Where does Joseph Fleming fit into the equation?

[Fisherman]

Lechmere seems to acknowledge 55ft is a bit too tall... Fish ignores Debs post... Jon tweets...

It´s you I´m ignoring, David.

Good night!
Fisherman

[Wickerman]

As for all Victorian houses having 8 foot ceilings, I'm sure the nice, posh ones did, yes, but not the poorer areas where Fleming was likely to have worked.

The East-end was a source of cheap labor for the middle & upper classes across London. Here they found their artisans, tailors, gardners, chimney-sweeps, masons, cabinet makers, joiners, and yes, plasterers.
From here they worked in Islington, Hackney, Highbury, Camden, and south of the river in Waterloo, Rotherhithe, Camberwell, Peckham.

I don't recall anyone saying where Fleming worked.

And I can't imagine too many slum-lords in Whitechapel paying for a new plastered ceiling.

[Fisherman]

If its not a mistake then there is no way he is the ripper.

So therefore, by reasoning, it must be a mistake.

Can you see why I detest this form of "reasoning", Abby?

All the best,
Fisherman

[Fisherman]

Hull Daily Mail (Hull, England), Friday, September 18, 1891

From the net - as always - we have this:
"Angus McAskill, born in Lewis in 1819, was believed to be the tallest man in Britain in the 19th century. He was certainly tall being 7 feet 9 inches in his stockinged feet."

Just like Jon, I´d say the Yorkshire press may have been a bit too enthusiastic about 6 ft 6 ...

Oh, now I know - the first 6 must be a misprint! It should have been a 7!!!

All the best,
Fisherman

[Wickerman]

If he was that tall and skinny, there would more than likely some mention of It by somebody-

Where Abby, who would have mentioned it, and where?
And why on earth do you think this gossip would have been important enough to record for all eternity?

....one of the witnesses

Witness to what?
Did Fleming do something wrong?

...or at least in his medical records.

It was in his medical records, ...it was, ...it was, ...it was
(say it thrice and it must be so)

And, no-one attempted to correct it, in three years.

Chances are if that's MKs Fleming then the height as written is a mistake.

We can never know if it wasn't a mistake, but neither can we go around insisting, or even pretending, it was.

Its the official record, and with nothing of an official nature to contest it, we are obliged to acknowledge the record for what it say's.

[Debra A]

I'd be cautious with that thought Debs, you'll only encourage them.

Peter Crouch is 6' 7" but only wears a size 12 shoe, not an exceptional case in my opinion.

In the 19th century they "made-do", special width/height clothing was simply not readily available for a lowly East-ender, and when necessary they made their own clothing.

My simple point, Jon, was that Fleming was exceptionally tall, not just tall. I wonder what percentage of the British population would be near the 6ft 7 mark in that era? Not many if someone 6ft 6in could travel the country exhibited as a giant?
There was a booming trade in old clothes and boots, most poor East Enders acquired their clothes second, even third or fourth hand. I'm wondering how likely and how lucky it would be that Fleming managed to get hold of boots, trousers and coat etc. He had everything!...and would he have needed the hook he had (probably a longshoreman's) to aid in bringing in swinging bales off ships on the dockside if he was 6ft 7?

[Debra A]

From the net - as always - we have this:
"Angus McAskill, born in Lewis in 1819, was believed to be the tallest man in Britain in the 19th century. He was certainly tall being 7 feet 9 inches in his stockinged feet."

Just like Jon, I´d say the Yorkshire press may have been a bit too enthusiastic about 6 ft 6 ...

Oh, now I know - the first 6 must be a misprint! It should have been a 7!!!

All the best,
Fisherman

Was he alive in 1891?

[Debra A]

And Lewis is probably Scotland?

[Fisherman]

Was he alive in 1891?

Nope. He´d been dead for the odd decade by then. But I think we must allow for the possibility that some people ranged inbetween 7 ft 9 and 6 ft 7.
Of course, the tallest man at the turn of the century would have been the canadian Beaupré, who reached 250 centimeters. He was born in 1881. I fail to see how there would be a gap of half a metre down to Britains tallest man, but I cannot substantiate it.

