Brothels and alcohol

The main brothel areas in Lonsdale and Exhibition streets could not be excavated because of the presence of existing structures. An interesting collection of alcohol bottles were recovered in three of the 61 trenches, suggesting an association with the br othels. The bottles, dating mainly between 1850 and 1890, were mainly of French champagne and wines, with port, brandy and liqueurs, and some gin and beer bottles.

The bottles were found in cess pits or rubbish pits. Over 60% of the champagne and wine bottles were found in trench 27, within the property of 60 Lonsdale Street, a brothel owned by Mrs Bond and her husband at the beginning of the 1880s. The property con sisted of a brick house of five rooms described as a ‘store’. Morris Cohen, who was the tenant in 1879-83, described his business as a ‘furniture mart’; police considered that such a business was often a front for a brothel. (1882 Royal Commission Report, Q4076.) The property was also adjacent to 56-58 Lonsdale Street, owned by Henry Raphael, a well-known brothel-owner. It appears, then, that the excavated material from this trench is associated with one or more brothels.


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