Jack the Ripper - What About the Women?

Hear the stories of Martha Tabram and Polly Nichols whilst understanding what life was like for working class residents of the Victorian East End. Learn about the harsh living conditions for the poor including dosshouses, workhouses, spikes and other types of accommodation, all experienced by the women in our story. We will also show you some of the charities still carrying out work in the area today.

We'll stop at the site of the pub where Polly Nichols was on her final night as we delve deeper into her life and the problem of alcoholism and addiction in the Victorian era. Stop at the Brick Lane Mosque to understand the story of immigration into the East End and the cultural diversity of the area.

We'll visit the site of the old Truman Brewery, once the largest in the world. Next doors is 29 Hanbury Street, where Annie Chapman was found the morning of September 8. Around the corner at the famous Ten Bells Pub, we'll hear more about Annie's life and the heartbreak she suffered. We'll also hear about how the movement Reclaim the Night had a hand in forcing the pub to change its name back to the Ten Bells from the Jack the Ripper pub.

A market opened in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee and the year before the Whitechapel Murders began. Here, we'll briefly dwell on the great contrasts of the Victorian era. Then, we'll head to Crispin Street to see the site of a refuge for working class people that actually worked! Across the street is the former site of Mary Jane Kelly's residence, the last victim in the murders and by far the most mysterious.

The former heart of the textile industry in the East End.

At the church of St Botolph's without Aldgate, we'll introduce you to Elizabeth Stride, originally from Sweden and tell you about her traumatic beginnings in Gothenburg and her later adventures in London. We will finish close by in Mitre Square, where Catherine Eddowes' body was discovered and we'll hear about the exploits of this feisty Wolverhampton lass.