Miller's Court - Post-MJK

[DrHopper]

Dear all

I am still trying tp figure out the layout and general feel of Miller's Court. I have been looking at the Post-MJK murder history of the place as a way of understanding the MJK story. However, I thought some of you might be interested in the timeline/descriptions I have made

Apologies for long post



1891
Journalist Kathleen Blake Watkins visits Miller’s Court as research for a piece on the Ripper for the Toronto Mail. She notes that a woman called Lottie was living in No.13, MJK’s old room. The walls were still covered with blood from the murder 3 years previously – "blood blackened walls" is the phrase she uses (http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-kit.html). Lottie was apparently living “further up the court” in 1888, and had met Mary Kelly on the very evening (truth? exaggeration?). Elizabeth Prater still living in Miller’s Court, but now living opposite no.13, no longer above it (so, Room 1 or 2 we may assume).

1898 (26 November)
Elizabeth Roberts murdered by her sister, Kate Marshall, in the “first floor back room” of 26 Dorset Street (Room 20 Millers Court, Mrs Prater’s old room?)

1909 (2 July)
Kitty Ronan murdered at no.12 Miller’s Court (upper floor).
John Callaghan, a stableboy, is now living at 13 Millers Court.

1914 (10 June)
A newspaper article dated 10 June 1914 states that the houses were “until recently, let for furnished rooms, but now they are condemned and closed by the local suthorities under the Town Planning Act” (http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4920/10549.html). So we may assume that this was their final use date, aside from possible storage or other random and sporadic use. The Spitalfields Market expansion was approved in 1920, and the whole area was scheduled to be redeveloped. When he visited in late January 1928, Leonard Matters noted that the room had “boarded-up windows and a padlocked door as though the place had not been occupied since the crime was committed” (http://www.casebook.org/dissertation...rdossier.html). In all actuality they probably hadn’t since their 1914 closure. He was probably the last person to visit the place before they were torn down in the same year. His 2 photographs of the exterior of the entrance to Miller’s Court stand as testament to the changing face of the East End (http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-81 and http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-89).
Our next, and final, view of Miller’s Court was in the demolition photograph taken in June 1928 and currently lodged in the Hulton Archive (http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-83). The masterful rendering of the photograph into colour coded clarity by Chris Scott allows us to understand another rare view into Miller’s Court, albeit with only the east side remaining, (http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=1755), but there is No.13 in its final moments.

Have I missed any information out? Anyone know of any other descriptions, post-murder?

And then, what happens after the demolition? When is the current building that stands there built? My reason for asking is that sometime post-1928 an enormous building is placed on top of the area. However, a ground survey would have to been undertaken – plans, drawings, photographs. The whole are must have been inspected thoroughly. What records remain of this survey? Who built the building?

[Stephen Thomas]

1898 (26 November)
Elizabeth Roberts murdered by her sister, Kate Marshall, in the “first floor back room” of 26 Dorset Street (Room 20 Millers Court, Mrs Prater’s old room?)

Excellent post, DrHopper. Thanks.

The address for the first floor back room where Eliza Roberts was murdered (ie the room above Kelly's) would have been known in 1898 as Room 19, 26 Dorset Street. Mrs Prater did indeed say that her room was #20 but also, in recently discovered newspaper articles, that it was the first floor front room overlooking Dorset Street.

[DrHopper]

Hi
I have spent a bit more time running through this, and because i cannot edit my post, i shall repost the original with the new research added. Apologies for what looks like the same material reposted.


1888 (9 November)
Mary Kelly murdered at No.13 Miller’s Court. At that time the following people were living there:
1 – Julia Venturnay and Harry Owen
2 – Mr & Mrs Keyler, Sarah Lewis (visitor)
3 – Unknown – Male Market Porter
4 – Unknown
5 – Mary Ann Cox
6 – Unknown
7 – John Clark
8 – Elizabeth Bushman
9 – Unknown
10 – Unknown
11 – Unknown
12 – Unknown
13 – Mary Kelly and Joseph Barnett

Also living in Miller’s Court at the time was witness Lizzie Albrook, though it is uncertain which room she occupies. Perhaps to this we should also add Maria Harvey with whom MJK occasionally shared a room, and who was the owner of the clothes found burned in the grate of No.13. Also, we should perhaps include Lizzie Fisher, who apparently lived on the 2nd floor of No.26 Miller’s court, and with whom MJK is occasionally confused. There was another family, the Gallaghers, who lived in a house “Immediately opposite the house in which MJK was murdered”, and who were visited by their marrid daughter “Mrs Kennedy” on the evening of the murder.

Any help with the identification of either the people or their dwellings would be appreciated.


