Coal Cellar

[jerryd]

Hi everyone,

After looking at the picture of Mary Kelly's residence, I think I see what appears to be a coal chute directly below the windows of her room. (*attached picture gives you the feel I think).

My thought is this and open for discussion. Could this be a hiding place after the murder. Was the fire stoked in order to warm the room below for the killer to hang out for awhile while the dust settled? Was JTR really "right under their noses"?

There was also a similar coal grate near Catherine Eddowe's body. To justify in my own mind the quick escape from the perils of Mitre Square, I can see JTR jumping into that cellar for a quick escape. I read that most houses in that time were built with coal cellars.

Thoughts?

[Mitch Rowe]

One could say there was something like that at 29 Hanbury. But the problem is..Thats not the smartest thing to do. One could surmise the Police just out of rutine of looking for evidence(What if JTR threw his knife down there and no one checked it out. An important clew is lost)that most areas would be checked an investigated around the scene of the crime.
By far the best thing for JTR to do is just walk away and fade into the crowd. If he has too much blood on him then the best thing is to do what he did with Eddowes. Grab something to wipe his hands and then discard the bloody rag asap. If JTR wasnt able to maintain himself and become anonomys then it would have been much easier for Police to catch him.

[Dan Norder]

Hi Jerry,

I don't think what you see in that picture of Mary's room is a coal chute. Various people have gone back and forth over what they think it is over the years, and so far I think a tray or pan of some sort (possibly a photographer's developing tray) has the most supporters.

I also don't think the item in question, if it were an opening, would be big enough for a man to fit through.

Someone else would have to weigh in here about whether there even was a cellar there for the Ripper to hide in, but I think it would be hard to believe that the killer would still be in the vicinity and not get caught during the hours the police had the court closed down for the investigation, especially with all the publicity in the papers about the police having bloodhounds ready and waiting to sniff out the culprit.

[The Good Michael]

Jerry,

I would say, from the looks of things, you have 3 5-gallon carboys of homebrew going there. The two on the right are undergoing fermentation right now as witnessed by the foam and the lower levels of liquid. The first one is the most recent and has not begun fermentation as of yet. The questions I can't answer are whether or not you will transfer them to another carboy after a few days to siphon off a bit of the trueb, and if they are just ales or possibly meads or wines.

Coal cellar indeed!

Mike

[jerryd]

Dan,

I agree that it would be irrational to hide that close to the murder scene. I just wonder how rational our killer was at this point and how close he may have been to getting caught in that hour of the morning. Maybe a quick duck under the house was all he had left to do was my thinking. Hide first then think about getting caught second so to speak. But, you bring up good points.

My Good Michael,

Ever tried my "cellar brew"? You might like it!

[Fiona]

Hi All

I studied the 1910 Government survey of Dorset/Duval Street at the PRO a while back. There was no cellar listed at either 26 or 27 Duval Street or at any of the cottages in Millers Court.

Hope this is of interest.

Kind regards
Fiona