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Kate Meyrick
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Kate Meyrick
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Kate Meyrick (7 August 1875 – 19 January 1933) known as the 'Night Club Queen' was an Irish night-club owner in 1920s London.[1] During her 13-year career she made, and spent, a fortune and served five prison sentences. She was the inspiration for the character Ma Mayfield in Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited.[2]

Key Information

Early life and marriage

[edit]

Kate Evelyn Nason was born on 7 August 1875 at 24 Cambridge Terrace, Kingstown to John William Washington Nason, a doctor, and Sarah Frances, née Bateman.[1] Her father died from meningitis in 1876 and her mother married the clergyman Reverend Edwin Sandys Jackson in June 1880. The family moved to England and lived at the rectory in Great Sankey, Lancashire. When Kate was seven years old, her mother died and she and her older sister, Ethel, returned to Kingstown where they were raised by their grandmother, Isabella Bateman, and two great aunts at Fairyland, York Road. She was educated by governesses then attended Alexandra College from 1891 to 1893.[3]

In December 1899 she married a doctor, Ferdinand Richard Holmes Merrick (later changed to Meyrick), in a ceremony performed by her stepfather in St John's church, Monkstown. The couple lived on Palmerston Road, Rathmines, Dublin, for a short time before moving to England and settling in Southsea, Hampshire. For fifteen years, Kate Meyrick assisted her husband with running nursing homes for psychiatric patients,[4] during this time the couple moved to London and lived in Ealing for a time. Between 1900 and 1914, eight children were born to the couple: six daughters and two sons.[5] The marriage was not successful and the couple considered divorce three times[6] before permanently separating in 1918.[3]

Career

[edit]

After separation from her husband at the age of 43, Meyrick found herself having to support eight children with a weekly allowance of less than £1 a week.[7] Looking for well-paid work, she responded to an advert, "Fifty pounds wanted for partnership to run tea dances"[8] whilst in London nursing her eldest daughter, who had caught influenza whilst studying at college.[6] In April 1919, she opened Dalton's in a basement close to the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square in partnership with Harry Dalton (real name Henry Sampson). Dalton's was described as a "rendezvous for members of the theatrical and variety professions and their friends"[8] but the venture was short-lived. In January 1920, the club was struck off the register[9][10][11] and Meyrick and Dalton were both fined at Bow Street Magistrates' Court. The prosecutor in the case described the club as a "dancing hell and a sink of iniquity".[12]

Meyrick's 1920 conviction was the first in a string of encounters with the Metropolitan Police and law courts which lasted throughout her career. The sale of alcohol in Britain at the time was subject to strict licensing laws as well as the Defence of the Realm Act which was introduced during the First World War. Night club owners did what they could to circumvent the rules to provide venues for dancing and drinking to the new generation of Bright Young Things. In a game of cat and mouse with the authorities, Meyrick opened a series of clubs under different names. As soon as one was shut down for breaching licensing laws she would open another – usually at the same premises.[13]

After running clubs called the Bedford and Brett's,[8] Meyrick opened her most famous venue, the 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street, Soho, in November 1920,[14] an address which was also once the home of poet John Dryden.[15] The basement was used as a dance hall and the ground floor housed a large lounge.[16] The bar was located in a small room accessed via a locked door, the manager kept hold of the key.[17] The 43 Club was open all night until 6am and offered dinners, suppers and breakfasts alongside the illicit alcohol.[18] Meyrick collected the door money in a front office and customers paid to dance to jazz bands and artists with Meyrick's Merry Maids who encouraged them to spend even more. The club was popular with celebrities and royalty including the actors Rudolph Valentino and Tallulah Bankhead, jazz musician Harry Gold, and authors J. B. Priestley, Evelyn Waugh and Joseph Conrad.[3] Meyrick claimed that the Egyptian aristocrat Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey had been a regular customer before he was murdered by his wife Marguerite Alibert at the Savoy Hotel.[4] Army and naval officers on leave were regular attendees as were students, "butterflies of the gay nightlife" and underworld figures.[13] Meyrick claimed that gangsters would sometimes refuse to pay. A disagreement one evening led to two shots being fired inside the club. Mirrors were shattered and a piano was damaged but no one was hurt.[4] On another notable evening, members of the IRA celebrated at the club after stealing machine guns from Chelsea Barracks.[3]

In February 1922, the 43 Club was raided by police and Meyrick was fined at Bow Street Magistrates' Court for selling intoxicating liquor without a licence.[17] "A raid at these places was always an exciting affair", it was reported in the press, "whistles would be blown and glasses knocked off the tables in a vain effort to conceal the fact that illegal drinking was taking place".[13] The police would have to undertake surveillance before a raid and this involved dressing in plain clothes and attending the club as a customer. During these visits, police officers would join in with the dances and buy alcoholic drinks to gather their evidence.[8] Sometimes officers disguised themselves with one constable posing as a Russian duke with the unlikely name of Maxton Hagel.[19]

