Barnett Vicarious Adventures: April 30, 2013 Tour of London’s East End

Today we toured the East End of London in the area of White Chapel made famous by Jack the Ripper. There is an amazing amount of history, so I will try not to be too boring.

We first found the site of the old hospital called New Bethlehem Hospital which operated on the site for more than 400 years. Since it was an asylum for its last 100 years and the name was a mouthful for the British, they simply shortened it to “Bedlam” from where we get the word! Surrounding the hospital site is an area called “Spietafields” which is a shortened version of the words “hospital fields”. This area was the “plague pits” where thousands of bodies were dumped during the famous Black Plague.

Paris, our tour guide at Bethlehem Hospital

Fashion Street was the Jewish Market Street back when there were over 20 Synagogues in this area.

Art of Old London. Note only one bridge over the Thames River.

Moved on into an area of buildings and housing constructed in the 1700’s. There have been attempts to tear the buildings down, but fortunately the preservationists have prevailed and they have been saved. Very narrow lanes with evidence of the sewage drains down the middle of the lane still present and the Victorian character remains. There is a church is the area originally built by the French Huguenots (Protestant French escaping Catholic persecution). As they prospered and moved out, Eastern European Jews moved in. The church was purchased by an evangelical group intent upon converting the Jews. Having virtually no success (only 16 Jews were converted) the building was sold and it became a Synagogue! The Jews moved on and today the building is in the heart of the Bangladeshi neighborhood and has become a Mosque! So, if you find yourself in London at the time of the Apocalypse, it might be safe to seek shelter in this building that has residual prayers from all three of the great monotheistic religions! On the street where the Mosque sits, there are more than 50 Indian/Bangladeshi/Balti cuisine restaurants. All cheap and we know at least one that is very good! Next we found the Truman Brewery that begun operations in 1666 so it was already 110 years old at the time of the American Revolution! We found and toured the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry where both the Liberty Bell and Big Ben were struck (NOTE: Big Ben actually refers to the 13 ton bell in the Parliament clock tower, not to the clock). Finally we come to Jack the Ripper who terrorized the area from August to November 1888. With 5 confirmed victims and 11 suspected, he became the most notorious modern serial killer. We had drinks in The Ten Bells. It is an ancient pub at which 2 of Jack’s victims had their last drinks. Not much has changed in the pub. Old wooden floors, the same bar, and very, very worn wooden steps to the basement restrooms. Since Alice and Mary each had their last drinks in The Ten Bells, we decided to ward off the curse by immediately having a glass of wine with dinner in a nearby Indian restaurant. We finally ended up of the site of the original Whitechapel church that gave the area its name and has been preserved as a park. Thus ended our tour of the East End. Not an area you might want to be in late at night, but no problems during the day. Forgot to mention the phrase “Mad as a Hatter.” During one period the bowler hat was popular and the hat was coated with mercury to protect it from the chamber pots being emptied into the street. The mercury slowly seeped into the brain of the wearer and the inevitable happened. Perhaps that is why the bowler hat (which I happen to love but lack the courage to wear) is no longer popular.

Outside the Outside the Liverpool Station is a sculpture commemorating the saving of over 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi persecution in 1938-39.

This is second oldest Synagogue in the White Chapel area.

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, insurance companies started providing fire insurance and to manage their exposure, they also established their own fire fighting services. Policy holders put a badge on the front of their house to indicate to fire fighting teams which houses were under their protection. If the wrong fire fighting team showed up at your house they would not put the fire out.