The Cleveland Street Scandal of
1889 was a political scandal that was ruthlessly swept under the
carpet and out of sight to save the embarrassment of the upper
classes.
A Victorian gay rent boy ring and male brothel was discovered in
Cleveland Street (near Tottenham Court Road). The equerry to the
Prince of Wales, Lord Arthur Somerset was involved, and the Duke of
Clarence implicated. The police wanted to issue arrest warrants and
there is a link to the Ripper case. Clarence was got out of the
country, then the wheels of government began to turn to protect
Somerset...
Jeff Page works in the National
Gallery Reception and is an experienced free lance lecture and
gallery guide.
He specializes in art history - just about anything; history of
London: London in the 1880s, Jack the Ripper, Dickens, Oscar Wilde,
Sherlock Holmes, the Sidney Street Siege etc; and local/Essex
history. He is also the Chairman of Ilford Historical Society.