Meyrick reopened the 43 Club as Procter's Club in 1923 and opened a new club that same year called the Folies Bergères at 14 Newman Street, Fitzrovia.[8] By May 1923, Meyrick was summoned to Marlborough Street Magistrates Court for supplying intoxicating liquor after permitted hours.[20] Meyrick reopened the club as the New Follies only to be fined again a few months later on charges in connection with early morning drinking.[19] By now, Meyrick's activities were beginning to receive attention in the press. Describing her as a "Wicked Woman", John Bull magazine reported Meyrick saying, "Fines don't worry me... I'm getting quite accustomed to them now. I suppose they'll keep on fining me! Well, it can't be helped – you can't run night clubs unless you are prepared for this sort of thing."[18] At some point during the 1920s, Meyrick bought protection from the Sabini gang to protect against police raids.[3]

After the closure of the New Follies club, it was reopened as The Broadway and Meyrick was fined again in September 1924 for aiding and abetting the sale of intoxicating liquor at the club.[21] Just a few months later, in November, Meyrick was sentenced to six months in Holloway Prison for the sale of drink at Procter's (formerly the 43 Club).[13] By now, Meyrick had caught the attention of the press who dubbed her with the moniker "Queen of the Night Clubs", they reported on her antics with a combination of admiration and scorn. Reynold's News published a feature, "Amazing Career of the Queen of the Night Clubs" describing Meyrick as a "woman without scruples" who mocked the law. It was claimed that Meyrick had earned £30,000 in her first year as a night club proprietress and she had been able to pay for her children to be educated at top private schools.[22] Meyrick later estimated that £500,000 had passed through her hands over the course of her career.[3] Her court appearances drew press interest because she was usually well-dressed in a fur trimmed coat and her glamorous friends would be present in the public gallery.[23] Public interest in Meyrick was furthered by the fact that three of her daughters married into the British nobility: Mary in 1928 to the 14th Earl of Kinnoull, Irene in 1939 to the 6th Earl of Craven, and Dorothy in 1926 to the 26th Baron de Clifford. Meyrick capitalised on the attention she received by selling her story "My Secrets, Ten Years Behind the Scenes in London's Night-Life" to The Sentinel in early 1929.[24]

By the time William Joynson-Hicks became Home Secretary in November 1924, the Metropolitan Police had been campaigning for some time for more powers to tackle night club owners such as Kate Meyrick. Joynson-Hicks encouraged raids on night clubs and made plans to bring in a bill to improve the policing of them. He was supported in this endeavour by the chief of the metropolitan police, William Horwood, and the bishop of London. The bill did not progress beyond an early draft in 1925 but organisations such as the British Social Hygiene Council and public concern about the morality of night clubs ensured Joynson-Hicks's "war on night clubs" lasted until the end of his tenure as Home Secretary in 1929.[8][3]

Meyrick's children assisted her with the running of her night clubs and, while she was in Holloway Prison, her son Henry was fined after a raid on the 43 Club.[25] Her daughter Mary had also been fined in September 1924.[21] After her release from prison in 1925, Meyrick moved to Paris to open the Merrick Gaiety in Rue Fontaine, Montmartre.[26] While she was in France, Meyrick's children continued to look after the night clubs in London.[8] Merrick's Gaiety was reported to be unsuccessful with more waiters than customers and Meyrick described as a "Queen With Few Subjects".[27]

Meyrick returned to London in 1927 and opened the Silver Slipper Club in Regent Street[8] which had an illuminated glass floor.[28] In June the following year she was sentenced to another six months in prison for selling intoxicating liquor at the Cecil Club which had formerly been the 43 Club.[29] On her release in November of that year, Meyrick greeted a crowd of people as she stepped out of Holloway Prison. Dressed in a velvet coat, blue hat and carrying a scarlet handbag, she told waiting reporters and photographers that she did a great deal of reading in prison where they had "a splendid library". She was met by her family, including her daughter Lady Kinnoull, who drove her away in a "luxury motor car". Meyrick celebrated her release at a party at the Silver Slipper Club.[30] The following month, Meyrick was arrested twice: one charge was for selling intoxicating liquor without a licence at the 43 Club[31] and the other charge was for bribing George Goddard,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38] a Metropolitan Police Sergeant.[39][40]

In January 1929, Meyrick went on trial for bribery at the Old Bailey alongside restaurateur and brothel keeper, Luigi Ribuffi and Ex-Sergeant Goddard of Vine Street police station. Meyrick was said to have paid Goddard £155 in return for receiving advance warnings about police raids on her clubs.[41] This arrangement appeared to have suited her well as there were no police raids on her clubs for a time between 1925 and 1928.[3] The trial lasted for seven days and there was such interest in the case that, in its closing stages, a crowd of several hundred people gathered outside the Old Bailey. Meyrick was sentenced to fifteen months hard labour in Holloway Prison.[42] She served twelve months of her sentence and was released in January 1930. She told reporters that she had suffered from ill-health in prison and had been getting up at an "unearthly hour" to sew mail bags.[43]

