James Williamson was a 53-year-old ‘rigger’ who was employed to look after the horses and cabs on the rank in Charing Cross Road not far from Leicester Square. On 22 September 1888, he was on duty when one of the drivers claimed that the paintwork on his vehicle had been… You must be a paid …
Category archives: 1888
Year of the Ripper: Jane Healey
The working class area of Rotherhithe, south London, was described by Dickens as a place where the ‘accumulated scum of humanity seemed to be washed from higher grounds, like so much moral sewage.’ It was a community based around the docks and shipyards, warehouses and factories. Two of the local… You must be a paid …
Year of the Ripper: John Kellar
On Christmas Eve, 1888, a large group of friends were drinking at the Queen’s Head in Tanner Street, Bermondsey. As the name of the road suggests, the leather trade was important for the parish. Bermondsey was a working class area, populated by casual labourers, dockers and street sellers, many of… You must be a paid …
Year of the Ripper: John King
At seven o’clock on the morning of 12 September 1888, a railway worker was inspecting the tracks through the Belsize tunnel in north London when he spotted a body lying next to the wall. Most of its head was missing and bits of brain and bone matter were scattered nearby.… You must be a paid …
Year of the Ripper: Jane Mulchay
On 5 November, 1888, PC Herbert Lee was on duty in Marylebone Lane when he saw a woman lying on a doorstep. In her arms was baby. Approaching them, PC Lee noticed the child was dressed only in a nightshirt. He told the woman that she should wrap her baby… You must be a paid …