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.).

[Belloc]

To wrap up the story of Henry Hanslope:

After the departure of his first wife with their daughter in 1886, Henry Hanslope frequently visited various workhouses. He described his trade as porter or clerk, and he was always unaccompanied. That changed in the summer of 1893. He formed a relationship with Eliza Ann Richardson, a laundress from Suffolk who was the 22-year-old mother of a blind boy, and he became a Roman Catholic. During the next four years they had several children together. In February of 1897 they married. More children followed, including two pairs of twins. Most of the children didn’t survive infancy. Around 1904 the family moved to Lancashire. Henry died in the Walton Workhouse from tuberculosis in March of 1909. Eliza survived him by ten years before succumbing to the same disease in April, 1919.

[The Rookie Detective]

To wrap up the story of Henry Hanslope:

After the departure of his first wife with their daughter in 1886, Henry Hanslope frequently visited various workhouses. He described his trade as porter or clerk, and he was always unaccompanied. That changed in the summer of 1893. He formed a relationship with Eliza Ann Richardson, a laundress from Suffolk who was the 22-year-old mother of a blind boy, and he became a Roman Catholic. During the next four years they had several children together. In February of 1897 they married. More children followed, including two pairs of twins. Most of the children didn’t survive infancy. Around 1904 the family moved to Lancashire. Henry died in the Walton Workhouse from tuberculosis in March of 1909. Eliza survived him by ten years before succumbing to the same disease in April, 1919.

That is just exceptional work


RD

[Belloc]

Thanks, RD.

[The Rookie Detective]

MOVED FROM "Catch me when you can" thread...




The late great Mr Chris Scott found a document proving that Henry Hanslope went from the workhouse to number 11 Millers Court.

This has recently been corroborated by Debra A who worked with Chris on this previously (And Debra's research capacity and knowledge base is unparalleled)

We know that he is listed aged 40

This places Henry Hanslope in 11 Millers Court at some point between 1888-1889

The only frustrating thing is that we can't place Hanslope in Millers Court at a precise date and time.

There was an unknown and unnamed man who was stopped by the police circa 10.30am as he left Millers Court.
He claimed to be residing at number 3 Millers Court and was on his way to get milk...and the police let him walk on after he claimed to not have heard anything about the murder.

My hypothesis is that this man.. was Hanslope.

Hanslope at the time was also a porter.

I believe he came from room 11 and not 3.


The reason why Hanslope should be considered is because...

he threatened to cut his wife's throat
he beat up his own mother
he tried/succeeded in raping his own teenage daughter.

He was repeatedly violent towards women

And at some point he DID live in the room that looked directly towards the window of MJK's room.

Anyone in room 11 would have been able to observe that access to room 13 was possible through the latch accessed by the broken window.

Now IF Hanslope WAS there at the time MJK was murdered; he may well have waited for her to be alone, snuck from his room 11 and accessed her room as she slept...and then attacked her as she lay in bed.

IF Hanslope was the Ripper, he may have killed her opportunistically having observed her over a period of a few days.

Hanslope was in and out of the workhouse on multiple occasions and so the likelihood of him having been the Ripper are greatly reduced by his repeated time spent in the workhouse.

That said; he wasn't in the workhouse the night Kelly was killed...and so the question then is...well where was he?


HH could very well be Henry Hanslope



RD

[The Rookie Detective]

MOVED FROM "Catch me when you can" thread.


Interesting...



Note this article from 10th November.


It contains several errors; even stating the murder took place in number 2 instead of 13.

But here's where it's interesting...

This article mentions the Market Porter who left the court circa 10.30am.

He has to be the same man who is stopped by police as he leaves circa 10.30am. His name isn't mentioned; except to state he was off to get some milk.

But the article above specifically states that a Market Porter who "lives in Millers Court opposite the house of the deceased."

The house opposite was room 11 (downstairs)

Now let's just flush out the idea that the article means the room opposite room 2 and not 13...well the room opposite room 2 certainly wasn't the room in which MJK was murdered and room 2 was also upstairs.

We can therefore accept that the article doesn't mean the room opposite number 2, but specifically the room opposite Mary's room.

As far as I'm aware; it has never been considered that the nan who left the court and was stopped by police had come from room 11; because it states in the majority of articles that the man came from room 3 and not room 11.

However, my hypothesis that the man who was stopped by police came from room 11 and not 3 now becomes something worth serious consideration, based on the article above.

Now here's where things become very interesting... we know from the amazing research from the late and great Mr Chris Scott and the research undertaken by the wonderful Debra A; that a man named Henry Hanslope at some point in 1888/1889 lived in room 11 Millers Court.

The room opposite Mary

And the same room highlighted in the article above.

