Jack the Ripper walk

This was another school field trip...this one was Thursday night at 6pm. We met at the Tower Hill tube station right across from the Tower of London (pictured above). This was only a day after Jessica and I went to the Tower for our history of London through architecture class. I didn't bring my camera on that trip because it was kind of rainy that morning and I didn't want to take a chance. But back to Jack the Ripper...we met on an observation platform and were introduced to our guide. Don Rumbelow is the leading expert on Jack the Ripper, is a certified London Blue Guide, and was our host for the evening. He even spent some time with Johnny Depp during the making of the movie "From Hell" - an outstanding Ripper movie in my opinion. You can get more information on Don's book by clicking here.


One of the problems authorities had in trying to catch Jack the Ripper was that the murders took place in two different police jurisdictions. The City of London proper has the City of London Police, and the Greater London area is protected by the Metropolitan Police (that's the one based out of Scotland Yard). The wall pictured above is part of the old Roman wall that marks part of the boundary of London proper. These two police forces had a historic rivalry and were not willing to work together on the case, making it even harder to find the person responsible for the murders. Theories of who the real Jack the Ripper was continue to this day and the list of suspects grows longer each year as people come up with new ideas (most of them stupid).


This church served as a major hub for the prostitutes of the late 19th century. They, and the other undesirable members of society were left to the east end of the city. The prostitutes could not stop walking while they were working or they would be subject to arrest for solicitation. So they would walk in a big circle around this church, slowing on the side that faced the street to try to pick up a customer and quickening around the back. It was like a huge traffic round about for the women of the night. At least one of the Ripper's victims frequented this area - her body was found a block away in a small public square.


We walked down several alleys and side streets around Brick Lane (now a major public market on the weekends). This was the heart of the area where the murders took place. Many of the streets are nearly the same as they would have been when the murders took place near the turn of the last century. It was neat to almost take a step back in time to the world that Jack the Ripper knew.


This is a very old church a few blocks away from Brick Lane and the side streets that we were walking down. We had already been to this area a few weeks ago when we had a tour of the east end markets. The inside has recently been restored and is beautiful. The church was recreated on the set of the movie "From Hell".


This is the original "Ten Bells" - a pub that had a big role in the movie. That part of the movie is true - the Ripper's victims were known to frequent this pub, which was old even then! The sign says it was established in 1666 (the year of the Great Fire of London). This was pretty much the last stop on our tour.


After the tour we made our way to the Liverpool Street tube station. The area was familiar from the east end market tour. This was once a major center for banking in the city before many of them moved to the Canary Wharf section of London. Recently local leaders have been trying to lure more of the banks and other businesses back. As you can see from the picture of this large office building above, they have had some success. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has a building across the street.


We are almost back to the tube station, but the night sky was just so nice with the famous London fog rolling in and obscuring the tops of buildings. You can almost see the cold hanging in the air, as this was a very chilly night.


On our way home! This is the inside of the Liverpool Street station - by far my favorite station so far. It has beautiful ceilings with ornate beams and columns. The place is quite large, and on the upper level on the right hand side of the picture there is a line of stores including a small Marks & Spencer (a high end grocery and clothing store, although this one just had food). We of course stopped and got a snack for the tube ride home.