Meyrick's freedom was short-lived, however, in July 1930 she was sentenced once again to six months in prison for selling intoxicating liquor at the Richmond Club which was on the premises of the 43 Club. During this court appearance she was reported to be "sobbing" and "crying hysterically" in the dock.[23] After her release from Holloway Prison in December,[44] Meyrick was reported to be in Monte Carlo the following month negotiating the purchase of a cabaret club.[45] Nothing came of this venture, however, and in May 1931 Meyrick received another jail term of six months hard labour for using 43 Gerrard Street for the purposes of gaming and betting and selling intoxicating liquor.[46] Meyrick was now 55 years old and, a few months into her sentence, she was transferred to the prison hospital.[47] She was released from prison the following month to no fanfare – a stark contrast to the celebrations after previous releases.[48]

Meyrick's final court appearance was in May 1932 at Marlborough Street police court where she pleaded guilty to supplying intoxicating liquor at the Bunch of Keys Club on the premises of the 43 Club.[49] The presiding magistrate asked her counsel to pledge that she never run night clubs again under an order in force for three years. Meyrick said, "I was obliged ... to give in a court of law an honourable undertaking that I would not transgress for three years those laws which dictate to grown men and women the hours within which they may purchase alcoholic refreshment".[8]

Death

[edit]

Meyrick died on 19 January 1933 from influenza, aged 57. Her son-in-law, Lord Kinnoull commented shortly after her death, "Mrs Meyrick's health had undoubtedly been weakened by her several periods of imprisonment.”[50] On the day of her large funeral at St Martin-in-the-Fields, West End theatres and clubs dimmed their lights. There was a big turnout on the day from people well known in London's night club life. Meyrick's estranged husband was reported to have attended at her funeral, inconsolable.[51] She is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Despite the vast sums of money Meyrick earned during her career, her estate was valued at only £771 8s 1d. She had claimed that all her earnings had been spent on running her clubs, educating her children and legal fees.[3]

In February 1933, the Leeds Mercury stated that Scotland Yard had obtained a copy of the manuscript of Meyrick's posthumously published autobiography, Secrets of the 43 Club, leading to suspicion that it was subsequently censored to protect the Metropolitan Police and aristocratic society.[52][53] The author J. B. Priestley objected to being mentioned in the book, claiming he had never frequented Meyrick's clubs.[3]

In fiction

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Commemoration

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Kate Meyrick was one of the figures showcased by the UK National Archives in their 2022 exhibition 20's People, including a recreation of The 43 Club based on police records.[16][6]

Further reading

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References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Kate Meyrick

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from Grokipedia
Kate Meyrick (1875–1933) was an Irish-born entrepreneur and nightclub proprietor renowned as the "Queen of the Nightclubs" for establishing a profitable chain of illicit after-hours venues in London's Soho during the 1920s. Born Kate Evelyn Walsh in Dublin, she trained as a nurse, married doctor Patrick Meyrick, and relocated to London, where she managed a hospital during World War I before entering the nightclub business as a widow supporting seven children. Capitalizing on post-war demand for revelry amid restrictive licensing laws that banned late-night drinking and dancing, Meyrick opened the 43 Club in 1921, which became a hotspot for aristocrats, celebrities like Tallulah Bankhead, and figures such as the Prince of Wales, fostering an underground nightlife culture that evaded police raids through tips and disguises. Her operations expanded to multiple clubs, generating substantial wealth, but she faced repeated prosecutions for supplying unlicensed liquor, culminating in five convictions, including a 1929 sentence of 15 months' hard labor for bribing Scotland Yard officers to ignore violations. Meyrick documented her experiences in the 1932 memoir Secrets of the 43 Club, highlighting her defiance of authorities and role in shaping interwar London's social scene before her death from leukemia.

Early Life

Birth and Irish Background

Kate Evelyn Nason was born on 7 August 1875 at 24 Cambridge Terrace in (now ), a coastal south of , . Her father, a respected medical practitioner from a Protestant family, died when she was approximately one year old, leaving the family in relative financial security due to his professional standing. Following her father's death, Nason's mother also passed away during her early childhood, rendering her an . She was raised thereafter by her maternal grandmother in , where she received private education from governesses, reflecting the upper-middle-class norms of her Protestant upbringing. This environment instilled a sense of independence and resourcefulness, though details of her formal schooling remain limited beyond possible attendance at in Milltown, a prominent for Protestant girls in the area. Her Irish roots, embedded in Dublin's Anglo-Irish Protestant community during a period of political tension under British rule, shaped her early worldview, though she later relocated to as a young adult. No primary records indicate direct involvement in Irish nationalist movements, with her emphasizing personal resilience amid familial loss over broader socio-political engagement.

