.

The dining room

The coconut ladle in the punch bowl was a gift from a doctor in St. Kitts, an island in the Caribbean. Many Edinburgh University medical school graduates travelled to different corners of the Empire for their profession, including Dr James Barry. James graduated in 1812 and worked in Jamaica, India, South Africa, Canada, Mauritius, and Malta. James lived as a man both publicly and privately for the majority of his life. In the instructions he left for his death, James wrote that strict precautions should be adopted to prevent any examination of his person and that the body should be ‘buried in [the] bed sheets without further inspection’. This could suggest that James was intersex or may have identified as transgender if he were alive today.

Internal hall

Baron David Hume was the nephew of the philosopher David Hume and was a significant figure in Scottish legal history. In his Commentaries on the Law of Scotland Respecting Crimes (1797–1819), Hume covered the legal treatment of sodomy. At the time, sodomy was considered a serious crime, punishable by severe penalties, including death. Hume’s treatment of the subject reflected the moral and legal views of his era, which were heavily influenced by religious and social norms. Passages within the text reveal how such acts were legally categorised and the rationale behind the prescribed punishments.

The kitchen

The spice box in the kitchen housed imported spices that were popular during the Georgian period. With this trade travelled ideas, cultures, and customs – including language, such as Polari, a slang language used between men seeking intimacy with other men. Riddled with code and metaphor, its origins stem from the merchant navy in the 19th century. The slang made its way to Scotland via the theatres and bawdy houses of British ports. Polari was a safe form of communication where men could identify each other and speak openly without being understood by others.

Timeline

• 1726 The Caledonian Mercury reported on the raid of Mother Clap’s Molly House.
• 1741 Catherine Talbot met Elizabeth Carter, who later published her writing.
• 1773 Robert Fergusson published ‘Auld Reekie’.
• 1778 Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, better known as The Ladies of Llangollen, eloped from Ireland to Wales.
• 1785 Jeremy Bentham became the first to support the decriminalisation of sodomy in England.
• 1805 Elyza Fraser erected a monument on the grounds of Castle Fraser to her companion, Mary Bristow.
• 1810 Edinburgh school teachers Marianne Woods and Jane Pirie were accused of being in a relationship by one of their students.
• 1812 Dr James Barry graduated from the University of Edinburgh Medical School.
• 1827 Mary Shelley arranged new identity documents for her friend Walter Sholto Douglas.
• 1828 Anne Lister and Sibella Maclean toured Scotland together.