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I popped back to check some timings this afternoon as follows:
Firstly, I wanted to time the very quickest walk between the murder site (or at least as close to it as it is currently possible to get bearing in mind the building work) and Liverpool Street station. Wearing trainers - which might have given me an advantage over Cross & Paul - and walking at the quickest pace I could (short of doing that silly walk that Olympic race walkers do) I did the route in 13:30. To that extent, my previous agreement in #13 that I could not do the walk inside 15 minutes was wrong. I did it!
Secondly, within that walk - at that speed - I wanted to time the fastest possible walk from the murder site to Corbet's Court (where Paul worked) and which I now assume is at or near the street currently called Corbet Place. That took me 8:01 (the walk between there and Liv St Station took 5:29, hence the 13:30).
Thirdly, I wanted to do the walk between the murder site and the correct location of 152 Whitechapel Road as it was in 1888 (which is very close to the corner of Brady Street). Doing it at very fast pace, I even shaved a few seconds off my previous walk from the corner of Brady Street and did it in 1:36. Bear in mind that one has to add on about 10-20 seconds to reach the murder site itself. I also did it again at a reasonably slow pace and that took 2:20 so it's almost impossible to do the walk without interruption and take longer than 3 minutes.
Thirdly, I walked at the fastest possible pace between the murder site and Doveton Street and managed it in a record 5:53. Attempting it again at what I would regard as normal walking pace (a touch slower than my own normal walking pace) it took me 7:35.
Fourthly, I walked from the murder site to Liverpool Street station at the same sort of normal walking pace and this took 16:36. So adding on about 20 seconds to this, the entire walk from Doveton Street to Liv Street at a normal walking pace would be about twenty-four and a half minutes. From that I can say that had Cross needed to get to Liverpool Street Station he could have left his house at 3:35, walked at a normal pace, and arrived on time. However, he did have to get to Pickfords so that would presumably have added a few minutes to the walk.
Finally, I wanted to have a look at what Fisherman was talking about when he mentioned a Sainsbury's blocking the route. Although, while walking, one has the impression of taking the fastest possible route between Doveton Street and Buck's Row, looking at an old map I can see that there might have been a quicker route down Buckhurst Street and then Birkbeck Street, both of which no longer exist, and the building which houses Sainsbury's does seem to run along where Birkbeck Street used to be. So, to that extent, the claim in the documentary that, "The street layout is the same as it was over a century ago" may not be entirely accurate. Of course, if Cross could have done the walk to Buck's Row faster, he could have left his home later in order to get him to work on time.
I think I am done with the walking now.
I popped back to check some timings this afternoon as follows:
Firstly, I wanted to time the very quickest walk between the murder site (or at least as close to it as it is currently possible to get bearing in mind the building work) and Liverpool Street station. Wearing trainers - which might have given me an advantage over Cross & Paul - and walking at the quickest pace I could (short of doing that silly walk that Olympic race walkers do) I did the route in 13:30. To that extent, my previous agreement in #13 that I could not do the walk inside 15 minutes was wrong. I did it!
Secondly, within that walk - at that speed - I wanted to time the fastest possible walk from the murder site to Corbet's Court (where Paul worked) and which I now assume is at or near the street currently called Corbet Place. That took me 8:01 (the walk between there and Liv St Station took 5:29, hence the 13:30).
Thirdly, I wanted to do the walk between the murder site and the correct location of 152 Whitechapel Road as it was in 1888 (which is very close to the corner of Brady Street). Doing it at very fast pace, I even shaved a few seconds off my previous walk from the corner of Brady Street and did it in 1:36. Bear in mind that one has to add on about 10-20 seconds to reach the murder site itself. I also did it again at a reasonably slow pace and that took 2:20 so it's almost impossible to do the walk without interruption and take longer than 3 minutes.
Thirdly, I walked at the fastest possible pace between the murder site and Doveton Street and managed it in a record 5:53. Attempting it again at what I would regard as normal walking pace (a touch slower than my own normal walking pace) it took me 7:35.
Fourthly, I walked from the murder site to Liverpool Street station at the same sort of normal walking pace and this took 16:36. So adding on about 20 seconds to this, the entire walk from Doveton Street to Liv Street at a normal walking pace would be about twenty-four and a half minutes. From that I can say that had Cross needed to get to Liverpool Street Station he could have left his house at 3:35, walked at a normal pace, and arrived on time. However, he did have to get to Pickfords so that would presumably have added a few minutes to the walk.
Finally, I wanted to have a look at what Fisherman was talking about when he mentioned a Sainsbury's blocking the route. Although, while walking, one has the impression of taking the fastest possible route between Doveton Street and Buck's Row, looking at an old map I can see that there might have been a quicker route down Buckhurst Street and then Birkbeck Street, both of which no longer exist, and the building which houses Sainsbury's does seem to run along where Birkbeck Street used to be. So, to that extent, the claim in the documentary that, "The street layout is the same as it was over a century ago" may not be entirely accurate. Of course, if Cross could have done the walk to Buck's Row faster, he could have left his home later in order to get him to work on time.
I think I am done with the walking now.
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