Friends of the Devil

Sailors ashore do it.
Students do it.
Good ol' boys in pickup trucks do it.

And bored aristocrats do it.  Getting up to mischief, that is.

In 1718, Duke Philip Wharton began the Hell-Fire Club in London, starting something which not only spread to Scotland and Ireland, but continues today.  The Club met at the Greyhound tavern and at members' homes on Sundays; it was meant to be a satire of the usual gentleman's club where cultural discussions were politely held. Its purpose was rather to shock and ridicule.  The Duke was called "a drunkard, a rioter and a rake," but was also a member of Parliament and quite literate.  We know the names of very few club members and what they were really up to except that they were all peers of the realm. Accused by political enemies of "horrid impieties," he was removed from Parliament.  The Club disbanded in 1721.

Sir Francis, up for a good time

Baron Francis Dashwood picked up on the idea, and led meetings of libertine companions at the George and Vulture tavern in Castle Court, London.  A creative sort, Dashwood coined their motto ("Do what thou wilt") and gave the society the grandiose title of The Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe.  Women were welcome, free-spirited ones at least, which was unheard of at the time.  They could not attend at the tavern, so the group moved the festivities to Francis' home outside the city. Over the years, some distinguished visitors risked their reputation by attending, among them royals and Benjamin Franklin (in 1758).

The Hell-Fire Cave is open for tourists today

Dashwood had caves and tunnels excavated in a hill above West Wycombe, decorating the walls with scandalous pictures and the gardens outside with statues of pagan gods.  Chambers for meetings were named The Banqueting Hall and the Inner Temple.  A small underground stream inside was titled the River Styx.  It was best to keep these things a little out of sight (and all records were burned in 1774), because the general population and the royal government were decidedly more strict and pious; the last witch execution in Great Britain was as recent as 1727.

The Dublin Hell-Fire Club looks the part

Dublin, Ireland, can claim to be the most notorious associate in the Hell-Fire Club tradition, with the worst reputation.  "A brace of monsters, blasphemers and Bacchanalians" was what Jonathan Swift had to say about them in the 1740s.  There is still one at Trinity College and others at two Irish universities today.  With costumes, mock ceremonies and life-risking drinking, the venerable Skull and Bones at Yale appears to be quite the same thing also.

Now, behave!