Henry Hanslope described himself as a "porter" who worked in the local market; which also matches the article above.

Now for those of you not familiar with Henry Hanslope...

He brutally assaulted his own mother.
Attempted/succeeded in raping his own teenage daughter
Threatened to cut his wife's throat with a knife.

Now, thanks to the research undertaken by Debra and Belloc (and others whom I'd also like to acknowledge) we have some idea of Hanslope's antecedents.

And there's a lot more about him that I believe is relevant but will need to be incorporated into another thread.


So, let's just let that sink in for a moment....

A man who acted aggressively towards his own mother, wife, and daughter at one point lived in the room opposite Mary, room 11.
The article above highlights the Market Porter living in the same room 11 and who only discovered there had been a murder at the exact time that the press reported another man had left to get milk as he left room 3.

Now based on the timings, we have 2 men doing the same thing as almost the exact same time; but the rooms being different; ergo, room 11 and 3 respectively.

However, the article above essentially describes the same man, but crucially highlights that he "lives in Millers Court in the house opposite the deceased"

So by mentioning that there was a man living opposite Mary who discovers there had been a murder at the same time the man who got milk also left the court; I believe that the papers incorrectly stated room 3 and should have stated room 11.

The question is...If Henry Hanslope was living opposite Mary on the same night she was murdered; we then have a proven violent sexual offender living in the room opposite Mary and with full view of her accessible broken window and locked door.


So here's my hypothesis...



Henry Hanslope hears Mary singing, and watches her from room 11.

He waits for Blotchy to leave and waits for the room to go dark. He leaves room 11 and looks through the window of room 13 to see Mary laying facing the partition fast asleep. He reaches through the latch and opens the door and silently approaches her on the bed.

He then grabs her and she manages to cry "oh murder" as she is awoken, just as he cuts her throat.

He then works in the dark and obliterates her.

He knows he won't be disturbed because her client has left and she has already gone to bed. He also knows that she has split from Barnett.

He then leaves and takes the key and locks the door and takes a few seconds to wash his hands at the water tap and then goes into his room. His escape takes under 20 seconds and the reason the killer isn't seen leaving the court; is because he didn't leave until 10.30am when he leaves the court and is stopped by police.
He tells them room 3 and they let him go on his way because quite frankly NOBODY would expect the real killer to just casually walk out the court to go get some milk.
At this point they are looking for a mad Jew and have no concept of psychopathy.

I would suggest that IF the man who left the court and is mentioned in the article above was infact Henry Hanslope; then he becomes a very significant candidate for being the man who butchered MJK.


"CatcH me when you can MisHter Lusk"

Interesting how the 2 letters that stand out from that phrase are "H.H"
The first H is written lower than all the other letters in the phrase and the additional H in the word Mishter also highlights another H.

Henry Hanslope perhaps?


thoughts please?

RD

[The Rookie Detective]

It's important to state that it was Debra A and the late Mr Chris Scott who did all the ground work and research on Hanslope.
I noticed Debra's fabulous posts on Hanslope and I was immediately drawn to him.

More recently the brilliant Belloc has also done some excellent research on Hanslope.

When you incorporate all the other aspects of his life it becomes apparent that IF he was living in Miller's Court at the same time as Mary Jane Kelly; then he becomes a very serious contender for being the man who butchered her.

Of course, if he wasn't in Millers Court at the time; then it becomes just a bunch of quirky coincidences that can be explained away.

I would suggest that IF proof can be found that Hanslope was in Millers Court; then he was possibly the killer.

It doesn't make him the same man who killed the other victims; but it perhaps isolates Kelly as an individual victim who may or may not be linked to the others.


One would expect that the same man killed multiple victims; but the fact that Kelly was killed indoors and was considerably younger than the others; may just indicate that Hanslope was a Ripper copy cat and butchered Kelly as an isolated case.


Has the murder of Kelly been a Ripper red herring all this time; and the man who killed Eddowes, Chapman and Nichols has nothing to do with the man who killed Kelly?


Just a thought.


RD

[The Rookie Detective]

This article from July 1885 speaks volumes of Hanslope's character...



Henry had the audacity to cross-examine his 13 year old daughter and get her to admit she had consented.

Clearly she hadn't, and had to resort to leaving a note under her mother's pillow as a call for help.


He was a vile piece of work, of that there is no doubt.


Note also that his age is stated as 37 in July in 1885.

That would make him aged 40 in July 1888.

Hanslope was aged 40 when he is listed as living in Millers Court.


Getting closer.



RD

[The Rookie Detective]

And of course we have Hanslope's other favourite pastime...

an article from June 1871, when he was aged 22.
(Born 1848/1849)



his pastime being getting into Music Halls, by pretending he was a detective.

Quite the actor.


Getting closer still



RD