The Former Mortuary St. George-in-the-East - A Jack The Ripper Location.

In the tranquil churchyard of St. George-in-the-East, you will find a curious little red-brick ruin that has a dark and sinister past. It was originally built to provide a mortuary for the parish.

It gained an association with the Jack the Ripper murders when it became the mortuary to which the bodies of two of the Whitechapel murders victims - Elizabeth Stride and the Pinchin Street torso were brought in the aftermaths of their deaths.

In this video, we pay a visit to the churchyard to admire the soaring white-walled church of St. George-in-the-East which towers over it, before turning our attention to the former mortuary as we follow it history, from the 1860s, when the local vestry were complaining of the need for adequate mortuary facilities for the district, and on to the early 20th century when the little building became a Nature Study Museum.

You will learn of some of the events that took place within the tumbledown walls of the curious little building and hear about various witnesses who arrived here to try to identify Elizabeth Stride and the Pinchin Street murders.

[kerzenlicht]

The building is a silent witness to this time of deprivation.
It should be declared as an historic monument. 🙏

[keithshwalbe]

Very well narrated Richard.
Preserving and restoring this building to its mortuary state, would be highly valued for the country.

[TheBrummie]

Fascinatingly gruesome tale: exemplary commentary. 👍
My grandfather was a 16 year old lad of Spitalfields at the time of the Ripper murders; he adamantly claimed to have seen several bobbies at the scene where one of the poor victims lay, early one morning on his way to work.

[DAYBROK]

its a beautiful tumbled down shed, look at those little details on the gable ends and the decorated bricks and brickwork, those tiny little arches, beautiful.

[londonbeyondtimeandplace]

Wonderful video. I once stayed in a room opposite St-George-in-the-East, looking directly at its spire through the window. It stands in an atmospheric area with so much history: A Hawksmoor's church, Wilton's Music Hall, Swedenborg Gardens, the Ratcliffe Highway murders, the Ripper murders, Pinchin Street, the Battle of Cable Street... And yet, the churchyard is so peaceful and the mortuary, even though it is quite a sad sight now, also adds to the atmosphere. Thanks for the video, Richard! Can't wait to go there again!

[simmers]

I hope its preserved before it has to be demolished. Wonderful video conveying the atmosphere and solemnness of the time and place. It is indeed a silent witness!

[blrenx]

Another Site that should be preserved !

[gaggymott]

Why are the Incumbent, Churchwardens, Vestry and Parishioners not refurbishing this historic building? It should be preserved as a matter of urgency!

[BarryAllenMagic]

As a 1960's Wapping lad born and bred, I'm more than au fait with this beautiful Church and fascinating out-building; as well as the swimming baths adjacent to it. I truly cannot believe; particularly given the obscene amount of money that has appeared across the E1 area since the 1980's; that funds have not been found to preserve such an important monument to East End history. Basically, it closed in has been left to rot. Truly shameful.

[TheOde]

I love the music you chose for these videos!
Thank you for this one, very educational. I always enjoy your videos.

[keithnaylor]

Sad to see it in ruins. It should be converted to a Ripper museum with a small entrance fee before it is gone forever.
I wonder where the other ripper victims were taken?

[terencepetermccoombe]

An amazing building to see, and a lot of dark history connected to it. Some brilliant comments made by other viewers too.

[darransykes]

This small building should be renovated and refurbished back to its 1888 period as a mortuary. Its a shame this small building has been left to ruin and fall to pieces instead of being lovingly restored and listed as an historic building that should be graded... Shame on the council for letting it go to ruin!!!

[carolquayle]

Thank you again for another informative article. The church and garden is beautiful. It would be nice if the little mortuary could be restored, if I had the

[robynvandebussche]

Fascinating!!! More videos like this please.

[rogerscottcathey]

Pity, there aren't career schools in the area to undertake the project of restoration. History, both foul and fair, needs tending to.

[davesmith]

That was really fascinating and cool! I hope to see it for myself one day!

[chrisdavid]

I hope this building is preserved. It would be a historic loss otherwise.

[brianbommarito]

4:19 This is very sad and very disturbing that they didn’t have a proper mortuary for so long. On another channel I’ve occassionally watched, which deals with the cleaning up of crime scenes after the police are finished with them, they’ve had cases where they were brought into houses where the resident had been dead for several days before they were found. The stench was horrific and flies and maggots were everywhere in the house. They had to tear out bits of the flooring because decomposition was so bad. And if that can happen now, imagine what it would’ve been like in the Victorian era in a house occupied by seven people, and the remains of one of them has nowhere to go. It is a very frightening thought that something like that could ever have happened.

[JoannaLamont]

Very good video & really interesting. I think the building should be restored. It’s an interesting link to the past which deserves a noted place in history. Once lost, it’s lost forever & that would be a travesty.