Just like you, I believe that 6 ft 7 would have been an exceptional height. But not as exceptional as to stand for the tallest person in Britain. Surely, somewhere somebody must have some sort of statistics on this. I´ll try and find it, but not until Thursday at the earliest.
If somebody beats me to it, I´d welcome that!

Oh, and yes, MacAskill was a scot.

All the best,
Fisherman

[Fisherman]

More trivia:

"Frederick John Kempster is believed to have been the tallest man ever to have lived in England.

Born in London in 1889, he was 7 ft 11 in by the time he was 19, and is said to have grown to 8ft 4.5ins tall."

They do exist.

All the best,
Fisherman

[Debra A]

Nope. He´d been dead for the odd decade by then. But I think we must allow for the possibility that some people ranged inbetween 7 ft 9 and 6 ft 7.
Of course, the tallest man at the turn of the century would have been the canadian Beaupré, who reached 250 centimeters. He was born in 1881. I fail to see how there would be a gap of half a metre down to Britains tallest man, but I cannot substantiate it.

Just like you, I believe that 6 ft 7 would have been an exceptional height. But not as exceptional as to stand for the tallest person in Britain. Surely, somewhere somebody must have some sort of statistics on this. I´ll try and find it, but not until Thursday at the earliest.
If somebody beats me to it, I´d welcome that!

Oh, and yes, MacAskill was a scot.

All the best,
Fisherman

OK Fisherman but just to clarify -what we need to be looking at stats wise-Bradshaw was said to be the tallest man in England in 1891, specifically.
Fleming was supposedly one inch taller and living in England in 1891.

[Fisherman]

OK Fisherman but just to clarify -what we need to be looking at stats wise-Bradshaw was said to be the tallest man in England in 1891, specifically.
Fleming was supposedly one inch taller and living in England in 1891.

I agree, the stats for the relevant period and place are what we must look for. I only brought MacAskill and Beaupré up to show that just like we have very tall men in our time, they did have them back then too. MacAskill precedes and Beaupré follows on the period we are talking about.
6 ft 6 would be around 198 centimeters, right? Much as that would have been a respectable height, I really don´t think it would have been enough to make for the tallest man in England. But your find demands a good look at the issue!

All the best,
Fisherman

[Fisherman]

An Irishman (I think), 6 ft 8, and in his twenties 1891.

MAURICE WOULFE - b7/14/1872 wit Maurice Woulfe and Bridget Geany (Geary?) Dunganville - d1946 at Dunganville. He never married. Maurice joined the Dublin Metropolitan police department in 1891. He remained in Dublin after retiring, but later returned to Dunganville. He died there in 1946. Here he is - all 6' 8" of him. He was known as "BIG MAURICE" because of his size. He was also a champion on the Dublin Police department's tug-of-war team.
This photograph of Maurice at the right was copied from a copy of a page from an unknown magazine given me by my cousin Lill Woulfe. The caption reads,"The tallest bicycle made in Ireland by the Stevens Cycle company for Maurice Woolfe (mispelled) of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, who stood 6 ft 8 ins and weighed 21 stone."

Fisherman

[Fisherman]

The Aberdeen Cornet Band had a man called Van Tassel who was 6 ft 6 in 1890.

Fisherman

[Fisherman]

Next:

"The oldest (born in 1860) was Alexander Hamilton, known as Hampy. Three of his brothers went to the exclusive Cheltenham College, but Hampy and Charlie didn’t. We’ve not been able to find out why, nor have we established where either of them went, but the 1869 letter from grandfather Hamilton to Hampy might give a clue. Father David has been away in Norway on business, and Hampy, together with his brothers and cousins, has recently returned from Rothesay. Grandfather has been looking after some pigeons for Hampy and says that father needs to get a birdbox made up at home to house them. He sends his love to aunts Sarah and Jane (the two unmarried aunts) and Chris (possibly Sarah’s younger sister visiting from Cork). Young Jane Bremner is known as Missy. It was a close, loving family.
He was 6 ft 7 in tall, and in 1878 may have been amateur heavyweight boxing champion of Scotland, boxing on behalf of Glasgow University..."

Fisherman