Millers Court - the demolition picture

[Chris Scott]

I suspect that I may know what has happened in the case of Prater's testimony but it depends on one fact which is...
Is there any other known source for the McCarthy's storage area at 26 Dorset Street being known as "the shed"?
Chris

[Chava]

Stewart thanks so much for that inquest statement! I am assuming she is replying to various questions being asked. One thing interests me a lot and that is the ambiguity of the following statement:

I went up to my room. On the stairs I could see a glimmer through the partition if there had been a light in the decedent's room I might not have noticed it. I did not take particular notice.

Now this could mean a couple of things because the punctuation is ambiguous. It could mean 'I went up the stairs and saw a bit of a glimmer in the room but didn't notice a light.' Or it could mean 'I went up the stairs, if there had been a light in the decedent's room I might have seen a glimmer, but I didn't notice it.'

However now I think I know why Lizzie Prater barred her door, and I am guessing it had to do with the errant man she was living with, who probably had a key. He was out on the razzle and she wasn't going to let him in.

[Stewart P Evans]

Press Association Release

Here's another interesting report from one of the papers of Saturday 10 November 1888 -

[Stephen Thomas]

Hi Stephen
The actual working of the testimony is:
"the room occupied by Amory is separated from ours by a passage and a spare room, which is used at nights to put lodgers with their children in"

Hi Chris

Thanks for the correction. I was working from memory and 'used at nights' must have registered in my mind as 'used at night by homeless people' in that this particular room couldn't be used as a regular rented room as there were no windows, and tenants on the floors above would have to traverse the length of the room to reach the stairwell landing on the right to go upstairs. Plus whoever lived in the room at the front on that floor would have to pass through it.

[Stewart P Evans]

Elizabeth Prater Interview

Here's the interview with Prater published on 10 November 1888, it is interesting to note that here that she is referred to as living in the court but says that her room "is almost over hers" -

[Stewart P Evans]

Miller's Court

Here's another description of Miller's Court from 10 November 1888, with a mention of a 'gate entrance' to the 'store' -

[Suzi]

Excellent! Thank you Stewart- interesting about the street lamp that allegedly shone into/onto the entrance to the Millers Ct passage

[Chava]

Stewart, what do you think to the cry of 'murder'? Do you think it happened at all? I'm wondering who came up with the story first.

[Fisherman]

The more I look at all this, the more I feel that the only reasonable interpretation is that some reporters could not resist the temptation to place an accomodating Elizabeth Prater exactly over Kelly.

It´s a good thing we have the almost over´s, the above the shed´s and such things to point a finger at what was going on. Being a journalist myself, I can easily recognize the mechanisms at work here - it´s not as they were exclusive to the nineteenth century...

The best!
Fisherman

[Jon Guy]

Yes, cheers Stewart, for sharing the press cuttings.

Suzi - the light shining on the entrance to Millers Court may explain how,or if, Hutch saw that it was red handkerchief that Mr A gave to Kelly.

[Suzi]

Hi Jon

Yes the light was interesting and could explain the red handkerchief being seen by Hutch- as opposed to a bright white one or something more noticeable!

Mrs P of course was wakened from her slumber- by said ktten -Diddles- climbing over her neck/sitting on her nose- depending on what you read- the thing is that said Diddles could have been a SHE according to some reports-

Whatever- the cat seems to have been a common image in her statements- Hope so or else where will Dids be??

Suz xx

[Stewart P Evans]

Another Report

Here is another report of Prater's evidence, this dated 16 Novemeber 1888 -

[Stewart P Evans]

The East London Advertiser

This from The East London Advertiser of 17 November 1888 -

[Stewart P Evans]

Weekly Budget

This report from the Weekly Budget of 17 November 1888 puts Kelly 'in the room below' Prater -

[Stewart P Evans]

The Weekly Dispatch

From The Weekly Dispatch of 18 November 1888 -