Societies for Reformation of Morals

The Society for the Reformation of Manners was founded in the Tower Hamlets area of London in 1691. Its espoused aims were the suppression of profanity, immorality, and other lewd activities in general, and of brothels and prostitution in particular.

One of many similar societies founded in that period, it reflected a sea-change in the social attitudes in England following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and a shifting from the socially liberal attitudes of the Restoration period under Charles II and James II to a more moral and censorious attitude of respectability and seriousness under William III and Mary II. Although inspired and fed by the moral excesses of London, branches were set up in towns and cities as far afield as Edinburgh, where Daniel Defoe was a member, though the societies never flourished in rural areas.

The Society was arranged in four tiers, with the "Society of Original Gentlemen" at the top. These eminent professionals (lawyers, judges and MPs) along with the original founders, provided the expertise and financing to enable prosecutions to proceed. The next tier was the "Second Society" which consisted mainly of tradesmen, and whose role it was to suppress vice. Among other methods, the "Second Society" employed a blacklist which they published annually to shame the alleged offenders. Below the tradesmen was the "Association of Constables" who took a more active role in arresting the miscreants who offended the public morality. Finally the fourth layer consisted of informers: a network of "moral guardians" throughout the City of London, with two stewards in each parish, to gather information about moral infractions. The central committee of "Original Gentlemen" collected the information with a view to passing the information to the local magistrates, so the malefactors could be prosecuted and punished. The Society would pay others to bring prosecutions, or bring prosecutions on its own account.

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