East End Photographs and Drawings

[Lechmere]

I Suppose back then many were wood - and the nails sound like the sort of thing that are found on ledges now to keep pigeons off.
I think the covering in the street is an electricity or telecoms inspection hatch.

[Lechmere]

Here is the hatch at the Caledonian Arms on the corner of Fairfield Road and Blondin Street in Bow, where Annie Hannah Astell was assaulted and died as a result of her injuries on 21st April 1888.

[Lechmere]

Another view of the same.

[Lechmere]

The hatch in the road is a modern inspection hatch.

Some original terraced houses remain down the end of Blondin Street - numbers 42 (on the right of the picture) to 50 (on the left).
The deceased lived at number 36.

[Stephen Thomas]

Here is the hatch at the Caledonian Arms on the corner of Fairfield Road and Blondin Street in Bow, where Annie Hannah Astell was assaulted and died as a result of her injuries on 21st April 1888.

Hi Lechmere

A tasteful paving job by the local council there I see.

[Lechmere]

Ha! Yes, but if they had done a good job then this slightly poignant scene would be unidentifiable. I was expecting to find a patch of tarmac.

[Lechmere]

This might be of interest to some and has some bearing on the Eddowes murder.
I found a copy of a 1720 Bowen road map that showed that London to Rochester, quite deep into Kent, was regarded as a day's walk.

[Bridewell]

According to the AA Route Finder, it's 30 miles. I guess you could do it in about 10 hours, but you'd be pretty tired at the end of it I would have thought.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Lechmere]

Charles Dickens seems to have had a certain infatuation with Shabby Genteel personages.
This is from his short story ‘The Seven Poor Travellers.’

[Lechmere]

If you look closely at the map there is a mile post just over the Medway bridge in Rochester with the number 30 against it.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Edward,

Thank you. Interesting map.

If this was Eddowes' and Kelly's route to London from Kent, we must also factor in their walk to Rochester from Hunton via a stop-over in Maidstone to buy clothing and footwear.

All in all, I'd say it was a jolly good day's walk for a 40-ish man wearing new boots who had been suffering from "an affection [infection/affliction] of the kidneys and a bad cough."

Regards,

Simon

[Lechmere]

Simon
I just read the relevant thread on this. I don't think there is anything dodgy involved with Kelly and the timings for the walk back to London, but the hop picking farm and likely route home is interesting sub topic. It's a pity Jeff Leahy isn't on here now. I will have to check maps to see what bridges existed over the Medway south of Maidstone in those days and I have some ideas for identifying different farmers. But I will revive that thread for that.

[DrummondStreet]

Based on the Old Bailey report, am I to understand that Annie Astell's murderer was declared "not guilty." How can that be? There were several eyewitnesses who identified Sarah Ann Ward as the killer.

[Paddy Goose]

Wapping

[Bridewell]

When was this taken, Paddy? 1950's?

Regards, Bridewell.