Author: Richard Jones

The problem of gangs posed a real problem to the ordinary law-abiding citizens o Victorian England. Throughout the 1880’s and the 1890’s, the newspapers were full of accounts of various atrocities committed by gangs on the streets of […]

On Thursday, 12th July, 1888, a tragic accident took place in Watney Street, Whitechapel, when two brothers, Henry and John Talbot got into an argument that got out of hand. The East London Observer, provided a full report […]

Robert Claudius Billing (1834 – 1898) was the Rural Dean of Spitalfields from 1878 to 7th July, 1888, on  which date, the selfless work he had performed amongst the poor and the destitute of the East End was recognised […]

Although the Jack the Ripper crimes, and the other Whitechapel murders, were by far the biggest sensation of 1888 – and, if the truth be told, are about the only homicides of that year to be universally remembered, […]

Are you ready for another Jack the Ripper Quiz? Well, we are three months into 2019, and our March challenge is no online and ready for you to see how many of the ten questions you can answer […]

Long before Jack the Ripper cast a menacing shadow over the streets of the East End of London, the district had become synonymous with crime, and Victorian society, in general, had come to look upon Whitechapel, the docks […]

In late February, 1890, George Richards was arrested and charged with abducting 16 years old Eleanor Mary Riches. It transpired that, in January, 1889, he had persuaded her to go with him to a house in Islington where […]

Charles Grant, also known as Charles Le Grand, is one of those people whose name crops up in relation to actually investigating the Jack the Ripper murders who, on closer inspection, turns out to have been a somewhat […]

Among the constant worries that were being expressed about the amount of press coverage that was being generated by the Whitechapel murders, was the effect that the reporting of the gruesome details was having on young and impressionable […]

Mudlarking was an occupation that was prevalent between the late 18th and early 20th centuries. Mudlarks were often children, mostly young boys, who would scavenge along the banks of the River Thames, below London Bridge, and pick up […]