Family Influences and Initial Relocation

Kate Meyrick, born Kate Evelyn Nason, was orphaned at a young age following the deaths of both parents; her father, John William Nason, and mother passed away during her childhood, leaving her and her older sister under the care of their grandmother in . This early loss instilled a of independence, as Meyrick later reflected in her memoirs on the challenges of her upbringing, though specific familial values emphasized resilience and within their Protestant household. Her grandmother arranged for private education, initially through governesses, before Meyrick attended , a prominent institution for Protestant girls in that focused on academic rigor and moral instruction. This schooling, uncommon for the era, equipped her with skills in languages and literature, influencing her later adaptability in , though it did not steer her directly toward amid a family background lacking notable commercial precedents. In 1899, Meyrick married Dr. Ferdinand Richard Holmes Meyrick, adopting his surname and initially residing briefly on Palmerston Road in , . The couple soon relocated to , , , where their first child was born in 1900, marking Meyrick's initial permanent move from and the start of raising a family of eight children amid her husband's medical practice. This relocation reflected practical opportunities in for the professional couple, though it distanced Meyrick from her Irish roots without evident cultural friction documented in primary accounts.

Personal Life

Marriage to William Meyrick

Kate Evelyn Nason married Ferdinand Richard Holmes Merrick, a doctor specializing in psychiatric medicine, on 12 December 1899 in a ceremony officiated by her stepfather at St John's Church in Dublin. The couple, both from Protestant Irish backgrounds, initially resided in Dublin before relocating to England shortly after the wedding, eventually settling on the Hampshire coast. Their first child, Mary Isabel, was born in 1900, followed by seven more children over the next 14 years, including sons Henry and Gordon, and daughters May, Dorothy (initially known as Dolly), Lillian Agnes (born 1912), and Gwendoline Irene (born 1914). The marriage proved turbulent from early on, marked by financial strains and personal incompatibilities, as Merrick (who later anglicized his surname to Meyrick) struggled with professional setbacks, including the loss of his medical practice due to alleged misconduct with patients. In 1910, amid escalating conflicts, Meyrick left her and filed for while pregnant with their sixth child, citing his behavior, but the petition was dismissed, leading to a temporary reconciliation that produced their final two daughters. By 1918, however, the couple had separated acrimoniously, with Meyrick assuming primary responsibility for the children as her descended into and institutionalization. This period of marital breakdown compelled Meyrick to enter business ventures to support her family, though she never formally until after her husband's death in 1940.

Divorce and Responsibilities as a Single Mother

Kate Meyrick's marriage to Dr. Ferdinand Richard Holmes Meyrick deteriorated amid ongoing conflicts, leading to an initial separation attempt in 1910 when she filed for while pregnant with their sixth child, though the couple briefly and had two more children. The reconciliation proved short-lived, with final separation occurring in 1918, after which Meyrick initiated proceedings in 1920 and her husband petitioned in 1921; however, no was ever finalized. At age 43, Meyrick faced the challenge of supporting eight children—six daughters and two sons—on a weekly allowance of less than £1 from her estranged husband, a sum insufficient for their upkeep amid post-World War I economic pressures. Three of her sons attended and three daughters , two of Britain's costliest boarding institutions at the time, exacerbating her financial strain as she prioritized their despite limited resources. To meet these responsibilities, Meyrick relocated to in 1919, initially nursing her critically ill brother while seeking income opportunities, and later leveraged her managerial skills to enter the hospitality sector, viewing it as a pragmatic means to sustain her family without relying on inadequate spousal support. Despite the burdens, she ensured advantageous outcomes for her children, securing prominent marriages for most by the time of her death in 1933.

Entry into Business

Pre-Nightclub Ventures

Following her separation from her husband in 1919, Kate Meyrick, then a mother of eight, relocated to to nurse her ill daughter and support her family through business endeavors. She invested in her first venture, Dalton’s Club in , after responding to an advertisement seeking a partner for tea dances, registering the business by late April 1919 and opening it by July. This establishment targeted post-World War I social demand, offering dancing and companionship to veterans, but quickly encountered legal scrutiny. In January 1920, police raided Dalton’s, deeming it a "habitual resort of prostitutes," resulting in a fine equivalent to approximately £1,300 in modern terms and its eventual closure after Meyrick's unsuccessful court defense. Undeterred, Meyrick expanded shortly after Dalton’s launch by opening a second club on Bedford Street just two months later in , further establishing her presence in London's nascent scene. These early clubs represented her initial forays into and late-hour operations, leveraging her limited prior business experience and personal assets—including a legacy, shares, and rental income yielding around £10,000 annually in contemporary value—to generate income amid financial pressures.

Motivations for Hospitality Industry Involvement

Following her separation from her husband, Dr. Ferdinand Meyrick, around 1919, Kate Meyrick faced the challenge of supporting eight children with limited financial resources, including a weekly allowance of less than £1. This situation necessitated immediate income generation, as three sons attended the expensive Harrow School and three daughters were enrolled at Roedean School. Meyrick herself stated that her entry into business was driven by a determination to secure financial stability for her family, viewing the hospitality and entertainment sector as a viable path despite her lack of prior formal work experience. The post-World War I social climate in , characterized by a surge in demand for activities amid economic recovery and a desire for , presented opportunities in the . Meyrick responded to an advertisement seeking a £50 for a in running tea dances—a form of afternoon event combining refreshments and dancing—which aligned with emerging trends in public entertainment. This venture into tea dances marked her initial foray into , motivated by the potential for rapid returns in a market hungry for such offerings, rather than long-term stability in more conventional trades. Historians note that Meyrick's separation provided the direct impetus for her business pursuits, framing as a practical means to fulfill maternal responsibilities without relying on inadequate spousal support. Her approach emphasized entrepreneurial opportunism, prioritizing ventures that could yield quick profits to cover educational and living expenses, even as they skirted emerging regulatory boundaries in licensing and after-hours operations.

