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156-467: The Goulston Street graffito was a sentence written on a wall beside a clue in the 1888 Whitechapel murders investigation. It has been transcribed as variations on the sentence "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing". The meaning of the graffito, and its possible connection to the crimes attributed to Jack the Ripper , have been debated for over a century. The Whitechapel murders were

312-602: A councillor ) to the Court of Common Council of the corporation. Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand. The number of commoners a ward sends to the Common Council varies from two to ten, depending on the number of electors in each ward. Since the 2003 review it has been agreed that the four more residential wards: Portsoken , Queenhithe , Aldersgate and Cripplegate together elect 20 of

468-413: A double negative , a common feature of Cockney speech. He suggests that the writing might be translated into standard English as "Jews will not take responsibility for anything" and that the message was written by someone who believed he or she had been wronged by one of the many Jewish merchants or tradesmen in the area. Historian Philip Sugden has said that the spelling of "Jews" as "Juwes" could reflect

624-738: A Ripper case, and instead suggested a link to the Thames Torso Murders in Rainham and Chelsea , as well as the " Whitehall Mystery ". Monro agreed with Swanson's assessment. These three murders and the Pinchin Street case are suggested to be the work of a serial killer, nicknamed the "Torso killer", who could either be the same person as "Jack the Ripper" or a separate killer of uncertain connection. Links between these and three further murders—the " Battersea Mystery " of 1873 and 1874, in which two women were found dismembered, and

780-517: A bootmaker, was arrested but released after his alibis for the murders were corroborated. Police Superintendent Thomas Arnold visited the scene and saw the writing. Later, in his report of 6 November to the Home Office, he claimed, that with the strong feeling against the Jews that already existed, the message might have become the means of causing a riot: I beg to report that on the morning of

936-399: A business district, the City has a small resident population of 8,583 based on 2021 census figures, but over 500,000 are employed there (as of 2019) and some estimates put the number of workers in the City to be over 1 million. About three-quarters of the jobs in the City of London are in the financial, professional, and associated business services sectors. The Roman legions established

1092-466: A chair, with the exception of some found burnt in the grate. Abberline thought the clothes had been burned by the murderer to provide light, as the room was otherwise only dimly lit by a single candle. Kelly's murder was the most savage, probably because the murderer had more time to commit his atrocities in a private room rather than in the street. Her state of undress and folded clothes have led to suggestions that she undressed herself before lying down on

1248-530: A church dedicated to St Paul in London, as the seat of the new bishop. It is assumed, although unproven, that this first Anglo-Saxon cathedral stood on the same site as the later medieval and the present cathedrals. Alfred the Great , King of Wessex occupied and began the resettlement of the old Roman walled area, in 886, and appointed his son-in-law Earl Æthelred of Mercia over it as part of their reconquest of

1404-406: A detached length between her torso and left arm. Her left kidney and most of her uterus were removed. The Eddowes inquest was opened on 4 October by Samuel F. Langham, coroner for the City of London. The examining pathologist, Dr Frederick Gordon Brown, believed the perpetrator "had considerable knowledge of the position of the organs" and from the position of the wounds on the body he could tell that

1560-620: A disagreement with the Home Secretary Henry Matthews over police pensions. The last of the murders in the Whitechapel file was committed on Friday 13 February 1891 when prostitute Frances Coles was murdered under a railway arch in Swallow Gardens, Whitechapel. Her body was found at 2:15 am, only moments after the attack, by PC Ernest Thompson, who later stated that he heard retreating footsteps in

1716-583: A fair moustache. Chief Inspector Swanson noted that Lawende's description was a near match to another provided by one of the witnesses who may have seen Stride with her murderer. However, Lawende stated that he would not be able to identify the man again, and the two other men with Lawende were unable to give descriptions. Criticism of the Metropolitan Police and the Home Secretary , Henry Matthews , continued to mount as little progress

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1872-488: A gang, as in the case of Smith. The Star newspaper suggested instead that a single killer was responsible and other newspapers took up their storyline. Suspicions of a serial killer at large in London led to the secondment of Detective Inspectors Frederick Abberline , Henry Moore and Walter Andrews from the Central Office at Scotland Yard . On the available evidence, Coroner Baxter concluded that Nichols

2028-455: A gang. Tabram was stabbed 39 times. Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes, Kelly, McKenzie and Coles had their throats cut. Eddowes and Stride were murdered on the same night, within approximately an hour and less than a mile apart; their murders are known as the "double event", after a phrase in a postcard sent to the press by an individual claiming to be the Ripper. The bodies of Nichols, Chapman, Eddowes and Kelly had abdominal mutilations . Mylett

2184-624: A lecture with Claude Reignier Conder titled "The Origins of the Chinese" at London's Caxton Hall , in which the similarities to the Manchu and European languages were pointed out, and the word Juwe was said to be the part of the common root to the English words dual , duet , duo . Slemen uses this theory to suggest Conder as the Ripper. Conder's brother Francois Reignier is a next-door neighbour to Frederick Abberline —a prominent police figure in

2340-549: A local dialect on the part of the author of the graffito. In the controversial book Jack the Ripper: British Intelligence Agent , the author Tom Slemen claims that "Juwes" is a Manchurian word. The book A Manchu Grammar (in which Paul Georg von Möllendorff introduced the romanization under which "juwe" represents the pronunciation of Manchu "two") was not known to the layman until publication in 1892. Slemen discovered that Warren presided over

2496-521: A murder in Hanbury Street a short time previously, a strong feeling existed against the Jews generally, and as the Building upon which the writing was found was situated in the midst of a locality inhabited principally by that Sect, I was apprehensive that if the writing were left it would be the means of causing a riot and therefore considered it desirable that it should be removed having in view

2652-479: A public demonstration of their efficacy. However, the idea was abandoned because the trail of scents was confused in the busy city, the dogs were inexperienced in an urban environment, and Brough was concerned that the dogs would be poisoned by criminals if their role in crime detection became known. On 27 September, the Central News Agency received a letter, dubbed the "Dear Boss" letter , in which

2808-663: A purely Roman foundation of London are now common and uncontroversial." At its height, the Roman city had a population of approximately 45,000–60,000 inhabitants. Londinium was an ethnically diverse city, with inhabitants from across the Roman Empire, including natives of Britannia, continental Europe , the Middle East, and North Africa. The Romans built the London Wall some time between AD 190 and 225. The boundaries of

2964-427: A representative fashion. Bodies employing fewer than 10 people may appoint 1 voter; those employing 10 to 50 people 1 voter for every 5 employees; those employing more than 50 people 10 voters and 1 additional voter for each 50 employees beyond the first 50. The Act also changed other aspects of an earlier act relating to elections in the city, from 1957. Inner Temple and Middle Temple (which neighbour each other) in

