Millers Court residents in Whitechapel Infirmary (recovered thread)

[The Rookie Detective]

Thanks for reviving this intriguing thread, RD, and my appreciation to those who contributed so much information to make the thread intriguing.

There’s no question that Henry Hanslope was a very nasty man. By 1888, of course, his wife and daughter were no longer with him.

According to the City Road workhouse’s admissions and discharges register, Hanslope spent about eight months of 1888 in that workhouse. One of his stays ran from August 17^th until October 30^th, the period during which four of the so-called canonical victims were murdered. However, according to the registers, he wasn’t in the workhouse when the attacks took place on Martha Tabram and Mary Jane Kelly, so we can't rule out the possibility he could've been involved in those killings.

BTW, the City Road A & D registers don’t show addresses, so they’re of no help in finding out exactly when Hanslope moved into Miller’s Court.

Hi Belloc


Thank you for your post

It is the amazing work of Debra and Chris Scott that has led to this great thread; I am merely adding a few sprinkles to others exceptional work.


Regarding Henry's time in the workhouse, I was aware that Henry had been in and out of the workhouse multiple times in 1888 and the stint you refer to also, that ran throughout the duration of the murders of Nichols through to Eddowes.

On that basis I would be inclined to rule him out...but there's still something about Mary.


I believe the answer may lay in the following...

An unknown/unnamed man gave a statement to the police saying he resided at 3 Millers Court and that he heard nothing until he left his dwelling around 10.30am to go and get some milk and was then stopped by police for questioning.

But crucially, he stated that he was working as a Porter and worked locally AND that his room directly overlooked the room in which Mary was murdered....

however, I always thought that the room that overlooked room 13, was room 11 and not room 3?

I may be mistaken of course, but here's what I believe MAY have occurred IF room 3 did NOT overlook room 13....

that the man who was stopped on his way to get some milk, was in fact Henry Hanslope who had come from room 11 and stated room 3.

In the records found by the late great Mr Chris Scott, it clearly states room 11 Millers Court and that he was a PORTER.

So we have 2 men, 2 porters and BOTH rooms are said to overlook room 13.


My question therefore is thus...

Was the man who was stopped by police on his way to get milk and who stayed he was a Porter from room 3 overlooking Mary's room, in fact Henry Hanslope who was listed as a porter, who was almost certainly (yet not conclusively) staying at room 11 that overlooked Mary's room?

What's also interesting is that Henry Hanslope wasn't a porter; he was a farmers son who trained as a clerk.

On his daughters marriage certificate he is listed as a Clerk.
Interesting how we have several descriptions of suspects with the appearance of a Clerk.


Now IF Henry was in the workhouse at the time of the the murders previous to MJK, does that automatically exclude him from being a suspect in the MJK case?


He was destitute and homeless, and yet somehow dressed with the appearance of someone who was higher than his station; a man playing a part so to speak.

But why do that?

We already know he threatened to cut his first wife's throat, tried to rape his own daughter and assaulted his own mother.

He has means, motive and opportunity to attack MJK and I believe that he left the workhouse and then stayed in the room that overlooked Mary's room.

The room that overlooked room 13, whether it was 11 or 3, would have full view on the fact that access could be gained by flicking the latch through the broken window.

The killer likely knew that from directly observing Mary accessing her room previously.


On the morning of the murder of Mary, the police arrested the man who had accosted women on the street in the days leading up to the murder, and also a man with fitting the description of a man seen locally carrying a black bag...but what if Mary's real killer was living opposite her and that was almost too obvious to consider?

IF Henry Hanslope did kill Mary, then it would be a culmination and combination of his desires to attack his wife, his daughter and his mother.

Not forgetting that Henry lost a child in its infancy and his aggression towards his wife appears to have begun shortly afterwards.


Lots to ponder


RD

[Belloc]

however, I always thought that the room that overlooked room 13, was room 11 and not room 3?

Here’s the layout of Miller’s Court at the time Mary Jane Kelly was murdered.



This diagram was published on page 5 of the November 12^th 1888 issue of The Daily Telegraph.

Twenty-one years’ later, in 1909, another murder occurred in Miller’s Court. The victim was another prostitute, Kate Roman. Harold Hall was tried for killing her. One of the prosecution exhibits was this diagram, drawn by a police officer.



This gives us the room numbers. It shows that, since 1888, four lavatories have been installed against the south wall of room 11 and the water tap has been relocated. The odd-numbered rooms are at the street level, the even-numbered rooms are on the first floor. You can see that room 3 is directly opposite room 11.

The 1888 diagram shows a window to one side of the dustbin. It isn’t clear whether that window was in room 11, room 12 or both. If it was only in room 12, the occupant of room 11 wouldn’t have been able to see MJK’s room.

The 1888 diagram doesn’t show the locations of windows in the other units, but from the 1909 diagram it appears someone in room 3 could have looked out from their window and seen at least the corner of MJK’s room.

[Wickerman]

This is a Ordnance Survey map of Millers Court from May 1890.



This was drawn by a Canadian company so uses North American nomenclature, meaning 1st floor is the Ground Floor in UK.

The window beside the bin, mentioned in post 32, though the marking is a little blurred, appears to suggest it was an upstairs window (Rm 12).
Here we see the placement of the water closet & bins was at the far end of the court beside units 5 & 6 (867), the narrow pink strip against the top wall (confec. fac.).