Nightclub Operations

Key Establishments and Management

Kate Meyrick's flagship establishment was the 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street in Soho, which opened in 1921 and remained operational until 1933, making it her longest-running venue. This basement nightclub became synonymous with 1920s London nightlife, offering jazz performances, dancing, and late-night revelry that attracted actors, aristocrats, and international figures such as Rudolph Valentino. Meyrick personally oversaw its daily operations, ensuring a sophisticated yet illicit atmosphere by employing bands and hostesses to cater to an elite clientele willing to pay premium prices for after-hours access. In 1923, Meyrick expanded her portfolio with the Folies Bergères on Newman Street in , a venue that operated briefly under multiple names amid frequent police scrutiny. She also established the Little Club on , delegating its management to her daughter May, reflecting her strategy of involving family members in oversight to maintain control across sites. Other notable London establishments included the Silver Slipper, known for its glass dance floor, and the Manhattan Club, contributing to her total of eight nightclubs in the city. Meyrick's management model emphasized familial delegation and hands-on innovation, with her seven daughters assisting in roles from hostess supervision to financial handling, enabling scalability despite recurrent closures. In 1925, she briefly extended operations abroad with the Gaiety Club in , applying similar tactics of curating exclusive entertainment to draw high-profile patrons. Her approach prioritized revenue from cover charges, drinks, and tips over strict legal compliance, fostering a network of venues that defined Soho's underground scene.

Business Practices and Employment Model

Kate Meyrick operated a chain of private nightclubs in London's West End, including the flagship 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street in , established in 1921, where revenue was generated through membership fees, entry charges, and sales of alcohol and refreshments, often extending beyond legal hours despite strict licensing restrictions. Her establishments achieved substantial earnings, with reports indicating approximately £1.5 million in revenue over eight months in 1923—equivalent to around £35 million in contemporary terms—driven by high markups on drinks, overpriced items such as chocolates, and a model reliant on repeat patronage from diverse clientele including aristocrats, artists, and international visitors. To circumvent repeated disqualifications under licensing laws, Meyrick registered clubs under multiple aliases (e.g., Cecil, Proctors, John's) and employed male proxies as nominal owners, allowing operational continuity while she retained control. Central to her employment model were dance hostesses, colloquially termed "Meyrick's Merry Maids," who were young, attractive women tasked with partnering male patrons in dances—for which customers paid—and encouraging consumption of drinks and food to boost club profits. Meyrick personally oversaw recruitment and imposed rigorous training on these instructresses, emphasizing charm, proper etiquette, elegant attire, and temperate lifestyles to maintain fitness and appeal, while prohibiting solicitation for on the premises to avoid immediate legal jeopardy, though off-site activities were reportedly tolerated for commercial incentives. Hostesses received a base salary roughly double that of a typical entry-level secretary at the time, supplemented by tips and performance bonuses tied to patron spending, fostering a commission-like structure that aligned staff incentives with revenue generation. Meyrick maintained hands-on management, remaining on-site in evening dress until closing hours to supervise staff performance, customer interactions, and overall operations, which ensured tight control but contributed to her frequent personal involvement in legal defenses against raids. This model, while innovative for the era's hospitality sector, operated in a gray area of post-World War I regulations, prioritizing profitability through extended hours and over strict compliance, as evidenced by her clubs' notoriety for all-night sessions and entertainment featuring resident bands.

Licensing Law Violations and Raids

Kate Meyrick's nightclubs, particularly the 43 Club on Gerrard Street, systematically violated provisions of the Licensing Act 1910 and Act (DORA) regulations, which restricted alcohol service to closing times typically at 11:00 p.m. (or 12:30 a.m. with food under 1921 amendments), by continuing sales without valid licences well into the early hours. These breaches enabled extended operations catering to late-night patrons, including elites, but invited repeated police scrutiny from officers, who conducted surveillance and compiled extensive files on her establishments. The first documented raid occurred on February 16, 1922, at the 43 Club, where police encountered resistance from doormen who obstructed entry through physical means such as tripping and punching; Meyrick admitted serving drinks but claimed they were complimentary rather than sold, contradicting evidence of after-hours transactions. She was fined for the licensing offences, though the club persisted by adapting operations or reopening under variations. A larger-scale enforcement action took place in October 1924 at the 43 Club, resulting in the arrest of over 40 individuals during the raid; Meyrick faced charges alongside them for selling intoxicating liquor without a licence, leading to her conviction on November 18, 1924, at Police Court. Similar raids followed, including one in June 1928, contributing to her pattern of fines—such as those exceeding equivalents of £30,000 across months in 1923 at Folies Bergères under multiple aliases—and eventual multiple imprisonments specifically for these breaches, totaling five such terms. To circumvent closures mandated by convictions, Meyrick frequently shuttered venues temporarily only to relaunch them under new names or proxy management at the same locations, sustaining violations amid heightened pressure from Joynson-Hicks's crackdown on Soho's nightlife. Despite advance warnings in some instances that allowed , the raids underscored systemic non-compliance, with police documenting not only alcohol sales but associated issues like unlicenced at sites such as Dalton's Club in January 1920.