3120-404: A reputation for terrorising local prostitutes. His alibis for the two most recent murders were corroborated, and he was released without charge. At the inquest one of the witnesses, Mrs Elizabeth Long, testified that she had seen Chapman talking to a man at about 5:30 am just beyond the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, where Chapman was later found. Baxter inferred that the man Mrs Long had seen

3276-502: A right-handed individual. On the basis of statements from a fellow prostitute, and PC Thomas Barrett who was patrolling nearby, Inspector Reid put soldiers at the Tower of London and Wellington Barracks on an identification parade, but without positive results. Police did not connect Tabram's murder with the earlier murder of Emma Smith, but they did connect her death with later murders. Most experts do not connect Tabram's murder with

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3432-558: A series of brutal attacks on women in the Whitechapel district in the East End of London that occurred between 1888 and 1891. Five of the murders are generally attributed to " Jack the Ripper ", whose identity remains unknown, while the perpetrator(s) of the remaining six cannot be verified or are disputed. After the murders of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes in the early morning hours of 30 September 1888, police searched

3588-569: A settlement known as "Londinium" on the current site of the City of London around AD 43. Its bridge over the River Thames turned the city into a road nexus and major port , serving as a major commercial centre in Roman Britain until its abandonment during the 5th century . Archaeologist Leslie Wallace notes that, because extensive archaeological excavation has not revealed any signs of a significant pre-Roman presence, "arguments for

3744-445: A shorter blade was used. Commissioner Monro and one of the pathologists examining the body, Bond, believed this to be a Ripper murder, though another of the pathologists, Phillips, and Robert Anderson disagreed, as did Inspector Abberline. Later writers are also divided, and either suggest that McKenzie was a Ripper victim, or that the unknown murderer tried to make it look like a Ripper killing to deflect suspicion from himself. At

3900-478: A single file, referred to in the police docket as the Whitechapel murders. Much of the original material has been stolen, lost, or destroyed. On Tuesday 3 April 1888, following the Easter Monday bank holiday, 45-year-old prostitute Emma Elizabeth Smith was assaulted and robbed at the junction of Osborn Street and Brick Lane , Whitechapel, in the early hours of the morning. Although injured, she survived

4056-502: A small part of the metropolis of Greater London , though it remains a notable part of central London . The City of London is not one of the London boroughs , a status reserved for the other 32 districts (including Greater London's only other city, the City of Westminster ). It is also a separate ceremonial county, being an enclave surrounded by the ceremonial county of Greater London , and

4212-511: A verdict of "wilful murder against some person or persons unknown" and the case was added to the Whitechapel file. Alice McKenzie was possibly a prostitute, and was murdered at about 12:40 am on Wednesday 17 July 1889 in Castle Alley, Whitechapel. Like most of the previous murders, her left carotid artery was severed from left to right and there were wounds on her abdomen. However, her wounds were not as deep as in previous murders, and

4368-468: Is adverse to this class of crime. On the contrary, in France, the murdering of prostitutes has long been practised, and has been considered to be almost peculiarly a French crime." This claim was disputed by a native French speaker in a letter to the editor of that same publication that ran on 6 December. Author Stephen Knight suggested that "Juwes" referred not to "Jews", but to Jubela, Jubelo and Jubelum,

4524-644: Is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries, e.g. Hampstead Heath . The corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London (an office separate from, and much older than, the Mayor of London ). The Lord Mayor, as of November 2023, is Michael Mainelli . The City is made up of 25 wards , with administration at the historic Guildhall . Other historic sites include St Paul's Cathedral , Royal Exchange , Mansion House , Old Bailey , and Smithfield Market . Although not within

4680-439: Is considered unlikely to be connected with the later killings. On Tuesday 7 August, following a Monday bank holiday, prostitute Martha Tabram was murdered at about 2:30 am. Her body was found at George Yard Buildings, George Yard, Whitechapel, shortly before 5:00 a.m. She had been stabbed 39 times about her neck, torso and genitals with a short blade. With one possible exception, all her wounds had been inflicted by

4836-474: Is located at Smithfield , and is undergoing a long-awaited regeneration after doubts as to its continuing use during the 1990s. The city is the third largest UK patron of the arts. It oversees the Barbican Centre and subsidises several important performing arts companies. The London Port Health Authority, which is the responsibility of the corporation, is responsible for all port health functions on

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4992-447: Is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 Greater London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself. The local authority for the City, namely the City of London Corporation , is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council, such as being the police authority. It

5148-596: Is sometimes called the "great refusal", the Corporation said no to the King, which in part accounts for its unique government structure to the present. By the late 16th century, London increasingly became a major centre for banking, international trade and commerce. The Royal Exchange was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham as a centre of commerce for London's merchants, and gained Royal patronage in 1571. Although no longer used for its original purpose, its location at

5304-485: Is that the writing was not the work of the murderer at all: the apron piece was dropped near the writing either incidentally or by design. The second would be to "take the murderer at his word"—a Jew incriminating himself and his people. The third interpretation was, according to Sugden, the one most favoured at the Scotland Yard and London Police: The chalk message was a deliberate subterfuge, designed to incriminate

5460-482: Is the case for all other wards in Great Britain . Particular churches, livery company halls and other historic buildings and structures are associated with a ward, such as St Paul's Cathedral with Castle Baynard , and London Bridge with Bridge; boundary changes in 2003 removed some of these historic connections. Each ward elects an alderman to the Court of Aldermen , and commoners (the City equivalent of

5616-517: Is the smallest ceremonial county in England. The City of London is known colloquially as the Square Mile , as it is 1.12 sq mi (716.80 acres; 2.90 km ) in area. Both the terms the City and the Square Mile are often used as metonyms for the UK's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. The name London

5772-403: The 1993 Bishopsgate bombing ( IRA ) and the 7 July 2005 London bombings ( Islamist ). In response to the 1993 bombing, a system of road barriers, checkpoints and surveillance cameras referred to as the " ring of steel " has been maintained to control entry points to the city. The 1970s saw the construction of tall office buildings including the 600-foot (183 m), 47-storey NatWest Tower ,

5928-698: The City of London Police —the Common Council (the main body of the corporation) is the police authority . The corporation also run the Hampstead Heath Constabulary , Epping Forest Keepers and the City of London market constabularies (whose members are no longer attested as constables but retain the historic title). The majority of Greater London is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service , based at New Scotland Yard . The city has one hospital, St Bartholomew's Hospital , also known as 'Barts'. Founded in 1123, it

6084-547: The Crown . Historically its system of government was not unusual, but it was not reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and little changed by later reforms, so that it is the only local government in the UK where elections are not run on the basis of one vote for every adult citizen. It is administered by the City of London Corporation , headed by the Lord Mayor of London (not to be confused with

