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The Jack the Ripper Tour begins outside the Trader's Gate Souvenir Shop but it's worth turning up an hour early just to have a stroll around the Tower of London's curtain wall for some good views of Tower Bridge.
There are about fifteen people here tonight and the tour guide turns out to be a bit of a 'geezer'. I've had plenty of tour guides who were friendly, and some who were funny, but never one who seems to be as angry at authority as this fella. I'm guessing that it's all part of his act though, because he's describing modern-day Whitechapel like it's present-day Baghdad. Every time a police siren sounds out his eyebrows shoot halfway up his forehead like another murder has just taken place.
I think he's just trying to trying to set the scene and scare us because these are the streets that we'll be walking in five minutes time. Stay in a group, people -- keep close! We don't want to get separated in case we get beaten up by the locals.
Tower Hill and St Botolph's church
He begins with a little description of the area, and how it's been a magnet for immigrants and never-do-wells since the Middle Ages. Then he leads us up onto Tower Hill to see the spot where they executed all the famous traitors. Then he sets off towards St. Botolph's church and that's when he starts to get into gear. I realise now that he is actually pretty darn good (which will teach me not to judge a book by its cover). I was expecting the usual touristy fare -- an old guy with a big bushy beard dressed up in his Sherlock Holmes outfit, creeping down the streets on his tippy-toes -- but this guy's style is like we're talking down the pub.
And he doesn't mince his words either. There are a couple of kids in our group and I hope they've had the birds and bees speech at school because they're hearing stories about brothels, lynchings and plenty more besides. If they didn't know what a prostitute was before then they definitely do now. He's also describing each death in detail, right down to which limbs and innards were butchered (it's gruesome). If you can't stomach the thought of someone's stomach being draped across their shoulders, or their kidneys being chopped up and posted to the police, then maybe this tour isn't for you.
Murder victim Catherine Eddowes
Then he introduces us to the murder victim Catherine Eddowes and describes her typical day... showing us where she had her fumbles, and even the original police station where she spent a few hours on her fateful day. Then he takes us to the brick wall in Mitre Square where they found her lying with her entrails hanging out.
If I have one little criticism of the tour then I wish he had some photos of the original buildings because all he does is pass around little images on his phone. I think your imagination needs all the help that it can get on a tour like this because a lot of the sites got bombed out during the war. Mary Kelly's final resting place is now a multi-story car-park, for example. But luckily there's just enough stuff still standing to give you an inkling of what it must have been like all those years ago. It's not the prettiest part of town, but it does have some atmospheric little alleyways.
Along the way he tells you all about the potential suspects and dispels plenty of myths about the letters and long-cloaked costume that he was supposed to have worn. But he never actually commits himself into saying who did it, because the truth is that nobody really knows.
It turned out to be a quite a worthwhile, wordy tour. No one jumps out at you in fancy dress, or anything like that. You learn about the case, and that's it. Then you go home and have a few nightmares.
If you enjoy Jack The Ripper Tour then you might like to visit Clink Prison Museum (walk it in 14 mins or catch a tube from Tower Hill to London Bridge) and London Dungeon (Tower Hill to Waterloo). If you like scary things then you might enjoy a Ghost Bus Tour. Or how about a ghost tour at Hampton Court Palace?
The author Craig Cross owns city-guide.london and has spent the last decade reviewing the capital’s landmarks, attractions and hotels. His guidebook London Squire is available from Amazon
Your comments and questions
DH Is it suitable for children?
Craig Hi DH. Their official information says "under 16s are able to attend this tour at their parents discretion". They also provide VR headsets on some of the tours which you have to be over 14 to use. I certainly didn't think that the tour was scary, but the guide did describe some stuff about the ladies' profession that you might be uncomfortable your kids hearing. He also showed the very famous photos of the victims' bodies, which are quite graphic.
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