Arrests, Trials, and Imprisonments

Kate Meyrick's establishments were subject to repeated police raids for breaching licensing laws that restricted alcohol sales to daylight hours under the Act and subsequent regulations. These operations typically involved undercover officers entering clubs after hours, ordering drinks, and triggering arrests of managers, staff, and patrons. Meyrick herself was arrested multiple times as the proprietor, with cases prosecuted at , where over 40 individuals from her clubs appeared in a single proceeding for unlicensed sales. Her first major conviction occurred in 1924 following a raid on the 43 Club, where she was found guilty of selling intoxicating liquor without a and sentenced to six months' imprisonment at Holloway Prison. Subsequent violations yielded further trials and sentences, including a seven-month term of in May 1931 for analogous offenses at the 46 Club, accompanied by a £50 fine. Over her career, Meyrick endured five imprisonments for these licensing infractions and related charges, accumulating more than three years in custody, with Holloway's harsh conditions contributing to her declining health. The convictions reflected magistrates' frustration with her persistent defiance, as one judge noted her "fine contempt for the law." Despite appeals and temporary closures, she resumed operations post-release, only to face renewed prosecutions.

Police Bribery and Corruption Exposure

In 1929, Kate Meyrick's long-standing practice of paying bribes to Sergeant George Goddard in C Division came under scrutiny, revealing a scheme where she provided him with regular payments—reportedly £4,000 over several years—to tip her off about impending raids on her s and to mitigate enforcement actions against licensing violations. The arrangement, which began in the early amid intensified police campaigns against Soho's unlicensed venues, allowed Meyrick to maintain operations at establishments like the 43 Club despite repeated closures. Goddard's role involved not only warnings but also influencing other officers to overlook infractions, as evidenced by anonymous letters and internal investigations prompted by public complaints about leniency. The exposure escalated when , acting on tips and surveillance, confronted Meyrick, leading to her arrest and trial at the alongside . Meyrick's testimony detailed the payments, framing them as necessary protections against overzealous policing, while was charged with for accepting the funds, marking one of the Metropolitan Police's most publicized graft cases of the decade. Convicted in July 1929, Meyrick received a 15-month sentence for , which she served at Holloway Prison, while faced dismissal and prosecution, though historical accounts note he was often depicted as an isolated "rotten apple" rather than indicative of broader systemic issues in C Division. The scandal fueled national debates on police integrity, contributing to the 1929 "Police and Public" inquiries and highlighting vulnerabilities in enforcement around vice districts, where nightclub proprietors like Meyrick exploited officers' temptations amid low salaries and lax oversight. Despite the convictions, subsequent rumors persisted of unprosecuted in the same division, with Meyrick's revelations underscoring how financial incentives undermined licensing laws without leading to wholesale reforms. Her case, while damaging her enterprises, positioned her as a whistleblower of sorts, though critics argued it stemmed from rather than moral reckoning.

Social and Cultural Role

Connections to Elite and Royalty

Kate Meyrick's establishments, notably the 43 Club opened in 1920 on Gerrard Street in , drew patronage from Britain's and European royalty, who sought discreet venues for late-night revelry amid strict licensing laws prohibiting music and alcohol after 11 p.m.. The Prince of Wales—later —was among the most prominent regulars, with a dedicated couch reserved for him at one of her clubs, reflecting the venues' appeal to those evading public scrutiny while indulging in , dancing, and champagne until dawn.. Other European royals frequented the 43 Club, contributing to its reputation as a nexus for continental elite seeking London's underground glamour.. This high-society allure extended to Meyrick's family, as two of her daughters married into the British aristocracy, wedding better-heeled clients encountered through the clubs' networks.. Such unions underscored the enabled by her ventures, blending entrepreneurial access with aristocratic circles, though they also fueled perceptions of laxity among the upper classes.. Meyrick's , Secrets of the 43, later detailed these interactions, portraying her clubs as egalitarian spaces where royalty mingled with artists and politicians without overt hierarchy, though contemporary accounts emphasized the venues' role in sustaining elite post-World War I..

Influence on 1920s London Nightlife

Kate Meyrick significantly shaped nightlife by establishing and operating a chain of illicit clubs that defied post-World War I licensing restrictions under the Defence of the Realm Act, which banned music, dancing, and alcohol sales after midnight without special permission. Beginning with Dalton's Club in in 1919, she expanded to eight venues—including the iconic 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street in (opened 1921 and running until 1933), the Silver Slipper on (1927), the Manhattan on Denman Street, and the Little Club in —plus one in . These establishments popularized all-night revelry, featuring jazz-influenced dancing, lavish decorations like balloons and streamers, and a reliant on high entry fees, membership charges, and marked-up drinks to generate revenue equivalent to approximately £35 million in modern terms over a decade. Her clubs fostered unprecedented social mixing, drawing , royalty, celebrities, and working-class patrons into a single decadent space, thereby eroding class barriers and embodying the era's "" hedonism. Notable regulars included Prince Christopher of Greece, , actors and , and dukes of , Leeds, and Norfolk, alongside bootleggers and artists; Meyrick herself noted nights when the 43 Club resembled "an overflow meeting from the ." She innovated by employing trained dance hostesses—branded "Meyrick’s Merrye Maids"—who encouraged consumption through charm and bonuses tied to drink sales, while maintaining a veneer of propriety by prohibiting overt . This model not only sustained operations amid frequent police raids but also normalized hostess-led entertainment, influencing subsequent London club culture. Meyrick's persistence—reopening clubs under pseudonyms like Cecil or Proctors after closures—amid five convictions and over three years of elevated Soho's reputation as a roaring epicenter of 1920s vice and vibrancy, challenging moral and legal norms to embed late-night as a fixture of urban leisure. Her ventures, though reliant on and evasion, democratized access to elite-style entertainment, empowering female entrepreneurship in a male-dominated field and paving the way for the sustained commercialization of London's club scene beyond the decade.

Controversies

Moral Criticisms and Vice Allegations

Kate Meyrick's nightclubs, particularly the 43 Club, drew sharp moral condemnations from contemporaries who viewed them as dens of vice that facilitated prostitution, drug consumption, and general moral decay. Police raids and court testimonies frequently highlighted unlicensed alcohol sales alongside allegations of drug peddling—primarily cocaine—and solicitation by hostesses, with authorities claiming Meyrick turned a blind eye to these activities to sustain her profitable operations. Critics, including moral reformers and conservative press outlets, argued that such environments corrupted post-World War I veterans and impressionable youth, exacerbating a perceived societal slide into hedonism amid the Jazz Age's excesses. These vice allegations intensified during high-profile scandals, such as the 1918 death of actress from a overdose linked to circles, which fueled public outrage over women's increasing involvement in drug-taking and "flapper" immorality. Tabloid coverage portrayed Meyrick's venues as hubs where class boundaries dissolved into licentiousness, with hostesses accused of outright despite her vehement denials in . In response to charges, Meyrick defended her establishments by asserting that the women provided emotional solace to "terribly disfigured boys" returning from the trenches, framing her clubs as refuges rather than sites of depravity. Nonetheless, the persistent narrative from police and media sources positioned her as a enabler of urban , contributing to a broader over London's nightlife eroding traditional values.

Perspectives on Lawbreaking vs. Entrepreneurial Defiance

Kate Meyrick's repeated violations of Britain's strict licensing laws, enacted under the Act (DORA) and extended post-World War I to limit alcohol sales after 11 p.m., drew sharp condemnation from authorities and moral reformers who viewed her clubs as hubs of and social decay. William Joynson-Hicks, dubbed a "puritanical kill-joy" by contemporaries, spearheaded crackdowns on nightlife, portraying operators like Meyrick as enablers of drunkenness, drug use, and that undermined public order and family values. Her five imprisonments between 1924 and 1932, totaling over two years, were cited as evidence of habitual criminality, with police raids uncovering after-hours drinking and undeclared memberships that evaded regulations requiring pre-vetted club lists. In contrast, admirers and later historians framed Meyrick's actions as entrepreneurial defiance against archaic, wartime-era restrictions that stifled legitimate demand for leisure in a booming economy. As a widowed mother of eight who built a chain of over 20 clubs from a single basement venue in 1920, she capitalized on the era's cultural shift toward , dancing, and elite escapism, generating substantial —estimated at thousands of pounds weekly from the 43 Club alone—while employing hundreds and innovating with themed nights and celebrity allure. This perspective posits her of officers like Sergeant George Goddard not as isolated corruption but as pragmatic navigation of a system rigged against small operators, where police raids were often selective and politically motivated under Joynson-Hicks' crusade. Meyrick herself articulated a defiant rationale in her 1932 autobiography Secrets of the 43 Club, dismissing critics as out-of-touch prudes and emphasizing her clubs' role in providing harmless recreation for war-weary patrons, including royalty and , amid London's transformation into a 24-hour hub. While acknowledging legal breaches, she highlighted economic necessity—divorce left her penniless in 1919—and cultural inevitability, arguing that prohibitionist policies fueled underground demand rather than curbing it, much like U.S. speakeasies. Modern assessments often balance these views, crediting her as a pioneer who normalized late-night venues and influenced licensing reforms by , though without absolving the ethical lapses of exposure that tainted her empire's collapse in 1929.