6240-475: The East End from Mitre Square . The victim herself might have used it as a sanitary towel , and dropped it on her way from the East End to Mitre Square. In Marriott's own words, it is an explanation that "many experts will regard as unbelievable". To this day, there is no consensus on whether or not the graffito is relevant to the murders. Some modern researchers believe that the apron fragment's proximity to

6396-546: The Great Fire. After the fire of 1666, a number of plans were drawn up to remodel the city and its street pattern into a renaissance -style city with planned urban blocks, squares and boulevards. These plans were almost entirely not taken up, and the medieval street pattern re-emerged almost intact. In the 1630s the Crown sought to have the Corporation of the City of London extend its jurisdiction to surrounding areas. In what

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6552-558: The London Stock Exchange based in the City. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the world's primary business centre, and it continues to be a major meeting point for businesses. London was ranked second (after New York) in the Global Financial Centres Index , published in 2022. The insurance industry is concentrated in the eastern side of the city, around Lloyd's building . Since about

6708-551: The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee under the chairmanship of George Lusk and offered a reward for the apprehension of the killer—something the Metropolitan Police (under instruction from the Home Office ) refused to do because such a move could lead to false or misleading information. The Committee employed two private detectives to investigate the case. Robert Anderson was appointed head of

6864-469: The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of London . Within the city, the Corporation owns and runs both Smithfield Market and Leadenhall Market . It owns land beyond its boundaries, including open spaces (parks, forests and commons) in and around Greater London, including most of Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath . The Corporation owns Old Spitalfields Market and Billingsgate Fish Market , in

7020-524: The "Dear Boss" letter and "Saucy Jacky" postcard. The letter arrived with a small box containing half of a human kidney preserved in alcohol. The letter's writer claimed that he had extracted it from the body of Eddowes and that he had "fried and ate" the missing half. Opinion on whether the kidney and the letter were genuine was and is divided. By the end of October, the police had interviewed more than 2,000 people, investigated "upwards of 300", and detained 80. On Friday 9 November, prostitute Mary Jane Kelly

7176-400: The 'square mile' and held 86% of the population, and these were in fact similar to and named after four City of London wards: The city has a unique electoral system. Most of its voters are representatives of businesses and other bodies that occupy premises in the city. Its ancient wards have very unequal numbers of voters. In elections, both the businesses based in the city and the residents of

7332-433: The 100 commoners, whereas the business-dominated remainder elect the remaining 80 commoners. 2003 and 2013 boundary changes have increased the residential emphasis of the mentioned four wards. Census data provides eight nominal rather than 25 real wards, all of varying size and population. Being subject to renaming and definition at any time, these census 'wards' are notable in that four of the eight wards accounted for 67% of

7488-460: The 1884 " Tottenham Court Road Mystery "—have also been postulated. Experts on the murders—colloquially known as "Ripperologists"—such as Stewart Evans, Keith Skinner , Martin Fido , and Donald Rumbelow , discount any connection between the torso and Ripper killings on the basis of their different modi operandi . Monro was replaced as Commissioner by Sir Edward Bradford on 21 June 1890, after

7644-511: The 1980s, a secondary financial district has existed outside the city, at Canary Wharf, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east. The legal profession has a major presence in the northern and western sides of the City, especially in the Temple and Chancery Lane areas where the Inns of Court are located, two of which ( Inner Temple and Middle Temple ) fall within the City of London boundary. Primarily

7800-623: The 19th century, with London growing in all directions. To the East the Port of London grew rapidly during the century, with the construction of many docks, needed as the Thames at the City could not cope with the volume of trade. The arrival of the railways and the Tube meant that London could expand over a much greater area. By the mid-19th century, with London still rapidly expanding in population and area,

7956-405: The 30th Sept. last, my attention was called to some writing on the wall of the entrance to some dwellings at No. 108 Goulston Street, Whitechapel which consisted of the following words: "The Juews are not [the word 'not' being deleted] the men that will not be blamed for nothing", and knowing in consequence of suspicion having fallen upon a Jew named 'John Pizer' alias 'Leather Apron' having committed

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8112-819: The Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy , the London area came in turn under the Kingdoms of Essex , Mercia , and later Wessex , though from the mid 8th century it was frequently under threat from raids by different groups including the Vikings . Bede records that in AD 604 St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht . Sæberht's uncle and overlord, Æthelberht , king of Kent , built

8268-604: The Blitz . Whilst St Paul's Cathedral survived the onslaught, large swathes of the area did not and the particularly heavy raids of late December 1940 led to a firestorm called the Second Great Fire of London . There was a major rebuilding programme in the decades following the war, in some parts (such as at the Barbican) dramatically altering the urban landscape. But the destruction of the older historic fabric allowed

8424-496: The CID on 1 September, but he went on sick leave to Switzerland on the 7th. Superintendent Thomas Arnold , who was in charge of H (Whitechapel) Division, went on leave on 2 September. Anderson's absence left overall direction of the enquiries confused, and led Chief Commissioner Sir Charles Warren to appoint Chief Inspector Donald Swanson to co-ordinate the investigation from Scotland Yard . A German hairdresser named Charles Ludwig

8580-474: The City and Middlesex were regarded as one administratively for addressing crime and keeping the peace (not that the county was a dependency of the city). London's sheriffs continued to serve Middlesex until the county was given its own sheriffs again following the Local Government Act 1888 . By 1141 the whole body of the citizenry was considered to constitute a single community. This ' commune '

8736-489: The City during Jack Cade's Rebellion before being ousted by London citizens following a bloody battle on London Bridge. In 1550, the area south of London Bridge in Southwark came under the control of the City with the establishment of the ward of Bridge Without . The city was burnt severely on a number of occasions, the worst being in 1123 and in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Both of these fires were referred to as

8892-532: The City had already become only a small part of the wider metropolis. An attempt was made in 1894 with the Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London to end the distinction between the city and the surrounding County of London, but a change of government at Westminster meant the option was not taken up. The city as a distinct polity survived despite its position within

9048-401: The City of London Police, who thought the writing constituted part of a crime scene and should at least be photographed before being erased, but it was wiped from the wall at 5:30 a.m. According to the police officer supervising the Whitechapel murders investigation, the writing on the wall did not match the handwriting of the notorious "Dear Boss" letter , which claimed responsibility for

9204-705: The City today is the Barbican Estate , constructed between 1965 and 1976. The Museum of London was based there until March 2023 (due to reopen in West Smithfield in 2026), whilst a number of other services provided by the corporation are still maintained on the Barbican Estate. The city has a unique political status, a legacy of its uninterrupted integrity as a corporate city since the Anglo-Saxon period and its singular relationship with

9360-406: The City vote. The City of London Corporation was not reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , because it had a more extensive electoral franchise than any other borough or city; in fact, it widened this further with its own equivalent legislation allowing one to become a freeman without being a liveryman . In 1801, the city had a population of about 130,000, but increasing development of

