The width of Millers Court

[Steve S]

This 17' 10" business - can I just get some clarity here?

I can fully accept that 17' 10" would be from the western side of the Court to past the windows of #13, where the Court fence would join onto the back of #25 Dorset Street. If it was 7' 10", then it would indicate MJK's room was only a couple of feet wide.

Given that accounts generally regard her room as being 10' deep and 12' wide, can't we thus suppose the 17' 10" is correct and it is referring to the area that opened out on the right as soon as you had passed #13?

PHILIP

That's what I assumed...then the bit with the houses narrows some 2 foot in it's length form 7' 10" to 5 foot-ish.
Steve

[richardnunweek]

Hi,
Just had a thought if Strides killer, was the same man that did for Nichols, chapman, eddowes, then a good case could be made for that person not being kellys killer.
Why?
Being so broad shouldered, he would have taken ages to get through the passage of millers court, unless he took off his padded jacket....although George Chapman would have found it easy, and Fleming would obviously had to have crawled.
Just some idle thoughts, but the court dimensions are smaller then most people imagine.
Regards Richard.

[Stephen Thomas]

Given that accounts generally regard her room as being 10' deep and 12' wide, can't we thus suppose the 17' 10" is correct and it is referring to the area that opened out on the right as soon as you had passed #13?

Yes you've got it Philip. Look at the pretty B&W Goads Map prepared by Sam at the start of this thread or the
ordnance survey maps or Sugden's diagram or whatever. There is always a straight line through the right hand side of the passageway past Prater's and Mary's doorways and past the right hand side cottages to the end of the court. I understand Robert's opinion on primary sources but there's something not quite right here.

Come in Simon!

[Shelley]

Wassat?

Suzi,
I thought of little space only a few feet in Miller's Court ...not much housework, as i am sitting here i am thinking, blast, i've got to tidy up a bit in my house......Oh, not to mention the flippin' ironing to boot.....Which in all reality i would like to %*^!£ the ironing......I hate ironing! It's a reference to my housework Suzi

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

This how I first transcribed the report—

"The court contains six houses, and is about 50 feet long, 5 feet 6 inches wide at the north end, and 7 feet 10 inches wide at the south end, and is approached by a covered entrance 26 feet 4 inches long and 2 feet 10 inches wide."

I then realised that the 7 feet 10 inches measurement had to be wrong.

So grasping my trusty calculator I allowed 12 feet for Room 13 [fireplace to door] and 2 feet 10 inches for the width of the arched entrance. This got me to 14 feet 10 ten inches. I then allowed 3 feet for the recess to your left as you enter the court and arrived at 17 feet 10 inches.

Looking back through my notes I found I'd transcribed the report from Paul Begg's 'The Facts', so I think the 7 feet 10 inch measurement must have been a misprint, which does tend to confirm my calculation of 17 feet 10 inches. Maddeningly, Paul doesn't footnote the 1878 Board of Works report in my edition [a wagged finger at budding authors], so I have no way of accessing the original for full clarification.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Simon

[perrymason]

Hi all,

Ive seen photos of similar courts of the time, and all I can say is its a good thing doors were hung to swing inward. Id estimate maybe two strides or slightly more across by a mans step in some Ive seen. I believe the alcove feature is 10 feet deep...with the pump and dustbin in it....based on the length of Marys wall bordering it,....added to the 7 plus feet estimates that some have for the court, that makes 17 plus feet at its widest....which may be the parameter of that measurement.

Cheers all.

[RJM]

Thanks Simon,

I hope you or someone else can dig up the original 1878 report to clear up this point once and for all.

And I do understand your point of view Stephen. I just don't want to second guess the numbers until all the facts are in.

I hope everyone is having a better weekend than I am.

Robert

[George Hutchinson]

Sorry you're having a crummy weekend, Rob.

I was at the College of Psychic Studies in London yesterday (Ghost Club event) and though I don't hold with psychic stuff there was, nevertheless, a wonderful certificate on the wall thanking an American psychic for visiting the UK signed by W T Stead in August 1911. I got photos. Nothing to do with the thread - just a comment on my weekend.

PHILIP