Crossing the Pond

[kensei]

Hello all, it's been a while since I mentioned my upcoming vacation, but it is now just a week away that I will be traveling from about the exact center of North America to spend two weeks touring England and Scotland, including five days in London. I went once before in 2004 at which time I went on Donald Rumbelow's Jack the Ripper tour, which was great but only visited a few of the sites and was hindered by darkness and the presence of a large crowd. This time I plan to take a solo tour of all the sites, beginning with Durward Street and ending at the Ten Bells, on the morning of Tuesday Sept. 9th. I also plan to visit a few of the gravesites. I'll post my impressions when I get back in late Sept., or sooner if I can get time over there, but for now I thought I'd extend an invitation for any advice, cautions, things to pay special attention to, etc., in order to make the most of my tour.

[Mike Covell]

Have a great time over here Kensei.

There are beautiful views from Scotland to London and if your near Hull get in touch and I will take you to all the locations linked to Stephenson, Deeming, Sickert and Royal Family!

Have fun!

[George Hutchinson]

I'm doing tours on the 10th and 11th if you wanted to join the group as my guest and see what a PROPER Ripper tour should be like! PM me if so.

My advice to you is the same as we give to everyone out of town. Don't flash money, cellphones or cameras about. Having them is fine, but don't go waving them in the air next to groups of loitering teenagers. Avoid photos of police or police buildings if there's coppers around. Avoid lining anything up in your camera when there's kids around. If anyone tries to stop you on the street, just shake your head, murmur 'no' and carry on walking as they will almost certainly be begging for money. Other than that, you will be absolutely fine.

You do have the EXACT locations for everywhere you want to visit, I take it? Or is it just a need to be in the area?

PHILIP

[Sam Flynn]

Where I live isn't bad either

[Bob Hinton]

Being accosted in the street.

My wife and I always use the ploy of speaking in Welsh. That works from Greece to Bali! It usually produces a shake of the head and a departure to greener fields.

[Graham]

My wife and I always use the ploy of speaking in Welsh. That works from Greece to Bali! It usually produces a shake of the head and a departure to greener fields.

I do the same, Bob, but in Brummie....

Graham

[Stephen Thomas]

I went once before in 2004 at which time I went on Donald Rumbelow's Jack the Ripper tour, which was great but only visited a few of the sites and was hindered by darkness and the presence of a large crowd. This time I plan to take a solo tour of all the sites, beginning with Durward Street and ending at the Ten Bells, on the morning of Tuesday Sept. 9th.

Hi kensei

Hopefully you'll take up Philip's offer. He's a great guy. But also please take the time to visit Chamber Street/Royal Mint Street (Swallow Gardens) and Pinchin Street and Henriques (Berner) Street, all in close proximity but 'off-tour'. You won't be disappointed.

Have a great vacation.

[kensei]

I am indeed visiting sites off the beaten path- I have the map from Richard Jones and Sean East's "Uncovering Jack the Ripper's London" and have added the murder sites for Alice McKenzie and Frances Coles to it. I also have Hutchinson & Clack's "The London of Jack the Ripper Then and Now" which should be a great help.

As far as worrying about muggers and such, I would think that nine a.m. on a Tuesday morning should be pretty safe, shouldn't it? My cemetery visits will follow in the afternoon.

[George Hutchinson]

If you want to get an accurate angle on the burial locations, check out Andy S's fine dissertation on them on this site; it's where I found some of them.

When going to the City of London cemetery, you might also want to ask about the location of the Newgate burials, a few minutes from the memorial plaques for Polly and Catherine.

Also, of course, when visiting Mary's grave you will find John McCarthy's big monument right by the door to the chapel and ask one of the staff to take you to Tim Evans' grave (he being the man hanged in 1950 for the murder of his wife and child at 10 Rillington Place which were almost definitely done by John Christie).

With Annie, you won't have much luck. The whole plot between the circular roundabout path/road/track on the south-west of the site and the train line marks where she is - somewhere.

Good luck if you think you'll do it all in an afternoon and have any energy left! You're looking at 15 minutes walk from the tube for Liz Stride & the Pinchin Street Torso site and it's complicated to use the quickest way there.

PHILIP

[kensei]

Hello all, checking in from an Internet cafe in Kensington. I successfully completed my solo Ripper tour on Monday, rather than Tuesday as first planned because no rain was forecast that day, so I got to do it on the anniversary of Annie Chapman's death. Started at 7 a.m., finished in the late afternoon and it completely wore me out but was well worth it. I don't get home to the U.S. until the 21st and will weigh in with my full impressions then when I have more time.

I met up with Phillip last night for his tour and he definitely has a wicked sense of humor! Thanks Phil, had a great time.

