Site of Polly Nichols murder, Durward Street, Whitechapel, 7 March 2009

[MarcJboy]

Twenty-three years ago, I did the 'Ripper' tour with the London Walks company. As Guildfordghost rightly says, it must have gone by the 1990's as i remember seeing this alleyway. Amazing!!

[091053JG]

How sad that the cottages on Durward Street have been demolished (early 1990's). When I first went Ripper hunting I felt that Durward Street was the most atmospheric of all the canonical sites. I still have some photos taken in 1988 and 1989 of pre demolished Durward Street.

[GuildfordGhost]

@091053JG And you are, of course, going to PM me and eventually send me scans of them, aren't you?!

[ROCKSLIDZ]

Thanks for sharing these videos, it's much appreciated.

[091053JG]

Durward Street along with the Woods Buildings passageway was teh most evocative of all the murder sites.

[091053JG]

Actually Buck's Row was renamed Durward Street in 1894 I believe.

[GuildfordGhost]

Hi - it was 25th October 1892. Anything I said during this clip was off the top of my head!

[rippleway123]

When and where do you meet for your Ripper walks??

[GuildfordGhost]

I work for London Walks (Richard Jones's company, not the one that's a free-for-all at Tower Hill). They start at 7pm every night at Aldgate East station but you have to book and I only do one or two public tours a week myself. If you wanted me as your guide, ask to go with the guide that had the book out and gave the lectures in the US last year.

[091053JG]

I once went on a Ripper Walk from that tour group that had at least 150 people on it. Not very atmospheric that's for sure. First Ripper Walk I did had only 15 - 20 people on it - an ideal group. Sometimes I think that Ripper walks have become more popular then they should have and their popularity leads to over crowing and a lot of misinformation being given out about the case.

[GuildfordGhost]

It couldn't have been the company I work for - there is a limit of under 40 for each group; it has to be booked online in advance for that reason. You're probably thinking of ORIGINAL LONDON WALKS who start from Tower Hill. They take all comers and you often can't see or hear and certainly don't get to a lot of the backstreets.

[091053JG]

Yes it was ORIGINAL LONDON WALKS - a very good tour company although the Ripper Walks have gotten out of hand. Also a lot of misinformation is disseminated and the guides waste a lot of time telling abut the "Royal Conspiracy". By the way I took Rumbelow's walk - it was good but I went on other walks that were just as good.

[GuildfordGhost]

I couldn't disagree with any of that. Don is... Don. He's the Guv'nor (or The Don). However, if you go with OLW you won't get to all the atmospheric sites. If Don is taking a tour, it is absolutely packed with 100-150 people.

[saxm]

Wasn't Mrs. Perkis' cat named Diddles? How sad to see her murder spot strewn with trash. And yet it's so indicative of their sad lives.

[GuildfordGhost]

You're thinking of Elizabeth PRATER'S cat, Diddles. She lived at Room 20 above MJK's room at 13 Millers Court; nothing to do with the Polly Nichols murder. Unless you believe, as I do, that Diddles was JTR (it's a long story).

[saxm]

Diddles enjoyed wearing deer stalker hats, did he?

I always thought the MO of the Ripper was to offer the woman his handkerchief. People who claimed to have seen him shortly before a murder claimed to have said the suspect wore one around his neck. Then some of the women were found with one arounf theirs. I've often wondered if it was the same one, The Ripper coyly offers it to his victim.. placing it around her neck from behind, then pulling it light, strangling her before cutting her throat.

[GuildfordGhost]

Hmm... that has little bits of truth and a few errors (if you don't mind me being pedantic about it). George Hutchinson claimed he saw a man offer MJK his handkercheif. Annie Chapman had a handkercheif (possibly her own) tied around her neck. Liz Stride's OWN neckscarf followed the line of the cut. It's true that the common witness description of JTR has him with a neckscarf on, but that was very common.

[saxm]

No, I don't mind. But I still think using the handkerchiefs to strangle as sort of a noose, would have been the obvious way he could have rendered them unconscious and silent enough to slit their throats. Especially since he offered the one his handkerchief when she had none.

[GuildfordGhost]

The handkerchief offer would be seen today as a bit of 'grooming'. The bruising on the throats of the victims denoted throttling with the hands; a length of textile would leave a different marking - although the case of Rose Mylett in December 1888 (a Whitechapel Murders victim, though not JTR) did suggest a length of cord.

[saxm]

When you write, "Throttling" do you mean strangling or beating?

[GuildfordGhost]

Throttling is a kind of strangulation that causes fast unconciousness rather than syncope through asphyxiation.

[saxm]

It would go along with what I've read as to how they were strangled first before having their throats cut. being behind the woman while the throat was cut would limit the blood he'd get on him. He'd then let her fall and commence his ripping.

Just a thought. Charming.