Millers Court and 26 Dorset Street - 1881 and 1891

[Sara]

Isn't likely the McCarthys left - wouldn't you if you'd been the first to clap eyes on the full horror not 20 feet from your front door? - and possibly the new owner or manager of the buildings re-arranged the rooms to make a better profit and re-numbered them. They might well have re-numbered 13 so as to be able to let it, it would not be very popular! - so the 13 of 1891 may not be the same room at all

[Brenda]

Sara, the McCarthy's didn't leave. Someone else can probably tell you exactly when they did leave, but it was many years later.

[Mort Belfry]

Hi

1) Some numbered rooms from Millers Court are not listed
Nos 1, 4, 9, 10, 14 upwards.

Does anyone know where the rooms or 14 upwards are placed on a map? This has always confused me. Are there eight more rooms above 27 and 26 so that Prater could live in 20 Miller's Court?

[Chava]

Did I miss something? Where is Lizzie Prater in all this? I thought she was still living there.

[Sam Flynn]

Does anyone know where the rooms or 14 upwards are placed on a map? This has always confused me. Are there eight more rooms above 27 and 26 so that Prater could live in 20 Miller's Court?

Seven more rooms, Mort (13+7 = 20). They'd have been on the upper floors of #26 Dorset Street - there were three floors (including an "attic" floor with skylight windows) above the ground floor where Mary lived. We have no real idea of the internal layout, unfortunately, or the numbering.

My guess is that, at the time of Mary's death, 14 Miller's Court may have been on the topmost floor - possibly an attic room - with the other 6 rooms split between the remaining floors, going down, thus:

Room 14: attic
Rooms 15, 16, 17: next floor down
Rooms 18, 19, 20: floor above Kelly
Room 13: ground floor (Kelly)
Rooms 7-12: two-storey cottages in the court behind 26 Dorset Street
Rooms 1-6: two-storey cottages in the court behind 27 Dorset Street

... or something similar to that.

[Mort Belfry]

Seven more rooms, Mort (13+7 = 20).

Whoops, I forgot to include Kelly's.

Room 14: attic
Rooms 15, 16, 17: next floor down
Rooms 18, 19, 20: floor above Kelly
Room 13: ground floor (Kelly)
Rooms 7-12: two-storey cottages in the court behind 26 Dorset Street
Rooms 1-6: two-storey cottages in the court behind 27 Dorset Street

... or something similar to that.

Thanks, does anyone know who was living in each room aside from Mary Ann Cox, Mary Kelly, Julia Vanturney and the Keylers in Nov 1888? Which room was Catherine Pickert in?

[Mort Belfry]

Also does anyone know the name of the man at 3 Miller's Court who apparently was stopped from returning on Nov 9th after going out to buy milk?

[Sam Flynn]

We don't know, unfortunately, Mort - except that he was apparently a market porter. All we can be sure of is that there would have likely been many more residents than the handful we know about.

[WARSPITE]

Sam, has the fact that theres more Kellys living at no 13 just 3years after the murder been discussed already?

[Sam Flynn]

Sam, has the fact that theres more Kellys living at no 13 just 3years after the murder been discussed already?

I'm sure it has, WS. Thing is, the East End - like so many other poor docklands areas in Victorian Britain - had a significant Irish population, amongst which "Kelly" was a very common name.

[Stephen Thomas]

My guess is that, at the time of Mary's death, 14 Miller's Court may have been on the topmost floor - possibly an attic room - with the other 6 rooms split between the remaining floors, going down, thus:

Room 14: attic
Rooms 15, 16, 17: next floor down
Rooms 18, 19, 20: floor above Kelly
Room 13: ground floor (Kelly)

Hi Sam

It appears from the illustrations that the top floor has a mansard roof which would allow for two rooms on the top floor, the larger one at the front and a smaller one (plus the stairwell) behind. Also there wouldn't be space for 3 rooms on the floor below (#13 and the room above being in a back extension to the main body of the house) so I think that #14 and #15 would be on the top floor with #16 and #17 below.

[Sam Flynn]

Sounds eminently feasible to me, Stephen.

[The Rookie Detective]

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