Some Of The Hotspots In The Ripper’s Day

Not too dissimilar to the bustling City of London now, there were hubs and places where the locals would congregate and put the world to rights. However, it is unlikely that where you have your regular tipple will be across the national press.

Some of the public houses listed below are the locations at which Jack the Ripper’s victims had their last meal or drink. For example, we know that Mary Kelly had fish and potatoes in her stomach, only partly digested, leading us to understand that she had eaten not so long ago at a regular food joint.

The three locations below are still standing today, and can be visited in the City.

The Old Frying Pan Pub

While the building now houses a popular Balti House, if you strain your neck and take a look above the corner entrance, you’ll notice a stone carving of two crossed frying pans. This symbol highlights a flash in the pan from the past, and allows us keen Ripperologists to get a feel for where these poor victims, and their cold-blooded killer, were known to be boozing and eating.

It is rumoured the pub name may have come from an even older race track that was located nearby.

Ten Bells Pub

This particular location still sells the beer and gin that was served all those years ago and has only undergone one name change to ‘The Jack The Ripper’. The renamed public house sold ‘Ripper Tipples’ and was cashing in on the large tourism footfall that graced Whitechapel’s Streets.

It wasn’t too long before campaigners deemed this to be lacking in taste, and the pub was reverted to the original title of ‘The Ten Bells’. This building still stands, and while it doesn’t sell the ‘Ripper Tipple’ anymore, the décor and ambience are still that of a Ripperologists’ cavern for discussion.

Old Board School

For those of you who aren’t only interested in a pint or two, another interesting location that was covered by the murderer-of-old was the Old Board School. Now a block of furnished, modern flats, this location was home to the first recorded victim of Jack the Ripper; Mary Nichols.

It is almost unrecognisable now due to the modern buildings and a new railway development, but the school itself still stands and offers a chilling reminder of the bodies once laid on the cobbled streets. 

If your Ripperology senses are tingling, then pop down and get yourself onto one of our tours, to see more of the locations that once housed both the victims and their vicious killer.