diamond geezer

 Wednesday, December 07, 2011

East London's most infamous series of unsolved murders were undoubtedly those carried out in 1888 by Jack The Ripper, whoever he was. But before that, the benchmark for criminal notoriety was The Ratcliffe Highway Murders. Two unexplained massacres took place, twelve days apart, with two families slaughtered in their homes overnight. Even in a part of London renowned for wrongdoing and felony, these murders shocked the populace. And the first took place two hundred years ago tonight, on Saturday 7th December 1811.

In the early 19th century Ratcliffe was an unsavoury neighbourhood lying between Shadwell and Limehouse, close to the docks, and sometimes known as "sailor town". Its slums stood alongside lodging houses, bars, brothels and opium dens, all of which appealed to the transient local population. Charles Dickens wrote of Ratcliffe that "the accumulated scum of humanity gathered here, washed, as it were, from somewhere else". Not somewhere you'd choose to live, but needs must.

Timothy Marr owned a linen shop at number 29 on the Ratcliffe Highway. He was only 24 but had already served time at sea, and had recently married and become father to a three-month-old boy. Work in the shop finished very late in the evening on 7th December, as it might on any normal Saturday back then. Timothy sent the maid Margaret Jewell out to buy some oysters for a late night snack, then on to the bakery to pay a bill. When she returned after midnight with her suppertime treat she found the shop locked and in darkness, and heard footsteps and more disturbing noises from within. She waited outside, then alerted the night watchman to her suspicions, until eventually a neighbour gained access at the rear to try to discover what had happened inside. By candlelight he discovered the dead body of Marr's young apprentice James, his skull smashed by repeated blows from a heavy object. Nearby lay Timothy's wife Celia, her head similarly bludgeoned, and with blood seeping out across the floor. When others gained entrance through the front door to assist, they soon discovered Timothy's mutilated body, then headed downstairs to find his son. They were shocked to find the baby lying in his cradle with his throat cut, his neck sliced and his head severely battered on one side. A chisel lay nearby, while a heavy shipwright's hammer had been discarded in the bedroom. But of the murderer himself, not a sign, he'd slipped clean away.

Ratcliffe Highway looks very different today. The docks have long gone, as of course have the slums. The Western Dock has been filled in and replaced by housing, apart from Tobacco Dock which lingers on as a failed mothballed shopping complex. Meanwhile News International's fortress-like Wapping HQ now covers the site of the North Quay's line of warehouses. I find it intriguing that Rupert Murdoch's tabloid bunker should have set up overlooking one of London's most notorious murder sites, within screaming distance across Pennington Street, but this is merely a macabre coincidence. As for Timothy's shop, you'll search for that in vain. The Highway is a street transformed, now a mix of bland modernity and repurposed heritage warehouses. The site where number 29 once stood has been swallowed up by an architecturally bereft Saab showroom, where salesmen in suits hang around behind plate glass windows - far too public a scene for any repeat crime to be possible. Alongside is the St George's Tavern, a rather better reminder of Ratcliffe's past, except it's currently being gutted to be reborn as a 24 hour hot food takeaway.

Another pub was the site of the second 1811 murder - The King's Arms in New Gravel Lane. The alarm was raised by a lodger at the tavern, late in the evening on the 19th December, scrambling from an upper window and screaming for help. A passing watchman gained entry from the front, which disturbed the murderer who quickly escaped via the rear. The body of publican John Williamson was discovered down in the cellar - battered, throat slit and hanging from a ladder. His wife Elizabeth and their barmaid Bridget had suffered a similar fate, this time in the kitchen, although daughter Kitty somehow remained asleep upstairs during all of this and therefore survived. A suspect for the murders was swiftly found and locked up - a seaman called John Williams - but he committed suicide in prison before his guilt could be confirmed.

New Gravel Lane has since been renamed Garnet Street, and there's properly no sign of the King's Arms or any of the buildings that surrounded it. One long brick dockyard wall survives, behind which are some very average Tower Hamlets townhouses, leading down to a bascule bridge at the entrance to Shadwell Basin. The neighbourhood's risen a long way in two centuries, from extreme slum to an unobjectionable residential backwater. And the crime rate's dropped too, from the days of press gangs, opium dealing and mass slaughter, to minor traffic offences, TV licence evasion and the occasional burglary.

The Ratcliffe Highway Murders remain officially unsolved to this day, even though the main suspects are well known. But the Home Secretary of the day agreed with local magistrates that sailor John was definitely to blame, if only to quell public concern that the series of deaths might continue. His body was paraded through the streets on New Year's Eve 1811, watched by an angry but well-behaved crowd of ten thousand. They watched as the corpse was staked through the heart, then dropped into a ready-dug grave in kneeling position. I'd like to tell you he's still there, near the junction of Cable Street and Cannon Street, but apparently workmen rediscovered his body whilst laying some gas mains so John's long gone. Not a plaque, not a memorial, not a sign. Had not Jack come along later and killed fewer people more brutally, perhaps Ratcliffe's 200-year-old crimes might be more feared, and better remembered.

» more from Ian Visits
» more from Londonist
» more from Murdermap
» more from PC Bob Jeffries
» more from the gentle author


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv