Whitechapel Local Study

Question 1

Temporary homes

Answer 1

Majority of people had no permanent homes, whole families in one room.

Question 2

Slum living

Answer 2

Most accommodation was like this, multiple families in one building, share facilities like water and toilets.

Question 3

Rookeries

Answer 3

Which were densely over-populated areas filled with lodging houses.

Question 4

Why was it easy for crime to be committed in Whitechapel?

Answer 4

Much like a maze with lots of alleyways which enabled criminals to evade detection.

Question 5

Who normally worked in Workhouses?

Answer 5

Elderly people that were unable to work any longer, no pension.

Question 6

Rules in Workhouse

Answer 6

Strict on what time you needed to get up, go to bed and what time you were allowed to eat.

Question 7

How many people in a Casual Ward?

Answer 7

400

Question 8

When would people go to the Casual Ward?

Answer 8

Somewhere to go for the night if you did not have the funds for a Doss House.

Question 9

What happened when you arrived at the Casual Ward?

Answer 9

Expected to wash and change. Fed a nasty porridge and stale bread.

Question 10

Hard labour in Casual Ward

Answer 10

Oakum picking, kitchen.

Question 11

What was oakum picking?

Answer 11

Picking apart the fibres of old ropes.

Question 12

What was the Doss House?

Answer 12

Place where you could obtain a bed for the night for a fee.

Question 13

When was the slum clearance?

Answer 13

1876

Question 14

What was the Peabody estate?

Answer 14

A block of flats to attract the residents of Whitechapel, offering affordable rents.

Question 15

Advantages of Peabody estate?

Answer 15

• each block was surrounded by a yard to improve ventilation
• built from brick and were unplastered to prevent damp and lice living in the plaster
• shared bathrooms and kitchens

Question 16

What was the problems with the Peabody Estate?

Answer 16

• rents were too high for the average Whitechapel resident to afford
• tenants would fall behind on their rent and be kicked out onto the streets

Question 17

Who was Charlie Booth?

Answer 17

A businessman and social reformer.

Question 18

What was Charlie Booths method?

Answer 18

Created maps of the Whitechapel area to research the situation of poverty.

Question 19

What were the aims of Charlie Booths maps?

Answer 19

Demonstrate how bad poverty was in the area.

Question 20

How many new flats had been constructed by 1881 on the Peabody Estate?

Answer 20

287

Question 21

Why did drink alcohol?

Answer 21

Way of coping with the pressures of life in Whitechapel, became alcohol dependent.

Question 22

What was the relationship between between drink and crime?

Answer 22

Dependency on alcohol led to a rise in crime as many resorted to this to fund their needs.

Question 23

Why was there a lot of immigrants in Whitechapel?

Answer 23

Plenty of places for people to sleep and a fair number of places offering work.

Question 24

What work were immigrants attracted to?

Answer 24

The copious Tanneries, where leather is processed, sweatshops, slaughter houses and butchers.

Question 25

Russian Jews

Answer 25

They fled to London in large numbers after the death of the Tsar. Fled persecution in Russia preferring a life of poverty in England.

Question 26

Why were Russian Jews targets for prejudice?

Answer 26

The language barrier and religious rituals, resulting in them working in the worst jobs and making it hard for them to integrate into society.

Question 27

What work did women have to do due to poverty?

Answer 27

Prostitution, was not a choice for women but rather a necessity due to the desperate situation they were in.

Question 28

Prostitutes and alcohol?

Answer 28

They would do this type of work in order for them to fund for alcohol.

Question 29

Why was prostitution dangerous?

Answer 29

Because it made the women vulnerable to crime.

Question 30

Why were Irish Catholics targeted?

Answer 30

Because of their Roman Catholic religious beliefs.

Question 31

Who where Irish Fenian groups?

Answer 31

Campaigning for Irelands independence as they were being ruled by Britain.

Question 32

What happened due to a rise in Fenian groups?

Answer 32

Bombs and explosions in the local area.

Question 33

What did criminal gangs run?

Answer 33

Protection rackets often targeting the Jewish businesses in Whitechapel.

Question 34

Who did rackets target?

Answer 34

Groups that already feared the authorities and were unlikely to challenge them.

Question 35

When was the Metropolitan Police established?

Answer 35

1829

Question 36

Who covered the policing of Whitechapel?

Answer 36

H Division

Question 37

How many police officers were there in the H Division?

Answer 37

500

Question 38

What was the population of Whitechapel?

Answer 38

176,000

Question 39

Who covered the financial district which bordered Whitechapel?

Answer 39

The City of London police

Question 40

Who controlled the Met Police?

Answer 40

Home Secretary but the day to day running of the force was down to a commissioner.

Question 41

When did Edmund Henderson hold the position of Commissioner?

Answer 41

1870-86

Question 42

What was Edmund Henderson remembered for?

Answer 42

- responsible for reducing the standards in the force - reducing amount of military drill - allowing police officers to grow beards - increasing literacy standards

Question 43

When was there a scandal in the detective force and when was it established??

Answer 43

1878, established in 1842.

Question 44

What force did Henderson create?

Answer 44

Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

Question 45

When did Charles Warren become Home Secretary?

Answer 45

1886

Question 46

Who did Charles Warren replace?

Answer 46

Henry Matthews, didn’t like Warren.

Question 47

What was Warrens aim?

Answer 47

To raise standards in the police, reversing some changes made by Henderson.

Question 48

Standards to join the police

Answer 48

- needed to be over 21 and under 32. - over 5’9” tall without shoes. - no more than two children. - not have any business/trade in addition to police work, their wife shouldn’t have a shop. - able to read and write legibly. - physically fit.

Question 49

Uniform for police officer

Answer 49

Deep blue coloured woollen trousers and a jacket. Top hat until 1863 (custodian), offered protection from injuries.

Question 50

Equipment for police officer

Answer 50

Oil lamp, handcuffs, a truncheon and a whistle.

Question 51

What was the main tactic of officers

Answer 51

Walk the beat

Question 52

Beat routes

Answer 52

Officers had to be at particular points along the route at certain times. Only way the Sergeant would be able to ensure that officers were safe and contactable.

Question 53

In which year was the policeman's top hat replaced with a helmet?

Answer 53

1863

Question 54

Sketches

Answer 54

Made to add evidence from murder scenes.

Question 55

Witness statements

Answer 55

To build evidence at the scenes of crime.

Question 56

What was the main problem with witness statements?

Answer 56

People being interviewed were not reliable.

Question 57

How were alleyways a challenge?

Answer 57

A maze of alleyways and the majority of people lived in tenement buildings.

Question 58

Why were alleyways good for criminals?

Answer 58

Provided plenty of shelter for a criminal to hide and furthermore areas for crime to be committed and undetected.

Question 59

What does transient population mean?

Answer 59

People moved around from place to place which made tracking people very difficult.

Question 60

How did dosshouses make it difficult to find criminals?

Answer 60

They did not keep records of who stayed there so there was no way of knowing who was sleeping where.

Question 61

How did the media react to Jack the Ripper?

Answer 61

The newspaper sensationalised the stories and included witnesses and cartoons ridiculing the police.

Question 62

Who was George Lusk?

Answer 62

A builder from Whitechapel who felt that the policed weren’t doing enough to catch Jack the Ripper.

Question 63

What was the Vigilance Committee?

Answer 63

Local residents took matters ‘into their own hands’

Question 64

Team of the Vigilance Committee

Answer 64

Hired private detectives, offered rewards which caused more harm more good.

Question 65

How did Jack the Ripper get his nickname?

Answer 65

From a letter written to the local press.