[The Good Michael]

This winter (I know, a bad time), I'm planning on Scotland and Wales. I don't think I'll get to London, but maybe I can hook up with some of the Welsh lads and we can do Ripper reenactments in Cardiff? Just a thought.

Mike

[George Hutchinson]

Hi Kensei.

I take it your tube connection was easy?

PHILIP

[kensei]

No problem with the tube, Phil.

This will be very long but may be of help to people planning to do solo Ripper walks as I just did. First, be assured that any ambiance or "emotional energy" you may expect will definitely be distracted at best, destroyed at worst, by constant noisy traffic and other pesky modern things. You'll also find that no photos of the sites can really show you what it's like to be there in person, and that doing all sites in chronological order is not practical. That said, it is still well worth doing if you have a chance. If you get lost, use your best judgement in choosing friendly-looking people to ask for directions and you should do fine.

I started at 7 a.m. at Whitechapel tube station, where the old Royal London Hospital and Working Lad's Institute (where coroner's inquests were) still stand on a very busy street. Interesting to see them, but not much else to say.

Buck's Row (now Durward Street), Polly Nicholls site- From the tube station you may not realize how close you are. It's easy to go too far looking for it. Still called a street, it is more like just an alley, and there the Board School still stands, slightly smaller than I had thought from pictures of it. To me this was the creepiest site, as it is the most unchanged and you can stand on the exact spot where the body was found, where there was assorted rubbish on the ground. Made me just say, "What a damn sad place to die." No traffic, but there was maintenance or construction being done just opposite the site that distracted.

Hanbury Street (surprisingly narrow), Annie Chapman site- The brewery building (now a car park) at the former site of #29 would be pretty much unremarkable if not for the grafitti plastered all over it. Reminds you of where yo are. Also of note, I think it was at the intersection of Brick Lane, the "Hanbury Street" sign had a tiny sign under it that just said "Panic."

The old Commercial Street police station still stands nearby, interesting to see but surrounded by modern buildings. While passing near Fashion Street on Brick Lane south, saw Christchurch to my right and realized how close I was to Mary Kelly's site, but it wasn't time for that yet.

Wentworth Street & Brick Lane, Emma Smith site- It is just a busy streetcorner, really nothing of note to see.

Gunthorpe Street, Martha Tabram site- Another creepy little alley referred to as a street. Interesting how one section of broken wall of the original building still clings to the modern one there now. It is as if Martha is hanging on there saying "Don't forget about ME!" (I believe she was a Ripper victim.) Most interesting though is at the opposite end of the alley from the murder site, a fancy sign on the side of the White Hart about JTR in general and how suspect George Chapman once lived "in the basement of this pub." Hadn't seen that mentioned before. It made no mention of Martha.

On south down Leman Street to the Frances Coles site- Had to ask around at a rental car office and a model-making shop under the railway for anyone who'd heard of Swallow Gardens. No one had, but as I had Hutch & Clack's book with me one guy in the model shop recognized the picture and directed me to it. The archway is sealed up as a garage and had several vans parked in front of it, in one of which the driver sat waiting. Didn't even notice him while I was filming until I came closer. Phillip has described this as one of the creepiest sites to him but to me it was just extremely noisy- trains kept going over and someone up there along the railway was jackhammering. Maybe a night visit would be different.

On to the Double Event-
Berner (now Henriques) Street- Liz Stride's site is now behind a playground wall and the happy sound of children playing filled the air. What a contrast. Next came the big question of how long it takes to briskly walk from there to Mitre Square as the Ripper supposedly did to commit one murder at close to 1 a.m. and then have time to find, coerce and kill and mutilate his second victim by 1:40 or so. Well, for the record, and considering the difference in late night horse and buggy traffic and the lack of red lights back then, it took me 14 minutes.

I hadn't realized how close Mitre Square is to St. Botolph's Church, and it really seems likely both Jack and Catherine Eddowes were heading for it and converged there. Interesting how BOTH double event sites now have childrens' playgrounds, and the one in the square distracted me as I entered from Aldgate High St. to the point where I actually passed right by the murder site at first without realizing. But then, as it is another site where you can stand exactly where the body was, and I guess because Kate is regarded as such a funny little scamp, it made me very sad just as I'd expected it to. Being well away from traffic there also helps. But then, while I was filming, two police officers approached (male & female) and wanted to know why I was filming near security cameras. They were very proper and polite about it but they actually questioned, searched and frisked me under the Terrorism Act! (Britain's equivalent, I guess, of my country's Homeland Security Act?) The male cop said, "The reason we do this is because just a few years ago, not half a mile from here, we had a 30-foot hole blown in the street." Well, no harm done and then they let me carry on, but then suddenly there were helicopters hovering overhead for the next several minutes. "Huh, dunno what that's about," shrugged the cops.

