Blood thirsty stories of murder, war, Vikings, theatre and fire – England’s history has it all.

Perhaps the most notorious and well known pieces of London’s history, and one of the world’s best known unsolved mysteries, is the story of Jack the Ripper.


During the 1800’s London’s East End was little more than a slum. Although now a far more affluent part of London, in Victorian times Whitechapel residents lived their lives in a blur of drunkenness, crime, violence and immorality. Many women earned a living or supplemented their meagre incomes by prostituting themselves.

Crime was commonplace in the East End, but the Jack The Ripper murders shocked the nation.

Between 31st August and 9th November 1888 a killer who named himself Jack the Ripper viciously murdered five women – all prostitutes. There is some debate over the real number of women he murdered though, with many people arguing he actually killed 11, not five.

Over ten weeks Jack the Ripper murdered Mary “Polly” Nicholls, Annie Chapman (also known as Dark Annie), Elizabeth Stride (known as Long Liz), Catherine ‘Kate’ Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.

All five women were murdered within a one-mile radius of each other, and Jack the Ripper was never found, but all the murders bore striking similarities. Most of the women were found with their skirts raised to their waists with their throats cut and bodies mutilated. Annie Chapman and Catherine Eddowes were also found with some internal organs removed while others remained undamaged. This led investigators to believe that Jack the Ripper had some anatomical knowledge and was perhaps a butcher, doctor or even a midwife. There are still many theories today on who Jack the Ripper really was.

Today tributes to the Jack the Ripper murders can still be seen around the city and are well worth a look while visiting London.

Follow the footsteps of Jack the Ripper and walk the streets he stalked by night more than a century ago on the Jack The Ripper Walk.

Hear the sing-song voices of children skipping in the street and singing:

Jack the Ripper’s dead
And lying in his bed
He cut his throat
With Sunlight soap
Jack the Ripper’s dead
As you walk past the sites of the famous murders you can still feel the unmistakable atmosphere of the memory of the times of Jack the Ripper prowled the streets through the fog more than 100 years ago.

Starting your walk at the Whitechapel Underground Station you step into a busy street market and are met with an array of cultures and delicious aromas. To your left is the building that was used for the inquest for several of Jack’s victims.

Moving on, you visit Durward Street – formerly known as Buck’s Roe (where Polly’s body was found), a nearby brewery which was once a courtyard (Annie was murdered here) and Dorset Street (where Mary Kelly was carved up in Jack’s most gruesome murder at number 26).

Along your walk seize the opportunity to take a step back in time and enjoy a pint or two at The Ten Bells, a pub which opened its doors in 1753 and still operates today. Adding to the pubs historical significance is the knowledge that Dark Annie had her last drink here before she was murdered.

For the ultimate tourist experience you can’t go past a trip to the London Dungeon which has been labelled by some as a “museum of the macabre” and also features sections devoted to The Great Fire of London, The Great Plague and other London devastations. And of course a whole section is dedicated to the gruesome and violent murders of Jack the Ripper.