Briscoe, Eliza

Submitted by edpope on

see Batemans Buildings in London Addresses dataset

Eliza Briscoe 16 Batemans Buildings ratebooks 1774-1780, 1781 gone / Squire Randon's excursion round London, or a week's frolic in the year 1776 contained a passage where a "buck" was boasting to two others of the beautiful women he has "bilked". Challenged to name them he reeled off a list of 16 names and addresses, but his friends realised he was just quoting from Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies. Some of the names like Polly Freelove and addresses like Maidenhead Court sound made up, but the list included Mrs Briscoe in Batemans Buildings. The 1773 edition of Harris's List didn't include Mrs Briscoe (nor Batemans Buildings which wasn't yet built), the nearest two others of which copies survive are 1774 in Paris and 1779 at Yale and neither is online nor have I been to see them, so she may perhaps have featured in those. Morning Post 29.5.1776 referred to women of the town from "Kings Place, Newman Street, Batemans Buildings and the vicinity of Soho" at Vauxhall Gardens, Morning Chronicle 12.2.1777 mentioned "demireps" at the Carlisle House masquerade from Kings Place, Newman Street, Batemans Buildings, London Evening Post 27.5.1777 said the "Cyprian train" from Batemans Buildings, Kings Place and the new buildings of Marylebone were the real stars of the masquerade. Kings Place was a line of brothels so it is reasonable to suppose there was at least one brothel in Batemans Buildings, perhaps as well as independent women of the town lodging there. Mrs Briscoe may have been the "bawd" but I've found out nothing else about her yet