Was remiss in passing by the Alice McKenzie site without realizing on the way to Goulston Street. Was resolved to have a bite at the Happy Days restaurant, the fish & chip shop now at the site of the "Juwes" grafitto. Asked the young men behind the counter if they get asked about JTR very often. "Yes we do," one proudly exclaimed, pointing and smiling, "because THAT'S THE DOOR!" Nice guys, they let me use their employees only bathroom. I have to be honest though-- the fish & chips was the greasiest I ever had.

And then finally came the Mary Kelly site at White's Row (formerly Dorset Street). Of all the sites, this one in between the big fruit warehouse and car park is, I would have to say, the one with virtually no atmosphere at all despite being the scene of the most gruesome murder. One of the warehouse doors was open in which a man was sweeping and kept looking at me funny. I guess he went and got his supervisor or someone, who told me it's ok to film outside but not to aim the camera inside. I was really hoping for some viestige of Mary to be felt there, but there just wasn't any.

Not so of the Ten Bells, just a stone's throw down the row. Standing in front of the entrance on "Mary's Corner," that is where I felt her quite strongly. And I don't mean psychically, because I'm not. I mean that as I looked up at the towering white edifice of Christchurch literally right next door, I could picture her doing the same as she stood there plying her trade, and I wondered if the poor Catholic girl had any thoughts of being judged by God. Or did it make her smile a wicked smile? I mean, of all places to stand and sell oneself... but I guess the pub was more important. It's got to be the most iconic streetcorner in all of Ripperdom. Went in and had a drink in the Ten Bells, which is surprisingly tiny inside. Asked the barman if they get many Ripper questions. He said I was only the second person he'd ever heard ask. Phillip later expressed great doubt about that. Was approached by the only begger I encountered as I was leaving but I steered myself into the crowd and avoided him.

It was then early afternoon and my feet were killing me but I went on to two of the cemeteries and three gravesites- first Mary, then Polly & Kate. There are good directions to them here on Casebook.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery at Leytonstone- Oh my god, I had never seen so many tall and ornate statues in a graveyard in all my life. They are literally wall to wall. Mary Kelly's grave first caught my eye as the only spot of flowers in a patch of green. They were no gin bottles or anything like that as I've read are sometimes left. Just flowers, candles, cards, a little cat figurine (Mrs. Prater's kitten?). All that, to this day, after 120 years, and the name "Marie Jeanette" that made her feel classy. It was an absolutely heartbreaking site.

Then on to the City of London Cemetery, a long walk from the train station I could have done without by that point. It feels rural, like you're not even in London anymore. I reccomend getting a map at the entrance. I didn't at first, and got lost looking for the graves. They are in a flower garden area where people's ashes are now interred- doesn't even look like a cemetery there- and are only marked approximately by memorial plaques, each of which had a single flower on it. It was a lovely place to finish my tour. Oddly, saw a red fox skulking about on my way out just yards from where some cats were sunning themselves. Called it to the attention of a young female staff member cutting flowers nearby and she just said "Oh, yeah," and turned away like it was nothing. Anyone know if that cemetery has a resident tame pet fox?

One thing that struck me on this tour was how so many of the local Eastenders, even those living and working around these sites, have no idea what happened there. Of it they do it is no big deal to them. I don't know, maybe all who care are here on Casebook. Went on Phillip's tour two nights later with a much smaller group than the Rumbelow tour i was on 4 years ago. He actually manages to make this gruesome business fun, like the Beefeaters at the Tower of London who turn torture & beheadings into educational comedy.

Toured many non-Ripper sites in England & Scotland then until returning to London and seeing the Docklands Museum exhibit on the 20th. It's very good in a general sense. The old photos flashing on the walls are poignant, people living in misery but with matter-of-fact expressions because they don't know there's anything better. I know most or all of the documents there now are facsimiles, but things like Spratling's medals, Abberline's walking stick and press clipping book, Don Rumbelow's "Ripper knife," the Maybrick diary and Sickert's "JTR's Bedroom" painting- are those things the genuine articles?

Finally I just want to say that I think it's important to keep in perspective with all these sites that they are places where real peoples' lives came to horrible ends, and that fascination with a phantom-like killer who evaded a huge effort to capture him is not the same thing as admiration, something I felt the need to say to Mary Kelly as I knelt by her grave.

Well, I'm home now. I expect to be exhausted for some time but it was an incredible trip.

[The Grave Maurice]

You did all that in a day? You've got some stamina, mate. Sounds like a great trip, though.

[Mike Covell]

kensei that seriously left me with a lump in my throat. Nicely written.