1889 (30 January)
A prostitute named Mary Ann Cluley is admitted to Whitechapel Infirmary with Gonorrhea. Her address is given as Room 24 Millers Court. It is unclear where Room 24 actually is.

1889 (3 February)
Thomas Gavven of No.6 Miller’s Court is admitted to Whitechapel Infirmary.

1889 (9 February)
Henry Hemslow of 11 Miller’s Court is admitted to Whitechapel Infirmary.

1889 (13 July)
Birmingham Daily Post (dated 18/11/1889) reports that No.13 Miller’s Court has finally been re-let following the murder (the report does not mention the name of the person/people). The room had remained empty for 8 months, possibly due to the difficulty in finding a tenant willing to live there (although this seems not to have been the case, see below).

1889 (8 December)
The New York Sun (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lc...8/ed-1/seq-21/ ) reports that the tenant of No.13 Miller’s Court is “A short, stout, middle-aged man, with closely cropped hair and a bad face”, and a woman named Kate. These are in all probability the tenants mentioned in the Birmingham Daily Post of 13 July. The report quotes this ‘Kate’ was living with MJK before her death, that together they had paid “half a crown” per week rent, and that Kate had to continue paying that amount following the death of MJK until her unnamed male companion bagan living with her. This seems at odds with the Birmingham Daily Post report. Perhaps Kate is in reality Maria Harvey who was an occasional tenant with MJK – the names having been changed, by the reporter, to “protect the innocent”. It is interesting that Kate “pays the rent” by showing the room and the bloodstained floor and wall, and that she applied to live there “while the police were in possession after the murder”. This last bit is of interest as it implies that the police took ownership of the property whilst the investigation was ongoing.

1891
Journalist Kathleen Blake Watkins visits Miller’s Court as research for a piece on the Ripper for the Toronto Mail. She notes that a woman called Lottie was living in No.13, MJK’s old room. The walls were still covered with blood from the murder 3 years previously – "blood blackened walls" is the phrase she uses - this may be journalistic license, but does tally with the New York Sun report above. (http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/rip-kit.html). Lottie was apparently living “further up the court” in 1888, and had met Mary Kelly on the very evening (truth? exaggeration?). Elizabeth Prater still living in Miller’s Court, but now living opposite no.13, no longer above it (so, Room 1 or 2 we may assume).

1898 (26 November)
Elizabeth Roberts murdered by her sister, Kate Marshall, in the “first floor back room” (Room 19) of 26 Dorset Street. This is the room above No.13 Miller’s Court.

1909 (2 July)
Kitty Ronan murdered at no.12 Miller’s Court (upper floor). This is presumably the house across from No.13, on the other side of the pump and facing the windows. John Callaghan, a stableboy, is now living at 13 Millers Court.

1914 (10 June)
A newspaper article dated 10 June 1914 states that the houses were “until recently, let for furnished rooms, but now they are condemned and closed by the local suthorities under the Town Planning Act” (http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4920/10549.html). So we may assume that this was their final use date, aside from possible storage or other random and sporadic use. The Spitalfields Market expansion was approved in 1920, and the whole area was scheduled to be redeveloped.

1928 (Late January)
When he visited in late January 1928, Leonard Matters noted that the room had “boarded-up windows and a padlocked door as though the place had not been occupied since the crime was committed” (http://www.casebook.org/dissertation...rdossier.html). In all actuality they probably hadn’t since their 1914 closure. He was probably the last person to visit the place before they were torn down in the same year. His 2 photographs of the exterior of the entrance to Miller’s Court stand as testament to the changing face of the East End (http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-81 and http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-89).

1928 (June)
Our next, and final, view of Miller’s Court was in the demolition photograph taken in June 1928 and currently lodged in the Hulton Archive (http://photos.casebook.org/displayimage.php?pos=-83). The masterful rendering of the photograph into colour coded clarity by Chris Scott allows us to understand another rare view into Miller’s Court, albeit with only the east side remaining, (http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?t=1755), but there is No.13 in its final moments.

Have I missed any information out? Anyone know of any other descriptions, post-murder?

And then, what happens after the demolition? When is the current building that stands there built? My reason for asking is that sometime post-1928 an enormous building is placed on top of the area. However, a ground survey would have to have been undertaken – plans, drawings, photographs. The whole area must have been inspected thoroughly. What records remain of this survey? Who built the building? And what, if anything, remained of Miller’s Court in the ground below?

[Archaic]

Interesting thread.

Thought I'd give it a bump in case others can answer your questions about Miller's Court.

Best regards,
Archaic

[WARSPITE]

Thanks Dr Hopper for concisely summarising Millers Court post MJK. I always found all the claims and snippets a little confusing, but this makes it a lot clearer. The discovery of the demolition Hulton photo gives us hope that theres more out there. Amazing to think the residents/demolition workers had little notion of how significant the place would become.