Life INSIDE 13 Miller's Court

[Ginger]

Does any one know if this book has come out yet? I would LOVE to read it!

As would I. That sounds a fascinating topic.

[Chris Scott]

To return to the original question on this thread - how could people live in such apparently bare surroundings as the interior of Millers Court? - I would offer the following:-
1) A number of interior items now considered essential were not even invented or were still the preserve of the few in the LVP. Television, radio, music centres, computers, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners etc etc were unthought of. Even appliances then extant - such as the telephone and phonograph - would not have been seen in the abode of a woman of the means of Kelly.
2) Because of the nature of their precarious financial existence, many women (and also men, it has to be said) lived much more of their lives outdoors than is the norm now. How many times have we read accounts of victims who had to go out and tramp the streets in order to get the few pence needed for a bed for the night? Granted that Kelly had a room rather than a doss, she still owed McCarthy what was then a sizeable amount of money and had recently lost the support of Barnett who, even though not in regular employment, would have contributed something to the meagre household budget.
Hutchinson also (albeit for different reasons) was walking the streets of Whitechapel all night on the occasion of his alleged sighting of Kelly at 2 a.m. on the morning of her murder.
Kelly had a room in which to keep her meagre possessions but it was not uncommon for a woman who had to rely on lodging house accommodation from night to night to carry her worldly goods with her. Just read the list of the pathetic bits and pieces that Eddowes carried with her and you will see what I mean.

[Michael W Richards]

How did Mary Kelly — and women like her in 1888 — LIVE in such apparently empty rooms like 13 Miller's Court?

All the police reports of 13 Miller's Court mention a bed, a table, a fireplace, a print of "The Fisherman's Widow," and possibly a chair. Not a single mention of any wardrobe, chest, shelves, trunk, or any other object in the room. Several books say her clothes were found "folded neatly." But where? Where did Mary Kelly keep her belongings? True, she may not have owned much, but where would she have stored her clothes, her few personal possessions, eating utensils, soap, maybe even some food (tea, sugar, etc.)?

Ive read some of the other responses to your question TDS, here's my two cents on the matter.

Marys clothes were found, whether neatly as described in one account or not, on the chair. What remained of her clothing was on her...the chemise. Any other clothing was the property of Maria Harvey's clients.Things like tea, sugar, and soap were often bought daily, or bought when the tenant could afford it, also things like candles. Most of what Mary might have had at one time was likely pawned for rent, food, or booze, so its not all that surprising that we see so little in terms of belongings.

There is a kettle, a pump for water just outside her room in the alcove, and I can see a tin washtub under her bed. I would guess those three things allowed her to wash up, and clean her few belongings.

Ive speculated before that the money Maria gives Mary that last night is for washing she helped Maria do that afternoon. Maybe re-heating water over and over again melted the spout solder. Whatever, we are told those 2 spent the afternoon in the room.

Best regards

[Wickerman]

William Fishman, in his East End 1888, devoted a few paragraphs to the sparse furnishings to be had in weekly rental properties. Kelly's accommodation comes to mind.

The rent Kelly paid (4/-) was the going rate for one room with a bed, table(s) and chair(s). No landlord would provide anything more than the very basics. A landlord would provide nothing at all that could be easily hidden in clothing and taken away, like plates, pans, cups, brushes, etc.
Whatever else a tenant possessed was whatever they could beg, borrow or steal.

Kelly was living in luxury compared with many others of her class. As many as 5-8 people could share a 12'x12' room, which in a number of cases were not even related families. And yes, that means the bulk of the people in that room, ate, sat and slept on the floor. Just to have a roof over your head was a blessing.
Some families shared a cellar (basement) and in it you could find several people, adults & children, babies & seniors sharing this overcrowded room with a pig or two, or a few chickens.

In a comparable room you might find one large family of three generations, or two unrelated families and a lodger, or two.
In some cases the principal tenant worked in the room for 12-14 hrs of the day while others who shared the accommodation tried to eat or sleep.

The only amenity often provided was water, access to one faucet/tap for all the tenants (ie; Millers Court), and in one example given by Fishman, a rental property in Bethnal Green, the water was only turned on for an hour or so, every day. It was not available continuously.

Regards, Jon S.

[Ginger]

Maybe re-heating water over and over again melted the spout solder.

I doubt that. The solder wouldn't have melted unless the kettle was over the fire and empty. As long as it had water in it, it wouldn't have gotten hot enough to melt the solder. I daresay that kettle was a fairly high value possession to a woman of Mary's means. If she did melt her own kettle, was that quite careless of her.

[Michael W Richards]

I doubt that. The solder wouldn't have melted unless the kettle was over the fire and empty. As long as it had water in it, it wouldn't have gotten hot enough to melt the solder. I daresay that kettle was a fairly high value possession to a woman of Mary's means. If she did melt her own kettle, was that quite careless of her.

Hi Ginger,

I would agree with you that her kettle was quite important to a woman in Marys position. I would disagree with the above. Marys kettle would have been suspended on a grate on top of the fire, and the ambient temperature that it would be exposed to, with overuse, could have easily melted the solder let alone the spout itself. The kettle could boil dry if she wasnt watching it.

You may not agree with my supposition on how the spout did in fact separate from the rest of the kettle, but there was remnants of a hot fire in that fireplace within the past 24 hours by the time the men sieved it Friday afternoon, there was clean laundry in the room, Mary and Maria did spend the afternoon in her room, and Marys tin bath is clearly visible in one of the situ photos, something that would have been pushed back further out of sight if out of use.

All the best