Whitechapel Local Study

What was Whitechapel’s housing like?

Over-crowded, over-populated and chaotic

What were rookeries?

Areas that were densely over-populated areas filled with lodging houses

What were temporary homes?

Homes paid on a weekly basis, in which entire families lived in one room

What is slum living?

Multiple families living one building, sharing facilities

Why was Whitechapel a hotspot for crime?

It was densely populated and hard to navigate enabling criminals to evade detection.

What was a Workhouse?

Free homes for people, mostly elderly and ill, who could not work any longer. It was separated by age and gender.

What were rules in the Workhouse?

• Curfews of when you could sleep, eat and wake

• Expected to complete tasks in return for your boards

What was a Casual Ward?

Free homes for a night accompanied by 400 other people

What were rules in the Casual Ward?

Worked for what you had already received by Oakham picking or working in the infirmary and in the kitchens

What was the Doss House?

4d for sleeping on a uncomfortable bed, if you could afford you would sleep on the ropes for the night.

What did George Peabody do?

In 1881, he built 286 flats for Whitechapel residents.

What were the flats like?

• Surrounded by yard for ventilation

• Built from brick and unplastered to stop damp and lice

• Shared bathrooms and kitchens

Why did Peabody Estate fail?

Rents were too high and they were evicted if they couldn’t afford

Who was Charles Booth?

Businessman and social reformer

What did Charles Booth do?

Created maps highlighting the situation of poverty in Whitechapel

What did the maps do?

Influenced government policy makers

Why was alcohol popular in Whitechapel?

Helped to cope the pressures of life leading to people becoming dependent

How did the rise of alcohol affect crime?

Resorted to alcohol to fund their needs and left them vulnerable to crime

Why was Whitechapel popular for Immigrants?

There was lots of places to sleep and offering work

Where did Immigrants work?

Tanneries (leather houses), Sweatshops, Slaughter houses and butchers

Why did Russian Jews immigrate?

The death of the Tsar made them vulnerable to persecution

Why were Russian Jews targeted?

Language barriers and religious rituals made them susceptible to prejudice.

Why did Irish people immigrate?

Opportunities for employment

Why did many women become prostitutes?

Extreme poverty meant it was not a choice but a necessity

How did Alcohol affect Prostitution?

Their dependence on alcohol lead them needing to fund their addiction

Why was Prostituition dangerous?

Made women vulnerable to crime like the victims of Jack the Ripper

Why were Irish immigrants targeted?

Roman Catholic beliefs and because they wanted separation from Britain

What were Irish Fenian Groups?

Groups campaigning for the separation of Ireland and Britain

How did the Fenian’s attack?

Bombs and explosions

Why were Russian Jews targeted by gangs?

They already feared authorities and were unlikely to challenge them

When was the Metropolitan Police force established?

1829

Where did the H division control?

Whitechapel

How many police covered Whitechapel?

500 police

Who was Edmund Henderson?

Commissioner responsible for increasing literacy standards, reduction of military presence and permitted beards

Why was CID formed?

1878 scandal in detective force.

What was Charles Warren’s aims?

Raise standards and reverse some of Henderson changes

What did use of army technique do to the police force?

Made the police look like it was becoming more of an army

What were standards of the police?

• 21-32

• 5’9” and above

• 2 children

• No business or trade and neither should wife

• Reading and write legibly

• Fit

What did the Police wear?

• Woollen trousers and jackets

• Top hat until 1863 replaced by helmet

• Oil lamp, handcuffs, truncheon and whistle

What was a beat?

Timed and officers patrolling specific area was to prevent and tackle crime

What were beat routes?

Particular points at certain times to ensure safety and it was varied to stop criminals predicting their whereabouts

How did police try and track down Jack the Ripper?

• Crime Scene photography

• Sketches

• Autopsies- helped construct a profile

• Witness statements- could be unreliable

Why were alleyways a challenge?

Mazes and majority of people lived in tenement buildings providing shelter for criminals

Why was the population transient?

They moved around from place to place and doss houses didn’t keep records of people sleeping there

How was the media a challenge to the Police?

Newspaper glorified the stories, cartoon made the police look incompetent, interviews gave lurid stories and published fake letters as Jack the Ripper

What was the Vigilance Comittee?

Established by George Lusk to took matters into their own hands. Hired PI and rewards for information, but were often given false information