The origins of Tall Mary?!

[The Grave Maurice]

And, if her contemporaries thought her height was above the norm, wouldn't her nickname have been the LVP equivalent of "Stretch", instead of "Fair", or "Black", or "Ginger"?

[The Grave Maurice]

It's raining again here so I can't go out for my usual evening bike ride (whatever happened to April showers?) Anyway, I've spent some time looking for info on MJK's height, and I can't find a definitive answer. I know I've read somewhere that she was unusually tall compared to women of the time, but the evidence for that seems to be difficult to find. Look at the shot of her on her bed: she doesn't seem to be a particularly lanky lass, does she? So, as Jukka first asked, where does the idea that she was very tall (except for that one newspaper piece) originate?

[Garry Wroe]

When one thinks, that Kelly was the second most common Irish last-name and Mary the most common women's first-name in Ireland, Maxwell and Lewis were probably simply talking about a different Mary Kelly!

I think it likely that the truth is even more straightforward, Jukka. Given that Maxwell and Lewis claimed to have sighted Kelly at impossible times, the probability is that they each confused her with someone else – possibly another resident of Miller’s Court. If so, this mystery woman may have been someone who called in on Kelly on a regular basis, was seen leaving the room by Carrie Maxwell and others, and was simply assumed to have been Kelly. Accordingly, we have a rational explanation for both the sighting of Kelly when she is known to have been dead and the presence of Barnett in the Horn of Plenty at a time when independent eyewitnesses confirmed that he was playing whist in his lodging house.

All the best.

Garry Wroe.

[Fleetwood Mac]

And to be honest I just find it unlikely she was so tall! She was, if we believe her stories, from a poor irish family where even allowing for genetics it is unlikely she would have had enough protein in her life to promote height!

Ahh well....in the 19th century when a lot of Irish were coming over.....they were carachtured as lazy...violent.....dirty......and short...through cartoons and the like.....

Turns out though that records show that the Irish working classes were on average taller than their English counterparts.

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Garry!

When one thinks, that Kelly was the second most common Irish last-name and Mary the most common women's first-name in Ireland, Maxwell and Lewis were probably simply talking about a different Mary Kelly!

All the best
Jukka

[Suzi]

I reckon that Mary and her 'stout' ref etc etc (why don't people use the word 'stout' anymore?....Mel Smith- Sing if your Proud to be Stout!!) was probably 5'8" at the tops- if that. 'Long' Liz wasn't to do with her height allegedly a pun on Stride- Long Strides etc. Mind you it does seem to suit her.

[Garry Wroe]

If memory serves me correctly, Kat, Joe Barnett made reference to Kelly's height in at least one newspaper interview. On the other hand, both Carrie Maxwell and Maurice Lewis stated that 'their' Kelly was a short, stout woman. Maxwell even made mention of a speech impediment. That such confusion exists serves only to underscore the glaring inadequacies of the inquest hearing, the basic requirement of which was to establish the essential facts relating to Kelly's life and death.

Garry Wroe.

[KatBradshaw]

I have always wondered why there was no mention of the height on Mary Kelly in any other reports. Dew doesn't refer to her being tall, just buxom! I find it unlikely she would be so tall without any reference made in other sources. And to be honest I just find it unlikely she was so tall! She was, if we believe her stories, from a poor irish family where even allowing for genetics it is unlikely she would have had enough protein in her life to promote height!

[j.r-ahde]

Hello Richard!

A very nice point, thank you!

All the best
Jukka

[richardnunweek]

Hi,
Its clear isnt it?, that Mary being such a tall woman, would have fell for a certain J Fleming, after all she would have wanted a man to look up to, and with him she would have had no problem[ 6'7]
Regards Richard.

[KatBradshaw]

I have always wondered this as well. If Long Liz was supposedly tall at her height Mary was a positive giant!
Although is it now thought that Strides moniker was more to do with her surname than her height?

[Suzi]

Hi Jukka
Interesting....... I imagine they measured the 'remains' at the pm. Hmmmmm It's only today that everyone is TALL!!!!
Long Suz xx

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

As I have often mentioned, MJK is said to have been as tall as an average LVP man. Thus, the talks about a stand-in in the crime scene photo are useless speculation.

But; where does this info about MJK being 5'7" and 170,28 in centimeters come from for the first time?!

All the best
Jukka