Below are responses we've received having to do with the Ripper Walking Tours given by Donald Rumbelow and others through the streets of London where the crimes where committed.
1.
Date: Sun, 14 Apr 1996 13:58:53 -0400
From: ScrollKey
The company is called The Original London Walking Tour (there are other companies offering Ripper walking tours but they don't have Rumbelow) and they offer a number of interesting walking tours, including Literary London, Gangland London, Sherlock Holmes and, of course, Jack the Ripper.
The Ripper Tour cost 4 pounds and there is no reservation required. You just show up at the Tower Hill tube station at the appropriate time on the evenings the tour is held. I can't find my brochure at the moment, but they are available at any hotel. If I come across it I'll e-mail more specific info.
Rumbelow (or his assistant if he isn't hosting that night) takes you through the Whitechapel area to the sites of some of the murders as well as related sites. The tour begins with a brief overview and then it's on to Aldgate for a brief history of prostitution in London. After visits to some murder sites, you stop in at the Ten Bells pub for a drink. The pub is where one of the victims was seen on the night of her murder. Now, of course, it is a "Ripper" tourist trap, selling keyrings and t-shirts along with pints. Still, nice to stop off for a pint and a rest.
After the pub and depending on the weather, you visit one or two more murder sites and then are led into a dark alley where Rumbelow goes over the most famous suspects and sums up the tour.
I enjoyed the tour very much and will probably go on it again when my wife and I return to London for a fall visit.
2.
Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 08:55:28 +0100
From: Matthew Fletcher
I haven't been on one this walk yet but will probably get round to it eventually. If you are around Commercial Street or Brick Lane of an evening (as I often am) you will often see a raggle taggle crocodile of rucksacks and camcorders traipsing through the streets in groups or 40 or 50. For a London resident, It is one of the most depressingly touristy sights imaginable. Gee, honey, this is where he pulled all her intestines out get a picture of me standing on the spot... If this doesn't put you off, it is probably quite good fun. You can at least decide whether the apron in Goulston street 2 minutes walk from Mitre Square 'proves' the killer was heading back to the East End, or whether it was just where he took a breather having nipped smartly out of the Square. The Ten Bells pub used to called The Jack the Ripper but some tedious feminist protesting in the 1980s caused its name to be changed. The believed it was glorifying violence against women or something. Happily for the purists they reverted to the original name of the Ten Bells. You might want to pay a visit on a Friday (lunchtime or early evening until about 7.30am) for a different form of entertainment - but don't go if you are offended by naked young women.
3.
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 1996 00:52:55 -0500
From: Andrew J. Spallek
I attended a walking tour conducted by author Martin Fido in 1990. I don't remember the company that operated it. But it was quite good and reasonably proced. I would never have been able to understand the nature of the murders very well had I not been shown the neighborhood.
4.
Date: Tue, 23 Apr 1996 13:26:16 -0400
From: Frank Florio
I may be visiting London at the end of May on business. I am very much interested in finding out about the Ripper Walks. I was planning on visiting the sites but will be unable to coordinate this with others since I don't know what days I will be there.
Are there maps and the like available for this kind of tour?
Back to the Conference Main Page