Author: Richard Jones

Gangs were a huge problem in the streets of the Victorian East End. Indeed, in the early stages of the investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders, it was believed by the police that the crimes were being […]

Death from starvation was a common occurrence in the Victorian East End in the years before and after the Jack the Ripper murders. On Sunday, 17th March, 1861, Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper published two stories on inquests into the […]

Today, I just wanted to take a little time to ponder what exactly it is that interests people about the 1888 Jack the Ripper murders, and to wonder what an interest – even obsession – in the case […]

There is a good chance that you have never heard of Alexander “Ally” Sloper. However, had you mentioned his name to many residents of the East End of London in 1888, and, for that matter, to people all […]

In 1936, the artist and Punch cartoonist Starr Wood (1870 – 1944) published his memoir, which was titled, “My Life Of Laughter.” Starr Wood was born in London on the 1st of February 1870, and was the son […]

When it comes to the Jack the Ripper case, there are all manner of red herrings and false trails that can so easily trip up the unwary investigator. One of the most debated over of these was a […]

The Leeds Mercury, on Tuesday, 26th April 1927, was fulsome in its praise of a new film that just been released. That film was Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger,” and the newspaper’s critic was impressed by all aspects of […]

On Wednesday, 4th April, 1894, The Sketch treated its readers to an armchair visit to Wentworth Street Market. A VISIT TO WENTWORTH STREET 1894 “Whitechapel’s principal market is in Wentworth Street, a thoroughfare reached by way of Middlesex […]

Once the “Dear Boss” letter, signed “Jack the Ripper”, was widely circulated, it led to a veritable avalanche of similar missives either bearing the same chilling signature or else offering advice on how best to catch the perpetrator […]

Was Mary Kelly the first victim of Jack the Ripper? The other night I posted an image of Mary Kelly’s room at 13 Miller’s Court on our Facebook Page, and I captioned it, “13 Miller’s Court, the room […]