The year 1888 was a bad time to be a prostitute in the East End of London. One or more murderers were loose, butchering streetwalkers in increasingly nasty ways. Between August 31 and November 9, at least five women were murdered within a one-mile area, in the districts of Aldgate, City of London, Spitalfields, and Whitechapel. The London police officially attributed the killings to a person who called himself "Jack the Ripper".
More than one hundred years have passed since Jack the Ripper’s murders. Many of the locations associated with his crimes have been irretrievably, perhaps thankfully, obliterated. To this day, however, walking in London through Jack the Ripper’s territory can be a chilling experience, and there are vestiges remaining of his horrible crimes that can be found if the visitor knows where to look.
Commercial Street Police Station
Jack the Ripper’s first victim, Mary Ann Nichols, was killed on August 31, 1888. Her body was found in Buck’s Row (now Durward Street) at 3:45 in the morning, lying on the sidewalk just east of the corner of Durward and Vallance Streets. Visitors can still view the location.
The police investigation that started the next day and continued until after the killings stopped was centered at the Commercial Street Police Station. Although converted to flats, the original building remains standing towards the northern end of Commercial Street with the word “POLICE” visible above the front door.
Spitalfields Market
A market has been located on Commercial Street since 1682. During the Ripper murders, the Spitalfields Market looked very similar to the way it looks today. Every victim was found less than one mile from this spot.
The body of Annie Chapman, the Ripper’s second victim, was found in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street, just west of Brick Lane. The location, currently eradicated by a large brewery, is a two-minute walk from Spitalfields Market.
Hoop & Grapes Pub
Located at 47 Aldgate High Street is the Hoop & Grapes pub. This rickety establishment dates from the 17th Century and survived the 1666 Great Fire of London. Jack the Ripper and some of his victims may have visited this pub.
Elizabeth Stride was the Ripper’s third victim. She was killed near the entrance of Dutfield’s Yard, near the intersection of Berner (now Henriques) and Fairclough Streets. A residential building now stands on the site where her body was found.
The location is approximately one-half mile east of the Hoop & Grapes. The murderer was interrupted before he could mutilate her body, so the same evening he traveled to Mitre Square looking for another victim. Jack the Ripper probably walked past the Hoop & Grapes while traveling between the two murder locations.
Mitre Square
Catherine Eddowes, the Ripper’s fourth victim, most likely drank at the Hoop & Grapes the night she was murdered. Around 8 o’clock that evening, police constables found her lying drunk on the pavement at 29 Aldgate High Street, less than a minute’s walk from the Hoop & Grapes. The police took her to Bishopsgate Police Station and released her at 1:00 AM. Her body was found less than an hour later in Mitre Square, located less than a quarter mile west of the Hoop & Grapes.
Mitre Square is still located in Aldgate. The location where Catherine Eddowes’ body was found is near a flower garden, in the southwest corner of the square.
The Ten Bells
Across the street from Spitalfields market is The Ten Bells pub, on the corner of Commercial and Fournier Streets. All of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper probably visited this bar.
Mary Jane Kelly, Jack the Ripper’s last official victim, solicited business on the sidewalk outside and was seen inside The Ten Bells a few hours before her death. Early on the morning of November 9, she was murdered and mutilated in her rented flat in Miller’s Court, off Dorset Street. A warehouse now stands on the location where she died, a one-minute walk from The Ten Bells.
Other Notable Jack the Ripper Sites in London
Many remaining east London buildings were built before 1888. Most of Fournier Street, where The Ten Bells is located, has barely changed. The Frying Pan Public House, now Sheraz Restaurant, on the corner of Brick Lane and Thrawl Street, was the last place Mary Nichols was seen alive. A bloodstained apron and a graffiti clue were found near the doorstep of a residential building on Goulston Street.
Several area churches that are still standing must have been busy during Jack the Ripper's reign of terror. Other than the London police, however, perhaps no one was working harder than the doctors and nurses at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.
Sources:
- Pubs.com
- Stephen P. Ryder and Johnno, Casebook: Jack the Ripper, casebook.org
- walkit.com
Ronald Campbell - Ronald T. Campbell of Hampton, New Hampshire is a professional writer and photographer whose lifelong hobby is studying history. He has ...
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