9516-594: The City, the adjacent Tower of London , built to dominate the City, is part of its old defensive perimeter. The City has responsibility for five bridges across the Thames in its capacity as trustee of the Bridge House Estates : Blackfriars Bridge , Millennium Bridge , Southwark Bridge , London Bridge and Tower Bridge . The City is a major business and financial centre, with both the Bank of England and

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9672-519: The Conqueror marched on London, reaching as far as Southwark , but failed to get across London Bridge or defeat the Londoners. He eventually crossed the River Thames at Wallingford , pillaging the land as he went. Rather than continuing the war, Edgar the Ætheling , Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria surrendered at Berkhamsted . William granted the citizens of London a charter in 1075;

9828-512: The Corporation holds the ancient office of Town Clerk of London . The city is a ceremonial county which has a Commission of Lieutenancy headed by the Lord Mayor instead of a Lord-Lieutenant and has two Sheriffs instead of a High Sheriff (see list of Sheriffs of London ), quasi-judicial offices appointed by the livery companies , an ancient political system based on the representation and protection of trades ( guilds ). Senior members of

9984-399: The Jews and throw the police off the track of the real murderer. Walter Dew , a detective constable in Whitechapel, tended to think that the writing was irrelevant and unconnected to the murder, whereas Chief Inspector Henry Moore and Sir Robert Anderson , both from Scotland Yard , thought that the graffito was the work of the murderer. Author Martin Fido notes that the writing included

10140-652: The London conurbation and numerous local government reforms . Supporting this status, the city was a special parliamentary borough that elected four members to the unreformed House of Commons , who were retained after the Reform Act 1832 ; reduced to two under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ; and ceased to be a separate constituency under the Representation of the People Act 1948 . Since then

10296-408: The Roman city were similar to those of the City of London today, though the City extends further west than Londinium's Ludgate , and the Thames was undredged and thus wider than it is today, with Londinium's shoreline slightly north of the city's present shoreline. The Romans built a bridge across the river, as early as AD 50, near to today's London Bridge. By the time the London Wall was constructed,

10452-459: The Roman public buildings in Londinium by this time had fallen into decay and disuse, and gradually after the formal withdrawal the city became almost (if not, at times, entirely) uninhabited. The centre of trade and population moved away from the walled Londinium to Lundenwic ("London market"), a settlement to the west, roughly in the modern-day Strand / Aldwych / Covent Garden area. During

10608-563: The Thames, and laying a new city street plan. Alfred's taking of London and the rebuilding of the old Roman city was a turning point in history, not only as the permanent establishment of the City of London, but also as part of a unifying moment in early England, with Wessex becoming the dominant English kingdom and the repelling (to some degree) of the Viking occupation and raids. While London, and indeed England, were afterwards subjected to further periods of Viking and Danish raids and occupation,

10764-462: The Viking occupied parts of England. The refortified Anglo-Saxon settlement was known as Lundenburh ("London Fort", a borough ). The historian Asser said that "Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly ... and made it habitable once more." Alfred's "restoration" entailed reoccupying and refurbishing the nearly deserted Roman walled city, building quays along

10920-511: The Wardmote the ward's Alderman appoints at least one Deputy for the year ahead, and Wardmotes are also held during elections. Each ward also has a Ward Club, which is similar to a residents' association . The wards are ancient and their number has changed three times since time immemorial : Following boundary changes in 1994, and later reform of the business vote in the city, there was a major boundary and electoral representation revision of

11076-438: The Whitechapel murders. Abberline retired in 1892 and Matthews lost his position as Home Secretary in the 1892 general election . Arnold retired the following year, and Swanson and Anderson retired after 1900. No document in the Whitechapel murders file dates after 1896. City of London The City of London , also known as the City , is a city , ceremonial county and local government district that contains

11232-522: The ancient centre, and constitutes, along with Canary Wharf , the primary central business district (CBD) of London and one of the leading financial centres of the world. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages , but the modern area referred to as London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary. The City is now only

11388-494: The area near the crime scenes in an effort to locate a suspect, witnesses or evidence. At about 3:00 a.m., Constable Alfred Long of the Metropolitan Police Force discovered a dirty, bloodstained piece of an apron in the stairwell of a tenement , 108 to 119 Model dwellings, Goulston Street, Whitechapel. The cloth was later confirmed as being a part of the apron worn by Catherine Eddowes. Above it, there

11544-622: The area, particularly in Lime Street . In 1708, Christopher Wren 's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral , was completed on his birthday. The first service had been held on 2 December 1697, more than 10 years earlier. It replaced the original St Paul's, which had been completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and is considered to be one of the finest cathedrals in Britain and a fine example of Baroque architecture . The 18th century

11700-491: The attack and managed to walk back to her lodging house at 18 George Street, Spitalfields. She told the deputy keeper, Mary Russell, that she had been attacked by two or three men, one of them a teenager. Russell took Smith to the London Hospital , where a medical examination revealed that a blunt object had been inserted into her vagina, rupturing her peritoneum . She developed peritonitis and died at 9:00   a.m.

11856-451: The bed, which would indicate that she was killed by someone she knew, by someone she believed to be a client, or when she was asleep or intoxicated. The coroner for North East Middlesex, Dr Roderick Macdonald , MP, presided over the inquest into Kelly's death at Shoreditch Town Hall on 12 November. Amid scenes of great emotion, an "enormous crowd" of mourners attended Mary Kelly's funeral on 19 November. The streets became gridlocked and

12012-411: The body, leading some to believe Thompson had disturbed her assailant. Superintendent Arnold and Inspector Reid arrived soon afterwards from the nearby Leman Street police station, and Chief Inspectors Donald Swanson and Henry Moore , who had been involved in the previous murder investigations, arrived by 5 am. A man named James Sadler , who had earlier been seen with Coles, was arrested by

12168-664: The city as a central business district led to this falling to below 5,000 after the Second World War. It has risen slightly to around 9,000 since, largely due to the development of the Barbican Estate . In 2009, the business vote was about 24,000, greatly exceeding residential voters. As the City of London Corporation has not been affected by other municipal legislation over the period of time since then, its electoral practice has become increasingly anomalous. Uniquely for city or borough elections, its elections remain independent-dominated. The business or " non-residential vote "

12324-558: The city is a minority (in terms of population and area) of the Cities of London and Westminster . The city's population fell rapidly in the 19th century and through most of the 20th century, as people moved outwards in all directions to London's vast suburbs , and many residential buildings were demolished to make way for office blocks. Like many areas of London and other British cities, the City fell victim to large scale and highly destructive aerial bombing during World War II , especially in

12480-487: The city was one of a few examples of the English retaining some authority. The city was not covered by the Domesday Book . William built three castles around the city, to keep Londoners subdued: Around 1132 the City was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs rather than having sheriffs appointed by the monarch. London's chosen sheriffs also served as the sheriffs for the county of Middlesex . This meant that

12636-532: The city's fortunes were in decline, and it faced problems of plague and fire. The Roman Empire entered a long period of instability and decline , including the Carausian Revolt in Britain. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the city was under attack from Picts , Scots, and Saxon raiders. The decline continued, both for Londinium and the Empire, and in AD 410 the Romans withdrew entirely from Britain. Many of

12792-489: The city. Each ward has an Alderman , who until the mid-1960s held office for life but since put themselves up for re-election at least every 6 years, and are the only directly elected Aldermen in the United Kingdom . Wards continue to have a Beadle , an ancient position which is now largely ceremonial whose main remaining function is the running of an annual Wardmote of electors, representatives and officials. At

12948-401: The collar of her dress while in a drunken stupor. At Anderson's request Dr Bond examined Mylett's body, and he agreed with Anderson. Commissioner Monro also suspected it was a suicide or natural death as there were no signs of a struggle. The coroner, Wynne Baxter, told the inquest jury that "there is no evidence to show that death was the result of violence". Nevertheless, the jury returned

13104-438: The construction of modern and larger-scale developments, whereas in those parts not so badly affected by bomb damage the City retains its older character of smaller buildings. The street pattern, which is still largely medieval, was altered slightly in places, although there is a more recent trend of reversing some of the post-war modernist changes made, such as at Paternoster Square . The City suffered terrorist attacks including

13260-783: The conviction of the actual murderer. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner reported that the Whitechapel murderer remained unidentified despite 143 extra plain-clothes policemen deployed in Whitechapel in November and December. On Thursday 20 December 1888, a patrolling constable found the strangled body of 26-year-old prostitute Rose Mylett in Clarke's Yard, off Poplar High Street. Mylett (born Catherine Milett and known as Drunken Lizzie Davis and Fair Alice Downey ) had lodged at 18 George Street, as had Emma Smith. Four doctors who examined Mylett's body thought she had been murdered, but Robert Anderson thought she had accidentally hanged herself on

13416-509: The corner of Cornhill and Threadneedle Street continues to be the geographical centre of the city's core of banking and financial services, with the Bank of England moving to its present site in 1734, opposite the Royal Exchange. Immediately to the south of Cornhill, Lombard Street was the location from 1691 of Lloyd's Coffee House , which became the world-leading insurance market. London's insurance sector continues to be based in

13572-493: The cortège struggled to travel from Shoreditch mortuary to the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Leytonstone , where she was laid to rest. On 8 November, Charles Warren resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police after the Home Secretary informed him that he could not make public statements without Home Office approval. James Monro , who had resigned a few months earlier over differences with Warren,

13728-880: The destitute and the transient, among whom the Whitechapel murder victims were numbered. The nightly price of a single bed was 4d (equivalent to £2.35 in 2023) and the cost of sleeping upon a "lean-to" rope stretched across the bedrooms was 2d for adults or children. All the identified victims of the Whitechapel murders lived within the heart of the rookery in Spitalfields , including three in George Street (later named Lolesworth Street), two in Dorset Street, two in Flower and Dean Street and one in Thrawl Street. Police work and criminal prosecutions at

13884-472: The distance. As contemporary police practices dictated, Thompson remained at the scene. Coles was lying beneath a passageway under a railway arch between Chamber Street and Royal Mint Street. She was still alive, but died before medical help could arrive. Minor wounds on the back of her head suggest that she was thrown violently to the ground before her throat was cut at least twice, from left to right and then back again. Otherwise there were no mutilations to

14040-472: The enquiry. At 3 am, a blood-stained fragment of Eddowes's apron was found lying in the passage of the doorway leading to 108 to 119 Goulston Street, Whitechapel, about a third of a mile (500 m) from the murder scene. There was chalk writing on the wall of the doorway , which read either "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing" or "The Juwes are not the men who will be blamed for nothing." At 5 am, Commissioner Warren attended

14196-542: The establishment of the City of London and the Kingdom of England prevailed. In the 10th century, Athelstan permitted eight mints to be established, compared with six in his capital, Winchester , indicating the wealth of the city. London Bridge, which had fallen into ruin following the Roman evacuation and abandonment of Londinium, was rebuilt by the Saxons, but was periodically destroyed by Viking raids and storms. As

14352-474: The fact that it was in such a position that it would have been rubbed by persons passing in & out of the Building." Religious tensions were already high, and there had already been many near-riots. Arnold ordered a man to be standing by with a sponge to erase the writing, while he consulted Commissioner Warren. Covering it in order to allow time for a photographer to arrive or removing a portion of it were considered, but Arnold and Warren (who personally attended

14508-567: The fence. In his memoirs, Walter Dew recorded that the killings caused widespread panic in London. A mob attacked the Commercial Road police station, suspecting that the murderer was being held there. Samuel Montagu , the Member of Parliament for Whitechapel , offered a reward of £100 (roughly £14,000 as of 2024) after rumours that the attacks were Jewish ritual killings led to anti-Semitic demonstrations. Local residents founded

14664-705: The first skyscraper in the UK. By the 2010s, office space development had intensified in the City, especially in the central, northern and eastern parts, with skyscrapers including 30 St. Mary Axe ("the Gherkin"'), Leadenhall Building ("the Cheesegrater"), 20 Fenchurch Street ("the Walkie-Talkie"), the Broadgate Tower , the Heron Tower and 22 Bishopsgate . The main residential section of

14820-503: The first victim of Jack the Ripper, but his colleagues suspected her murder was the work of a criminal gang. Smith claimed that she was attacked by two or three men, but either refused to or could not describe them beyond stating one was a teenager. East End prostitutes were often managed by gangs, and Smith could have been attacked by her pimps as a punishment for disobeying them, or as an act of intimidation. She may not have identified her attackers because she feared reprisal. Her murder

14976-462: The focus of trade and population was moved back to within the old Roman walls, the older Saxon settlement of Lundenwic was largely abandoned and gained the name of Ealdwic (the "old settlement"). The name survives today as Aldwych (the "old market-place"), a name of a street and an area of the City of Westminster between Westminster and the City of London. Following the Battle of Hastings , William

15132-486: The following day. The inquest was conducted on 7 April by the coroner for East Middlesex , Wynne Edwin Baxter , who also conducted inquests on six of the later victims. The local inspector of the Metropolitan Police, Edmund Reid of H Division Whitechapel, investigated the attack but the culprits were never caught. Walter Dew , a detective constable stationed with H Division, later wrote that he believed Smith to be

15288-436: The general bloodlessness of the tissues and vessels indicated that haemorrhage was the cause of death. Newspaper speculation that the body belonged to Lydia Hart, who had disappeared, was refuted after she was found recovering in hospital after "a bit of a spree". Another claim that the victim was a missing girl called Emily Barker was also refuted, as the torso was from an older and taller woman. Swanson did not consider this

