Goulston Street: The Quest for Jack the Ripper

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That’s the key to graffiti… the positioning’. Ah, the philosophy of Banksy! For those who may not know, Banksy is an artist. A graffiti artist. A graffiti artist whose work has been shown in exhibitions. Everyone (well, those of you who live in the Bristol and London areas certainly) has seen a Banksy, most without realising it - yet very few have seen the man himself. This is mainly because writing graffiti is illegal. He ghosts in, does his work and ghosts out again. Unnoticed until his deed is detected. Sounds familiar? Having murdered Catherine Eddowes, on the 30th September 1888, the Whitechapel Murderer fled eastwards from Mitre Square and headed into the East End of London where he left a clue in a doorway in Goulston Street, a short walk away from Mitre Square. WHY HE WENT EAST?

The honest truth is that we will never now know the answer to this puzzling question. THE GOULSTON STREET GRAFFITO IS DISCOVEREDIt is a clue in so much as it reveals to us the direction that the ripper took as he fled from Mitre Square in the wake of the murder of Catherine Eddowes. Now we have a better idea of why P.C. Long stated quite firmly at the inquest '...I passed that spot where the apron was found about 2.20am the apron was not there when I passed then'

Bethnal Green (Central);Stepney Green (District, Hammersmith & City);Mile End (Central, District) Parking Now would a piece of anti-Semitic writing last long on a building occupied mostly by Jews? First you have to ask if it could be seen and, if so, could it be understood? My own honest opinion is that it wouldn’t have lasted long, but the possibility that it was written that Saturday during daylight hours and survived till Long found it should not be dismissed out of hand. Another question is who could be bothered to do this act of removal? Again, a possibility that apathy played a part is not too far-fetched. Also to be considered is the fact that Whitechapel, like any inner city area then and now, had a fair amount of graffiti. To state that the writing found in the stairwell was a one-off for the area is erroneous. To state that, since no other piece of writing was reported, this chalked writing was unusual is a valid point; my response to that, however, is that there is no report stating this. Nothing exists which says that the writing was indeed the only piece of writing found throughout the whole building. Basically, I can use the same argument as a counter argument. Prices are very reasonable and it draws eagle-eyed bargain hunters from all over Tower Hamlets. There is also an Idea Store that gives you access to the council’s services and advice. LocationGoulston Street first appeared as a small passage in the 1730s, but within ten years had been widened and extended as far as Goulston Square, a former garden which sat half way between Wentworth and Whitechapel High Streets. The street was extended further north between 1800 and 1830, this part initially being called New Goulston Street. The ’New’ prefix was soon dropped. Since the available evidence suggests that the ripper asphyxiated his victims before carrying out his repellent mutilations, their hearts would have all but stopped beating by the time he cut their throats and thus he would have avoided the arterial spurt that would have resulted in him becoming heavily bloodstained when he cut the carotid artery. The apron reveals just how much visible blood he did have on his person for, as he made his way through the streets, he would, undoubtedly, have had blood on his hands and on the blade of his knife and would have been anxious to wipe this away as soon as possible. There are two camps regarding the Goulston Street Graffito: one that considers it a relevant clue and one that doesn’t. Even while Metropolitan police investigated the crime scene on Berner street, constables from the City Police were called to the horrifying display in Mitre Square. Detective Constables Daniel Halse and Edward Marriott led canvassing of the area for clues and suspects. Bloody discovery on Goulston Street

A further speculation is that the message was left here, irrespective of lighting or distance, because the building housed a lot of Jews and the message is assumed to say ‘Jews’ in its unusual and varied spellings. This may be true also. I’m not sure if there were any other buildings that were predominantly Jewish en route from Mitre Square, but there may well have been. Nevertheless, it’s as ‘good’ a reason to think that it was placed at the Wentworth as any. Also, it seems somewhat unlikely that, having taken the trouble to clean his hands to obliterate incriminating bloodstains, the ripper would have then risked lingering in the doorway long enough to chalk the message on the wall, knowing that, at any moment, a passing police man might spot him. It was the northern half of the street which came under the scrutiny of the Metropolitan Board of Works when the Cross Act of 1875 earmarked it for demolition on account of its dangerous slum tenements. At the same time, properties in George Yard and the Flower and Dean Street area were also suggested for redevelopment. The resulting changes in Goulston Street meant that unsanitary dwellings in Three Tun Alley (on the west side) and Goulston Court (on the east) were wiped out, along with much of the west side of Goulston Street itself. [5]The answer to these questions will be known when we find the exact location of the graffiti, where was it written, on what portion of wall? In fairness, it’s also worth recalling that despite two policemen writing down what they saw, they wrote something slightly different in each of their respective views! The graffiti was not emblazoned across the wall as we might expect by a notorious flamboyant killer out to strike fear into the neighbourhood. Halse reported: "There were three lines of writing in a good schoolboys round hand. The size of the capital letters would be about 3/4 in, and the other letters were in proportion" Hurrying to Mitre Square, he gave instructions to the constables present to head off and search the neighbourhood.

The idea that Eddowes’s killer hid just inside the stairwell entrance and dropped the apron right next to the writing is plausible – at least, not beyond possibility. It would have been an ideal location for the killer to clean himself up. Especially when taking point 6 (position of the writing) into consideration, the coincidence is there… and not too far fetched. The entrance provides adequate shelter and seclusion. Not too close to the murder scene, yet not too far either. Putting it simply, it’s the ideal spot for a killer to pause briefly. Bethnal Green (Central, London Overground);Cambridge Heath (London Overground)Hoxton (London Overground);Shoreditch High Street (London Overground). Parking There can be no doubt that he was going to ground as he headed away from the murder scene, so the location of the bloodied fragment suggests that he was heading to a home, or bolt hole, situated in the East End of London. And as mentioned before, the actual wording was disputed, Det. Daniel Halse recorded it as 'The Jews are not the men that will be blamed for nothing' as opposed to P.C. Long's version '...The Jews (Juews) are the men that will not be blamed for nothing...'. There were other versions less well known but these two are the ones mentioned at the inquest. And as Long said, '...I copied the words from the wall into my report - I could not say whether they were recently written - I wrote down into my book and the Inspector noticed that Jews was spelt Juews, there was a difference between the spelling...'The market is just a stone's throw away from the internationally renowned York Hall, and within walking distance from the trendy Shoreditch, and sells a wide range of items from clothes to fruit and vegetables. Location You must book your one hour free session using the RingGo app or calling the number on the sign plate (56 spaces) Columbia Road Flower Market (Sundays)