Final Years and Death

Health Decline and Business Wind-Down

Meyrick's health began to deteriorate in the late 1920s and early 1930s, primarily due to the cumulative effects of her repeated imprisonments at Holloway Prison, where harsh conditions exacerbated her physical frailty. After serving multiple sentences totaling over two years for licensing violations, she emerged weakened, with reports attributing her declining vitality to the rigors of incarceration rather than any specific diagnosed illness at the time. By the early 1930s, these health issues intersected with broader economic pressures from the , which curtailed London's nightlife patronage and intensified regulatory scrutiny on establishments. Meyrick's clubs, including successors to the original 43 Club, faced serial closures and fines, prompting her to reopen under pseudonyms or scale back operations, though she persisted intermittently until legal bindings and personal exhaustion curtailed her direct involvement. In 1930, following a , court conditions effectively barred her from managing nightclubs for a period, accelerating the handover to family or associates and marking the effective wind-down of her empire. During this phase, Meyrick shifted focus to documenting her experiences, authoring Secrets of the 43—a detailing her ventures—though it faced immediate suppression by authorities upon publication attempts. This literary pivot reflected her retreat from active amid failing health, as her once-vibrant network of venues dwindled to minimal activity by 1932.

Circumstances of Death

Kate Meyrick died on 19 January 1933 at the age of 57 from . Her death occurred at the Park Square residence of her son-in-law, Arthur Edwardian George Boot, 8th Earl of Kinoull. Years of high-pressure management of her empire, combined with repeated imprisonments totaling over three years in harsh conditions, had severely compromised her health, leaving her frail and susceptible to illness. Contemporary reports attributed her demise to influenza, which in the pre-antibiotic era of 1933 frequently progressed to fatal pneumonia, particularly in weakened individuals. She contracted the infection during or shortly after her final prison term in late 1932, amid a broader wave of influenza sweeping . Despite these contributing factors, no evidence suggests foul play or suicide; her passing reflected the cumulative toll of a lifetime defying licensing laws and enduring legal repercussions.

Legacy

Economic and Social Impact Assessments

Kate Meyrick's nightclub operations generated substantial revenue, with an estimated £500,000 passing through her businesses between 1919 and 1932, reflecting her success in capitalizing on post-World War I demand for entertainment amid economic constraints like heavy taxation and wartime restrictions under the Act (DORA). Her empire, which included eight venues such as the 43 Club and one in , demonstrated economic resilience by thriving in an underground market for late-night drinking and dancing, filling a void left by the decline of private aristocratic entertainments due to death duties that prompted the sale of millions of acres of land. These establishments employed numerous staff, including dance hostesses whom Meyrick trained and managed, providing jobs in Soho's hospitality sector during a period of post-war recovery and contributing to local economic activity through patronage from high-society clients, tourists, and elites. However, the economic model relied on evading licensing laws, resulting in repeated closures, fines, and five sentences for Meyrick totaling over three years, which disrupted operations and offset gains through legal costs and lost business time. Despite this, her ventures supported her family's financial stability, funding private education for her eight children and enabling three daughters to marry into , illustrating indirect socioeconomic mobility. Socially, Meyrick's clubs accelerated the shift from exclusive upper-class private parties to nightlife venues, fostering a more accessible yet transgressive culture of , dancing, and mixed-gender socializing in , which influenced the development of as a nightlife hub. By attracting diverse patrons—including princes, , and ordinary revelers—her establishments challenged traditional class barriers and promoted American-influenced and , embedding these elements into British urban leisure. Yet, this came with negative repercussions, as her venues were linked to vice including unlicensed alcohol sales to minors, alleged facilitation, and distribution scandals like the 1918 case, contributing to heightened concerns over moral decay and drug proliferation in the . Assessments of her social legacy highlight her as a pioneering female entrepreneur in a male-dominated field, but underscore the causal role of her defiance in normalizing lawbreaking within , which strained relations between authorities and the nightlife industry.

Commemorations and Fictional Representations

Kate Meyrick's life has inspired fictional portrayals in literature and television, reflecting her prominence in 1920s London nightlife. In Evelyn Waugh's 1930 satirical novel Vile Bodies, the character Ma Mayfield, a shrewd nightclub owner catering to the era's elite and bohemians, draws directly from Meyrick's experiences managing illicit venues amid strict licensing laws. The 2025 BBC drama series Dope Girls, set in post-World War I London, features the lead character Kate Galloway as a composite inspired by Meyrick's nightclub empire and brushes with scandal, including drug-related notoriety among patrons; the series adapts elements from Marek Kohn's 1992 nonfiction book Dope Girls: The Birth of the British Drug Underground, which examines the era's underground scene. No public monuments, plaques, or official commemorations honor Meyrick, though her grave at in serves as a private memorial site, attended by family including her estranged husband at her 1933 funeral. Her cultural legacy persists primarily through historical accounts of Soho's rather than dedicated tributes.

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