The Tour
Nothing has had a greater impact on criminal history than the series of murders attributed to Jack the Ripper. In the darkness of an early August morning the body of Mary Ann Nichols was found. This was the beginning of a series of killings which have come to embody savage violence.
The ‘Dear Boss’ Letter
The ‘Nemesis of Neglect’
Fuelled by the press, suspicion took hold of the slightest detail from crime scene or inquest. Meanwhile vigilantes patrolled the streets, on constant lookout for anyone ‘suspicious’.
Was the killer the mysterious ‘Leather Apron’?
Was it one of the influx of Jewish immigrants with their unfamiliar ways?
Or was it a doctor, looking for body parts?
The grotesque mutilation of the bodies, and the sensationalism of the press, kept the people of London in awe of the mysterious killer.
The Ripper killings ended with the gruesome murder of Mary Jane Kelly on 9 November – or did they? Maybe the killings carried on into the 1890s and beyond?
Or maybe they ended with the notorious ‘Double Event’ of 30 September 1888?
This tour does not offer a solution to the Ripper murders. Nor does it seek to glorify the grim activities of the murderer. Rather we seek to understand the murders and their significance. We do so through buildings surviving from the time which tell the story of the murders and illustrate their context.
If you like this …
You can find details of my crime and the law tours HERE
You can find details of my other East End Charnowalks HERE
Details – The Ripper Enigma
Please go to the SCHEDULE to see whether this tour is currently on offer, and for booking details.
MEET: Outside Idea Store Whitechapel, 321 Whitechapel Road, E1 1BU, near Whitechapel Station: details HERE
Duration: Two hours (approximately)
Finish: Spitalfields Market, near Liverpool Street and Shoreditch High Street stations
If you have any questions about this tour, please contact me.
Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
