Originally posted by JeffHamm
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Anyway...
Interesting reply as ever. But what had piqued my interest in the The Queen's Head being a location of particular focus is its place in Hutchinson's story of his encounter with Mary Kelly. The lamp outside being his means of having a good look at the man he says she was with and it being his vantage point of watching them approach from the south and cross over to Dorset Street. Hutchinson claims to know Mary relatively well. Well enough to know which room she lived in within Miller's Court despite it not being in view beyond the threshold of the ally entrance in Dorset Street. He appears to know already where she is heading with the man - hence waiting at The Queen's Head for her to approach, which suggests he would already know where she lived before he even bumped into her that night. My thinking is that he perhaps had previously waited at that spot to see Mary come and go from Dorset Street on occasion. He says he watched Mary and the man walk up along the east side of Commercial Street from that spot but the angle doesn't allow for him to do so. What we get from his statement however is that a) he felt the need to stop and watch Mary after they had parted company, b) he places himself in the ideal spot to see her approach, pass by and then go to where she lives before following her and c) take up an impromptu 45 minute vigil which included approaching her room.
That, I grant you, is rather specific towards Mary Kelly but it also doesn't come across as a one-off. That kind of behaviour - to me anyway - is usually part of a pattern.
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