Jack the Ripper Tour: Focusing on Resilient Victims in London's East End
5.0
25 Ratings
Greater London
Uncover the untold stories of Jack the Ripper's victims on a walking tour of London's East End. Explore the district that created a monster and hear from the resilient women who were silenced by history.
Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Whitechapel Road - Hear the stories of Martha Tabram and Polly Nichols whilst understanding what life was like for working class residents of the Victorian East End. Learn about the harsh living conditions for the poor including dosshouses, workhouses, spikes and other types of accommodation, all experienced by the women in our story.

We will also show you some of the charities still carrying out work in the area today.

  • Brick Lane - We’ll stop at the site of the pub where Polly Nichols was on her final night as we delve deeper into her life and the problem of alcoholism and addiction in the Victorian era.

Stop at the Brick Lane Mosque to understand the story of immigration into the East End and the cultural diversity of the area.

  • Spitalfields - We’ll visit the site of the old Truman Brewery, once the largest in the world. Next doors is 29 Hanbury Street, where Annie Chapman was found the morning of September 8. Around the corner at the famous Ten Bells Pub, we’ll hear more about Annie’s life and the heartbreak she suffered.

We’ll also hear about how the movement Reclaim the Night had a hand in forcing the pub to change its name back to the Ten Bells from the Jack the Ripper pub.

  • Old Spitalfields Market - A market opened in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and the year before the Whitechapel Murders began. Here, we’ll briefly dwell on the great contrasts of the Victorian era.

Then, we’ll head to Crispin Street to see the site of a refuge for working class people that actually worked!

Across the street is the former site of Mary Jane Kelly’s residence, the last victim in the murders and by far the most mysterious.

  • Petticoat Lane Market - The former heart of the textile industry in the East End.
  • St Botolph’s Aldgate - At the church of St Botolph’s without Aldgate, we’ll introduce you to Elizabeth Stride, originally from Sweden and tell you about her traumatic beginnings in Gothenburg and her later adventures in London.

We will finish close by in Mitre Square, where Catherine Eddowes’ body was discovered and we’ll hear about the exploits of this feisty Wolverhampton lass.

What's Included
  • Experienced Guide
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Whitechapel is often associated mainly with Jack the Ripper, one of the most notorious serial culprits in existence. However, the story delves deeper! We invite you for a walking tour in London’s East End, enabling the unheard voices to tell their stories: the victims of the Ripper and forgotten narratives of history. Uncover the world of these resilient women and their surrounding community whilst exploring the neighborhood that birthed an atrocity.

Location
Aldgate
Aldgate High Street
We meet right outside the entrance to Aldgate Station.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(25 Ratings)
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Renee_d
May 10, 2024
Fantastic Tour - Ellie was great! She had comprehensive knowledge of the women and of the area. The small group dynamic made it even more intimate and enjoyable. Ellie focused on the women rather than the crime, and we came away with much more interesting information than the glorified image the media has produced.
Review provided by Viator
Sunflower8608
May 5, 2024
Excellent - informative and interesting - Excellent interesting tour with a great guide, Ellie. Very thoughtfully and tastefully delivered, in contrast to the dozens of "Ripper" tours around. Well researched and focussing on the daily lives and actual histories of the women victims, as well as on local life during those times. No gratuitous or theatrical details or glorifying of the anonymous killer. Great level of information about Victorian life in London. Challenges a lot of media misconceptions about the Whitechapel murders and more generally of violence against women even today. Ellie gave great recommendations for other local areas and attractions too. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jgblah
May 2, 2024
Thoughtful, informative, and entertaining without being gruesome - This is a completely fascinating look at a story we've all heard about, but from an entirely different perspective. I'm grateful to have been given a glimpse into the lives of these women who were victimized by both a predator and a century of public opinion and dehumanizing media attention. Our guide had insights and historical info galore to share, and it was fun to wind along the narrow lanes and old streets of Whitechapel and Spitalfields in a small group, rather than the enormous groups we passed along the way. The tour felt personal and just like we were having a fascinating conversation with an intelligent and interesting friend. Will definitely do another Rebel Tour the next time we're here!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephanie_e
May 1, 2024
Different perspective - It was nice to be given a different perspective about the White Chapel murders that didn’t focus on the murderer and his myth. Knowing the circumstances of society that led to the women being more susceptible to becoming targets of him was informative.
Review provided by Viator
136bennya
Apr 30, 2024
Great and informative tour - Cecily was a great tour guide, very informative while also keeping it very casual. This tour is the best and only Jack the Ripper tour that anyone should consider, really bringing light to the victims instead of glorifying a serial killer.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shonda_l
Apr 7, 2024
Great tour and guide - Cecily was a great tour guide and super friendly. Would definitely recommend this tour that tells the story of the women that were murdered.
Review provided by Viator
Marymg2019
Mar 29, 2024
Fascinating Tour! - Important and informative. Respectful of the women who were killed, and full of Victorian history of White Chapel residents. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mariacecilia_a
Feb 27, 2024
Fantastic tour - Loved this tour- our guide was so personable and it was so interesting to delve into the lives of these women
Review provided by Viator
Lawrence_g
Feb 15, 2024
Stands well apart from other tours - Hearing about life in Whitechapel for ordinary working people was very interesting. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the lives of the women who were killed, how the community reacted and the misconceptions that spread about the victims. I would recommend the tour to anyone. Ellie was so knowledgeable and friendly and answered all questions with enthusiasm.
Review provided by Viator
Jessicaandchristopha
Oct 25, 2023
Highlight of Our Trip! - We just finished our What About the Women tour with Cecily earlier this evening and we've been trying to find the words to describe the lovely time we had and what an amazing of a tour guide Cecily was! It was a thoughtful, educational, and moving experience, especially seeing how many traditional Jack the Ripper tours passed us by trailing upwards of 50 people listening to the guides give graphic, gruesome, and dehumanizing descriptions of the murders of the women of Whitechapel. Cecily was entertaining and empathetic throughout the entire tour, and managed to preserve the dignity of these women and their tragic stories while not shying away from the facts. She explained in detail the sources for all of the information and refrained from making up hyperbolic details to fill in the gaps where there are still questions on what happened, which was very much appreciated and definitely increased the sense of intellectual honesty and credibility of the tour. It definitely fulfilled its goal of giving voices to these women who often have their stories exaggerated and misconstrued for entertainment purposes, and it mades them feel like real people and not props used to sensationalize a serial killer. We had so many questions and Cecily was incredibly gracious and answered all of them, we can't thank her enough for her engaging tour. We've traveled to several countries in the past few years but we've never been on a tour this unique and amazing, so we're definitely planning on looking into more Rebel Tours while we're here in London the next few days!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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