‘Cruising’ describes the act of searching a public space in search of a sexual partner. ‘Cottaging’ more specifically refers to the act of seeking a sexual partner in a public lavatory, which became known as cottages. This has historically been a practice for gay men to discreetly find a partner in periods where their sexuality was deemed unlawful or immoral.
On 9th May 1843, 55-year-old Edward Rayner and 18-year-old Thomas Sykes were arrested in The Regent Inn on Kirkgate after they were caught cottaging in the toilet of the pub. Sex between two men had long been criminalised, but amendments to the law had dramatically increased arrests at this time. The two men were sentenced to death by a judge in York, but later had their sentences commuted to life in prison and transportation. They were taken to Millwall prison in London, then shipped to Australia to serve their life sentences.
Their story serves as a poignant reminder of the damage that can be caused when the law is weaponised against marginalised people, and the evolving attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community over time.
The Regent still stands proudly on Kirkgate after 200 years. An installation and performance in tribute to Edward and Thomas will be staged at CLAY, a stone’s throw away from the original pub.
Cubicle, Cottaging at The Regent
Free entry
23rd September 2023, 11am – 4pm
Location: CLAY Centre For Live Art Yorkshire
For this project, China worked in collaboration with Michael Lawton, Archie Brooks and Elliot Raine to develop a performance and installation that paid homage to the rich, salacious and poignant history of cruising and cottaging. Drawing on Edward and Thomas’ story, the oral histories of the men of Sage older gay men’s group and the social history archives of Leeds Discovery Centre, fashioning an artwork that reckoned with the ideas of intimacy in a dirty, tucked-away place when your sexual identity is made illegal.
China Duke is an artist, performer and shapeshifter based in Leeds. China has been working in live performance for eleven years, beginning in Birmingham’s drag scene before slithering back to the North. Since returning, they have joined the performance collective AGE OF THE, consulted with other artists on makeup for art projects, and performed locally and nationally. China’s work utilises elements of drag, performance art and cabaret to explore queerness and monstrosity.
Performed by China Duke and Michael Lawton in collaboration with Elliot Raine and Archie Brooks