Committed to the house of correction for one year for being a lewd woman, 1832.

[Beeonthebay]

Redroger can I please ask what you mean by  "Henstridge was a notorious village for prostitution" sure we've all heard of red light districts (as we call them) in big cities but not whole villages.  How many of the villagers were known prostitutes and how did you find this out?

[hurworth]

With roses round the cottage door and chickens running around the garden? 

Something like that.  So I was curious as to why a couple of their daughters left this idyllic lifestyle for Southwark/Horsleydown.

[sallyyorks]

...However, and here is where the grief sets in I have been unable with certainty to trace the line any further back. I discovered a baptism in 1777 at Henstridge, Somerset, of John Luffman, base son of Betty Meatyard. Henstridge was a notorious village for prostitution, and it is obvious that this was Betty's profession, yet she was never prosecuted, and though she had several illegitimate children between 1776 and 1787, John was her oldest known, she was 17 at the time, she never claimed for any of them from the parish. To me this suggests two things; she was either in a long term relationship, though unmarried, or more likely this was her occupation...

I have come across something similar in my tree, on two separate branches in the West Riding, and at the same time period , the late 1700's. Women who have illegitimate children to different local men. One branch has three sisters who all have illegitimate children. I suspect they might have been prostitutes.
I think at this time period it seems to have been more or less tolerated. I saw an history article, it might have been linked on RootsChat , that suggested it was partly due to an increase of pubs and inns during the period

[Annie65115]

Winding forwards a bit, my ancestor's next door neighbours in 1851 were a pair of sisters who were openly described on the census form as "prostitute".

Times were hard, people did what they had to do to survive.

[stanmapstone]

If you put "Prostitute" in "Occupation" in the 1881 census you get 425 results. 103 are "Patients", 65 are "Inmates", 73 are "Prisoners".
"Fallen Woman" is a euphemism for prostitute.
Interestingly, the term 'prostitute' does not appear in the occupational dictionaries used to abstract data in the Census Office.  However the feelings of enumerators do show. In the 1871 Census one enumerator described every prostitute as 'fallen' in the occupational column.  Another euphemism for prostitute, 'unfortunate', seems to have been struck out of the census returns, see the 1901 census RG13/322 folio 37, page 19. Limehouse, London."
from 'Making Sense of the Census' Edward Higgs.

Stan

[Redroger]

Redroger can I please ask what you mean by  "Henstridge was a notorious village for prostitution" sure we've all heard of red light districts (as we call them) in big cities but not whole villages.  How many of the villagers were known prostitutes and how did you find this out?

My source is Edmund Rack's Survey of Somerset1781.
Section 182 Henstridge Final para reads as follows:(f.15/13)Christnings 21 burials 20 Many base born. The girls of this town are remarkably bold and wanton,mostly wh---s (whores?)and parades the streets every evening for cullies. This on p155 of reprint published 2011by Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. I think the implication is clear enough, and to me intriguing as to why. iI would love to pursue this further.

[Beeonthebay]

How fascinating!!  Do let us know your findings!!  I'm going to pay more attention from now on when I'm looking at small villages.   

[brigidmac]

Did you find out what became of her children   including the wood collecting one .

Did they marry ?

[ScouseBoy]

If you put "Prostitute" in "Occupation" in the 1881 census you get 425 results. 103 are "Patients", 65 are "Inmates", 73 are "Prisoners".
"Fallen Woman" is a euphemism for prostitute.
Interestingly, the term 'prostitute' does not appear in the occupational dictionaries used to abstract data in the Census Office.  However the feelings of enumerators do show. In the 1871 Census one enumerator described every prostitute as 'fallen' in the occupational column.  Another euphemism for prostitute, 'unfortunate', seems to have been struck out of the census returns, see the 1901 census RG13/322 folio 37, page 19. Limehouse, London."
from 'Making Sense of the Census' Edward Higgs.

Stan

   Was that for all of England and Wales?