Events in September
Jack the Ripper, the 21st century investigation
Saturday 6 September, 3pm
A retired police murder squad detective, Trevor Marriott, discusses his detailed investigation into the case of Jack the Ripper, and reveals evidence never previously published. Wilberforce Society Chairman Bill Beadle will also be talking on his forthcoming book, The Execution of Jack the Ripper and Frogg Moody will be promoting his newly published book charting the murder in 1908 of Edwin Haskell, and co-written with author Bruce Purvis.
In association with the Whitechapel Society
Fee £7.50, concessions £5, free to members of the Whitechapel Society
Jack the Ripper and popular culture
Saturday 13 September, 10.30am – 5pm
This day conference chaired by Professor Clive Bloom will explore the reasons why Jack the Ripper has exercised such a strong and lasting hold on the popular imagination, inspiring hundreds of books, films, plays and graphic novels. Speakers include Sir Christopher Frayling, showing his 1988 BBC documentary Shadow of the Ripper, Alexandra Warwick and Martin Willis (co–authors of Jack the Ripper: Media Culture History) and historian and author Clive Bloom
Fee £20, concessions £15
Find out about the full programme for the day
The Lodger
Sunday 28 September, 2.30pm
Full length showing of this eerie thriller based on the story of Jack the Ripper. This was Alfred Hitchcock's third film, made in 1926, and a clear indication that masterpieces would follow. Foggy London town is gripped by fear as a vicious serial killer known only as The Avenger stalks the streets. A family becomes suspicious when their new lodger shows signs of nervous agitation and starts taking midnight strolls. Introduction by Professor Clive Bloom
Fee £7.50, concessions £5
Alcohol and Social Morality
Thursday 11 September, 1.10 - 2pm
Dr Kate Bradley, University of Kent, looks at the dreadful effects of alcohol on the streets of Victorian London, and the efforts of reformers to promote temperance
Admission Free
Striking a Light: the real Bryant and May Matchwomen and their 1888 strike
Thursday 18 September, 1.10 - 2pm
In October 1888, a letter arrived at Bryant and May’s match factory in the East End of London, signed ‘John Ripper’. The author threatened to ‘pay a visit’ to the company’s female employees, because they had been loudly discussing ‘what they would do’ with the already notorious murderer plaguing their neighbourhoods, if they could just get their hands on him.
There can’t have been many women at the height of the Ripper ‘terror’ who were hoping for an encounter with one of the most infamous criminals of the age. However these were no ordinary women. Three months earlier, the matchwomen had begun a strike against their powerful and well-connected employers, and won: their victory had ramifications which would change the lives of working people for ever. Louise Raw, London Met, explores this fascinating event in labour history when in 1888 the women workers of the Bryant and May factory in Bow went on strike against the appalling conditions in which they were forced to work.
Admission Free
A programme of guided walks which go beyond and behind the usual Ripper fare
Jack the Ripper and the East End
Wednesday 24 September, 6pm
Guided walks with Blue Badge guide Denise Allen which look at the sensational story of Jack the Ripper in the context of contemporary life and social conditions in the Victorian East End. Denise concentrates particularly on the women victims, victims of circumstance, social deprivation and the Whitechapel murderer.
Tickets £7.50, no concessions
From Suffering to Salvation
Sunday 28 September, 10.30am
From Victorian prostitution to feminist cooperatives, Blue Badge guide Rachel Kolsky leads a walk that takes in a range of women’s experiences in the East End and offers an alternative perspective on the area.
In partnership with The Women’s Library
Tickets £7.50, no concessions