Dorset Street
Dorset Street was a street in the Spitalfields district of London . It should not be confused with the street of the same name that still exists today in the Marylebone district . The street had a reputation for being the worst in London. Between numbers 26 and 27 there was access to a back yard called Miller's Court . There the body of Mary Jane Kelly was found on November 9, 1888 at 10:45 am in her accommodation No. 13, Miller's Court . She is the fifth victim in the series of murders attributed to Jack the Ripper . The street no longer exists today, and a new building was erected in its place in 2017.
history
The street was laid out in 1674 as Datchet Street , but was renamed Dorset Street a short time later . The road was only 122 meters long and about 7 meters wide. Brushfield Street ran parallel to the north of Dorset Street and White's Row to the south . Connected Dorset Street to the west with Crispin Street and to the east with Commercial Street . Brushfield Street could also be reached via an alley called Little Paternoster Row . In the mid-1800s, John Miller , who owned Buildings 26 and 27 on the north side of Dorset Street, built a few houses behind them. This small area, which could be reached through a passage between No. 26 and 27 Dorset Streets, was called Miller's Court. No. 13 Miller's Court, where Mary Jane Kelly lived and was murdered, was originally the rear of No. 26 Dorset Street, which was rented out as separate accommodation by the later homeowner.
In the 1880s , Dorset Street was a street where almost exclusively dwellings (including so-called common lodging houses ) for impoverished and homeless people were lined up. Most of these Dorset Street dwellings were directed and supervised by Jack McCarthy and William Crossingham. Both owned most of the possessions in this slum and were suspected of being involved in a variety of illegal activities, such as pimping and receiving stolen goods. Only two legally operated stores were on Dorset Street, according to the official street directory. There is a grocery store at No. 7 and the public house "Blue Coat Boy" at No. 32. It is estimated that around 1200 people stayed overnight in the poor shelters in Dorset Street each night.
On the corner of Dorset and Comercial Street stood the public house "The Britannia" in which Mary Jane Kelly was a frequent guest. Across from Miller's Court at number 15 was a common lodging house owned by William Crossingham. He also owned the common lodging house No. 35 on the corner of Little Paternoster Row and Dorset Street. This is where the second victim of the Ripper series of murders, Annie Chapman, lived .
Dorset Street remained a slum after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, and more murders like the Ripper series of murders followed. In 1901 the body of Mary Ann Austin was found in house number 35 with ten abdominal wounds. At # 20 Miller's Court, just above # 13, Kitty Ronan was found in 1906 with her throat cut. Just like in the Mary Jane Kelly case, her killer was never caught.
The writer Ralph L. Finn provides a vivid description of the conditions in Dorset Street:
“It was a street of whores. There is, I always feel a subtle difference between an whore and a prostitute. At least we used to think so. Processes were younger, and more attractive. Whores were debauched old bags. It teemed with nasty characters - desperate, wicked, lecherous, razor-slashing hoodlums. No Jews lived there. [...] There were pubs every few yards. Bawdy houses every few feet. It was peopled by roaring drunken fighting-mad killers. "
“It was a street of whores. There is, I always think, a subtle difference between a whore and a prostitute. Or so we think so. Prostitutes were younger and more attractive. Whores were rotten old boxes. It is teeming with unpleasant fellows - desperate, wicked, lustful, razor-slashing crooks. No Jews lived there [...] There were pubs every few yards. Brothels every few feet. It was populated by roaring, drunken, battle-obsessed killers. "
As Finn suggests, Dorset Street was a small, non-Jewish ghetto in the early 20th century in an area that was largely Jewish. In 1904, Dorset Street was renamed Duval Street . In 1920 the Corporation of London acquired Old Spitalfields Market and began major renovation work, including the complete demolition of the north side of Duval Street. In 1960 the south side of Duval Street fell victim to the construction of a parking garage. The opposite building on the north side belonged to the London Fruit and Wool Exchange . Both buildings were demolished in 2015 and a new building for the London Fruit and Wool Exchange was built across the entire area . The new building is at 56 Brushfield Street, London . As a result, Duval Street no longer exists today.
literature
- Fiona Rule: The Worst Street in London. Ian Allan Ltd, Hersham 2009, ISBN 0-7110-3363-3 .
- Donald Rumbelow . The Complete Jack the Ripper (True Crime). Fully revised and updated edition. Penguin Books Ltd. London 2004, ISBN 0-14-017395-1 .
- Paul Begg, Martin Fido, Keith Skinner: The Jack the Ripper A – Z. Revised edition. Headline Publishing London 1996, ISBN 0-7472-5522-9 .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Fiona Rule The Worst Street in London, page 165
- ↑ a b Fiona Rule The Worst Street in London, page 24
- ^ Fiona Rule The Worst Street in London, page 55
- ^ Fiona Rule The Worst Street in London, page 112
- ^ Fiona Rule The Worst Street in London, pp. 78-103
- ↑ Murder in Spitalfield's British National Archives, accessed September 29, 2010
- ↑ Kit, Kitty, Kitten: The Story of Kitty Ronan Casebook: Jack the Ripper, accessed September 29, 2010
Coordinates: 51 ° 31 ′ 6.7 " N , 0 ° 4 ′ 31.4" W.