15444-402: The graffito was coincidental and it was randomly discarded rather than being placed near it. Antisemitic graffiti was commonplace in Whitechapel at the time and, they say, that such behaviors as specific placement of evidence and taking the time to write a message while evading the police are inconsistent with most existing profiles of the killer. If, as some writers contend, the apron fragment

15600-427: The graphic novel From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell and the film of the same name starring Johnny Depp. In addition to the confusion over the exact wording and meaning of the phrase, and whether it was written by the murderer or not, author and former homicide detective Trevor Marriott raised another possibility: the piece of apron may not necessarily have been dropped by the murderer on his way back to

15756-417: The ground in front of a gated stable entrance. Her throat had been slit twice from left to right and her abdomen was mutilated by a deep jagged wound. Several shallower incisions across the abdomen, and three or four similar cuts on the right side were caused by the same knife used violently and downwards. As the murder occurred in the territory of the J or Bethnal Green Division of the Metropolitan Police, it

15912-457: The idea that the murderer possessed surgical skill was dismissed by other experts. As the bodies were not examined extensively at the scene, it has also been suggested that the organs were actually removed by mortuary staff, who took advantage of bodies that had already been opened to extract organs that they could sell as surgical specimens. On 10 September, the police arrested a notorious local called John Pizer , dubbed "Leather Apron", who had

16068-401: The injuries in the two cases is considerable." The mutilated body of the fourth woman, Annie Chapman, was discovered at about 6:00 am on Saturday 8 September on the ground near a doorway in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street , Spitalfields. Chapman had left her lodgings at 2 am on the day she was murdered, with the intention of getting money from a client to pay her rent. Her throat

16224-444: The inquest, Coroner Baxter acknowledged both possibilities, and concluded: "There is great similarity between this and the other class of cases, which have happened in this neighbourhood, and if the same person has not committed this crime, it is clearly an imitation of the other cases." A woman's torso was found at 5:15 a.m. on Tuesday 10 September 1889 under a railway arch in Pinchin Street, Whitechapel. Extensive bruising about

16380-563: The investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial killer murders—in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, and evidence is emerging which suggests Abberline knew Conder well . A contemporaneous explanation was offered by Robert D'Onston Stephenson , a journalist and writer supposedly interested in the occult and black magic . In an article (signed "One Who Thinks He Knows") in the Pall Mall Gazette of 1 December 1888, Stephenson concluded from

16536-562: The killings and used the signature "Jack the Ripper" (though it is widely thought that the letter was not written by the killer). Contemporary police concluded that the text was a semi-literate attack on the area's Jewish population. The police interviewed all the residents of 108–119 Goulston Street, but were unable to trace either the writer of the graffito or the murderer. According to historian Philip Sugden there are at least three permissible interpretations of this particular clue: "All three are feasible, not one capable of proof." The first

16692-506: The livery companies are known as liverymen and form the Common Hall, which chooses the lord mayor, the sheriffs and certain other officers. The city is made up of 25 wards . They are survivors of the medieval government system that allowed a very local area to exist as a self-governing unit within the wider city. They can be described as electoral/political divisions; ceremonial, geographic and administrative entities; sub-divisions of

16848-624: The matter in hand, and by simply murdering and disembowelling ... women, converted the proprietary press to an inept sort of communism. Acts of Parliament, such as the Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 and the Public Health Amendment Act 1890, set minimum standards for accommodation in an effort to transform degenerated urban areas. The worst of the slums were demolished in the two decades following

17004-429: The men to be blamed for nothing." However, it is uncertain if Swanson ever saw the writing. Since the murder of Mary Ann Nichols on 31 August 1888, rumours had been circulating that the killings were the work of a Jew dubbed "Leather Apron", which had resulted in antisemitic demonstrations. One Jew, John Pizer , who had a reputation for violence against prostitutes and was nicknamed "Leather Apron" from his trade as

17160-462: The men who will be blamed for nothing." A third version, "The Juws [ sic ] are not the men To be blamed for nothing", was recorded by City surveyor, Frederick William Foster. A copy according with Long's version of the message was attached to a report from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Charles Warren to the Home Office . A summary report on the writing by Chief Inspector Swanson rendered it as "The Jewes [ sic ] are not

17316-463: The murderer had knelt to the right of the body, and worked alone. However, the first doctor at the scene, local surgeon Dr George William Sequeira, disputed that the killer possessed anatomical skill or sought particular organs. His view was shared by City medical officer William Sedgwick Saunders, who was also present at the autopsy. Because of this murder's location, the City of London Police under Detective Inspector James McWilliam were brought into

17472-582: The murderer using paranormal powers; the police turned him away and "called [him] a fool and a lunatic". The head of the CID , Anderson, eventually returned from leave on 6 October and took charge of the investigation for Scotland Yard. On 16 October, George Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee received another letter, known as the "From Hell" letter , claiming to be from the killer. The handwriting and style were unlike that of

17628-410: The murders were never solved. The Whitechapel murders drew attention to the poor living conditions in the East End slums, which were subsequently improved. The enduring mystery of who committed the crimes has captured public imagination to the present day. In the late Victorian era , Whitechapel was considered to be the most notorious criminal rookery in London. The area around Flower and Dean Street

17784-412: The mystery surrounding the identity of the killer or killers fed the development of the character " Jack the Ripper ", who was blamed for all or most of the murders. Hundreds of books and articles discuss the Whitechapel murders, and they feature in novels, short stories, comic books, television shows, and films of multiple genres. The poor of the East End had long been ignored by affluent society, but

17940-566: The nature of the Whitechapel murders and of the victims' impoverished lifestyles drew national attention to their living conditions. The murders galvanised public opinion against the overcrowded, unsanitary slums of the East End, and led to demands for reform. On 24 September 1888, George Bernard Shaw commented sarcastically on the media's sudden concern with social justice in a letter to The Star newspaper: Whilst we conventional Social Democrats were wasting our time on education, agitation and organisation, some independent genius has taken

18096-598: The neighbouring London Borough of Tower Hamlets . It owns and helps fund the Old Bailey , the Central Criminal Court for England and Wales , as a gift to the nation, having begun as the City and Middlesex Sessions. The Honourable The Irish Society , a body closely linked with the corporation, also owns many public spaces in Northern Ireland . The city has its own independent police force,

18252-405: The notorious unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper . Most, if not all, of the eleven victims— Emma Elizabeth Smith , Martha Tabram , Mary Ann "Polly" Nichols , Annie Chapman , Elizabeth Stride , Catherine Eddowes , Mary Jane Kelly , Rose Mylett, Alice McKenzie, Frances Coles , and an unidentified woman—were engaged in prostitution. Smith was sexually assaulted and robbed by

18408-455: The others on the basis that the body was unmutilated, that it was the only murder to occur south of Whitechapel Road , and that the blade used might have been shorter and of a different design. Most experts, however, consider the similarities in the case distinctive enough to connect Stride's murder with at least two of the earlier ones, as well as that of Catherine Eddowes on the same night. At 1:45 am, Catherine Eddowes's mutilated body

18564-455: The others attributed to the Ripper, because she had been repeatedly stabbed, whereas later victims typically suffered slash wounds and abdominal mutilations. However, a connection cannot be ruled out. On Friday 31 August, Mary Ann Nichols was murdered in Buck's Row (since renamed Durward Street), a back street in Whitechapel. Her body was discovered by cart driver Charles Cross at 3:45 am on

18720-552: The overall sentence construction, the double negative, the double definite article "the Juwes are the men", and the unusual misspelling that the Ripper was most probably French. Stephenson claimed that an "uneducated Englishman" or "ignorant Jew" was unlikely to misspell "Jew", whereas it was similar to the French juives . He excluded French-speaking Swiss and Belgians from his suspicions because "the idiosyncrasy of both those nationalities

18876-422: The police and charged with her murder. A high-profile investigation by Swanson and Moore into Sadler's past history and his whereabouts at the time of the previous Whitechapel murders indicates that the police may have suspected him to be the Ripper. However, Sadler was released on 3 March for lack of evidence. The murderer or murderers were never identified and the cases remain unsolved. Sensational reportage and

19032-417: The press. Packer's description of the man did not match the statements by other witnesses who may have seen Stride with a man shortly before her murder, but all but two of the descriptions differed. Joseph Lawende passed through Mitre Square with two other men shortly before Eddowes was murdered there, and may have seen her with a man of about 30 years old, who was shabbily dressed, wore a peaked cap, and had

19188-576: The retention of the business vote argue that it is a cause of institutional inertia. The City of London (Ward Elections) Act 2002 , a private Act of Parliament, reformed the voting system and greatly increased the business franchise, allowing many more businesses to be represented. Under the new system, the number of non-resident voters has doubled from 16,000 to 32,000. Previously disenfranchised firms (and other organisations) are entitled to nominate voters, in addition to those already represented, and all such bodies are now required to choose their voters in

19344-416: The scene and ordered the words erased for fear that they would spark anti-Semitic riots. Goulston Street was on a direct route from Mitre Square to Flower and Dean Street, where both Stride and Eddowes lived. The Middlesex coroner, Wynne Baxter, believed that Stride had been attacked with a swift, sudden action. She was still holding a packet of cachous (breath-freshening sweets) in her left hand when she

19500-471: The scene) considered this to be too dangerous, and Warren later stated he "considered it desirable to obliterate the writing at once". While the Goulston Street graffito was found in Metropolitan Police territory, the apron piece was from a victim killed in the City of London , which has a separate police force. Some officers disagreed with Arnold and Warren's decision, especially those representing

19656-471: The separate Mayor of London , an office created only in the year 2000), which is responsible for a number of functions and has interests in land beyond the city's boundaries. Unlike other English local authorities, the corporation has two council bodies: the (now largely ceremonial) Court of Aldermen and the Court of Common Council . The Court of Aldermen represents the wards, with each ward (irrespective of size) returning one alderman. The chief executive of

19812-459: The three killers of Hiram Abiff , a semi-legendary figure in Freemasonry , and furthermore, that the message was written by the killer (or killers) as part of a Masonic plot. There is no evidence that anyone prior to Knight had ever referred to those three figures by the term "Juwes". Knight's suggestion was used in fictional treatments of the murders, such as the film Murder by Decree , and

19968-518: The time relied heavily on confessions, witness testimony, and apprehending perpetrators in the act of committing an offence or in the possession of obvious physical evidence that clearly linked them to a crime. Forensic techniques , such as fingerprint analysis, were not in use, and blood typing had not been invented. Policing in London was—and still is—divided between two forces: the Metropolitan Police with jurisdiction over most of

20124-602: The urban area, and the City of London Police with jurisdiction over about a square mile (2.9 km ) of the city centre. The Home Secretary , a senior minister of the British government, controlled the Metropolitan Police, whereas the City Police were responsible to the Corporation of London . Beat constables walked regular, timed routes. Eleven deaths in or near Whitechapel between 1888 and 1891 were gathered into

20280-407: The victim was estimated at 30–40 years. Despite a search of the area, no other sections of her body were ever found, and neither the victim nor the culprit were ever identified. Chief Inspector Donald Swanson and Commissioner James Monro noted that the presence of blood within the torso indicated that death was not from haemorrhage or cutting of the throat. The pathologists, however, noted that

20436-452: The victim's back, hip, and arm indicated that she had been severely beaten shortly before her death, which had occurred approximately one day prior to the discovery of her torso. The victim's abdomen was also extensively mutilated in a manner reminiscent of the Ripper, although her genitals had not been wounded. The dismembered sections of the body are believed to have been transported to the railway arch, hidden under an old chemise. The age of

20592-597: The wards in 2003, and they were reviewed again in 2010 for change in 2013, though not to such a dramatic extent. The review was conducted by senior officers of the corporation and senior judges of the Old Bailey ; the wards are reviewed by this process to avoid malapportionment . The procedure of review is unique in the United Kingdom as it is not conducted by the Electoral Commission or a local government boundary commission every 8 to 12 years, which

20748-431: The western ward of Farringdon Without are within the boundaries and liberties of the City, but can be thought of as independent enclaves . They are two of the few remaining liberties , an old name for a geographic division with special rights. They are extra-parochial areas , historically not governed by the City of London Corporation (and are today regarded as local authorities for most purposes ) and equally outside

20904-439: The writer, who signed himself "Jack the Ripper", claimed to have committed the murders. On 1 October, a postcard, dubbed the "Saucy Jacky" postcard , and also signed "Jack the Ripper", was received by the agency. It claimed responsibility for the most recent murders on 30 September, and described the murders of the two women as the "double event", a designation which has endured. On Tuesday 2 October, an unidentified female torso

21060-408: Was strangled . The body of the unidentified woman was dismembered , but the exact cause of her death is unclear. The Metropolitan Police , City of London Police , and private organisations such as the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee were actively involved in the search for the perpetrator or perpetrators. Despite extensive enquiries and several arrests, the culprit or culprits evaded capture, and

21216-533: Was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution , and London's role at the centre of the evolving British Empire . The urban area expanded beyond the borders of the City of London, most notably during this period towards the West End and Westminster. Expansion continued and became more rapid by the beginning of

21372-501: Was abolished in other UK local council elections by the Representation of the People Act 1969 , but was preserved in the City of London. The principal reason given by successive UK governments for retaining this mechanism for giving businesses representation, is that the city is "primarily a place for doing business". About 330,000 non-residents constitute the day-time population and use most of its services, far outnumbering residents, who number around 7,000 (2011). By contrast, opponents of

21528-578: Was appointed as his replacement in December. On 10 November, the police surgeon Thomas Bond wrote to Robert Anderson , head of the London CID, detailing the similarities between the five murders of Nichols, Chapman, Stride, Eddowes and Kelly, "no doubt committed by the same hand". On the same day, the Cabinet resolved to offer a pardon to any accomplice who came forward with information that led to

21684-615: Was at first investigated by the local detectives. On the same day, James Monro resigned as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over differences with Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Sir Charles Warren . Initial investigations into the murder had little success, although elements of the press linked it to the two previous murders and suggested the killing might have been perpetrated by

21840-401: Was characterised by extreme poverty, sub-standard housing, poor sanitation, homelessness, drunkenness and endemic prostitution. These factors were focused in the institution of the 233 common lodging-houses within Whitechapel, in which approximately 8,500 people resided on a nightly basis. The common lodging-houses in and around Whitechapel provided cheap communal lodgings for the desperate,

21996-502: Was cut away by the murderer to use to wipe his hands, he could have discarded it near the body immediately after it had served that purpose, or he could have wiped his hands on it without needing to remove it. Whitechapel murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have been ascribed to

22152-459: Was cut from left to right. She had been disembowelled, and her intestines had been thrown out of her abdomen over each of her shoulders. The morgue examination revealed that part of her uterus was missing. The pathologist, George Bagster Phillips , was of the opinion that the murderer must have possessed anatomical knowledge to have sliced out the reproductive organs in a single movement with a blade about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) long. However,

22308-401: Was described as "perhaps the foulest and most dangerous street in the whole metropolis"; Dorset Street was called "the worst street in London". Assistant Police Commissioner Robert Anderson recommended Whitechapel to "those who take an interest in the dangerous classes" as one of London's prime criminal "show places". Robbery, violence and alcohol dependency were commonplace. The district

22464-583: Was discovered, indicating that she had not had time to defend herself. A grocer, Matthew Packer, implied to private detectives employed by the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee that he had sold some grapes to Stride and the murderer; however, he had told police that he had shut his shop without seeing anything suspicious. At the inquest, the pathologists stated emphatically that Stride had not held, swallowed or consumed grapes. They described her stomach contents as "cheese, potatoes and farinaceous powder [flour or milled grain]". Nevertheless, Packer's story appeared in

22620-540: Was formerly also held. Many of the medieval offices and traditions continue to the present day, demonstrating the unique nature of the City and its Corporation . In 1381, the Peasants' Revolt affected London. The rebels took the City and the Tower of London, but the rebellion ended after its leader, Wat Tyler, was killed during a confrontation that included Lord Mayor William Walworth . In 1450, rebel forces again occupied

22776-406: Was found by PC Edward Watkins at the south-west corner of Mitre Square , in the City of London , about 12 minutes walk from Berner Street. She had been killed less than 10 minutes earlier by a slash to the throat from left to right with a sharp, pointed knife at least 6 inches (15 cm) long. Her face and abdomen were mutilated, and her intestines were drawn out over the right shoulder with

22932-470: Was found in the basement of New Scotland Yard , which was under construction. It was linked to the Whitechapel murders by the press, but it was not included in the Whitechapel murders file, and any connection between the two is now considered unlikely. The case became known as the Whitehall Mystery . On the same day, the psychic Robert James Lees visited Scotland Yard and offered to track down

23088-410: Was killed by a slash to the throat. After her death, her abdominal cavity was sliced open and all her viscera removed and spread around the room. Her breasts had been cut off, her face mutilated beyond recognition, and her thighs partially cut through to the bone, with some of the muscles removed. Unlike the other victims, she was undressed and wore only a light chemise. Her clothes were folded neatly on

23244-416: Was lying in a pool of blood with her throat cut from left to right. She had been killed just minutes before, and her body was otherwise unmutilated. It is possible that the murderer was disturbed before he could commit any mutilation of the body by someone entering the yard, perhaps Louis Diemschutz, who discovered the body. However, some commentators on the case conclude that Stride's murder was unconnected to

23400-526: Was made with the investigation. The City Police and the Lord Mayor of London offered a reward of £500 (roughly £70,000 as of 2024) for information leading to the capture of the villain. The use of bloodhounds to track the killer in the event of another attack was considered and Warren not only loaned two named Burgho and Barnaby from Edwin Brough of Wyndyate near Scarborough (now Scalby Manor ) but also agreed to be tracked across Hyde Park by them himself as

23556-425: Was murdered at just after 3 am where she was found. In his summing up, he dismissed the possibility that her murder was connected with those of Smith and Tabram, as the lethal weapons were different in those cases, and neither of the earlier cases involved a slash to the throat. However, by the time the inquest into Nichols's death had concluded, a fourth woman had been murdered, and Baxter noted "The similarity of

23712-426: Was murdered in the single room where she lived at 13 Miller's Court, behind 26 Dorset Street, Spitalfields . One of the earlier victims, Chapman, had lived in Dorset Street, and another, Eddowes, was reported to have occasionally slept rough there. Kelly's severely mutilated body was discovered shortly after 10:45 am lying on the bed. The first doctor at the scene, Dr George Bagster Phillips , believed that Kelly

23868-457: Was taken into custody on 18 September on suspicion of the murders, but he was released less than two weeks later when a double murder demonstrated that the real culprit was still at large. On Sunday 30 September, the body of prostitute Elizabeth Stride was discovered at about 1 am in Dutfield's Yard, inside the gateway of 40 Berner Street (since renamed Henriques Street), Whitechapel. She

24024-426: Was the murderer. Mrs Long described him as over forty, a little taller than Chapman, of dark complexion, and of foreign, "shabby-genteel" appearance. He was wearing a brown deer-stalker hat and a dark overcoat. Another witness, carpenter Albert Cadosch, had entered the neighbouring yard at 27 Hanbury Street at about the same time, and heard voices in the yard followed by the sound of something or someone falling against

24180-441: Was the origin of the City of London Corporation and the citizens gained the right to appoint, with the king's consent, a mayor in 1189—and to directly elect the mayor from 1215. From medieval times, the city has been composed of 25 ancient wards , each headed by an alderman , who chairs Wardmotes , which still take place at least annually. A Folkmoot , for the whole of the City held at the outdoor cross of St Paul's Cathedral ,

24336-423: Was writing in white chalk on either the wall or the black brick jamb of the entranceway. Long told an inquest that it read, "The Juwes [ sic ] are the men that will not be blamed for nothing." Superintendent Arnold wrote a report which agrees with his account. Detective Constable Daniel Halse of the City of London Police , arrived a short time later, and took down a different version: "The Juwes are not

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