15/10/2024
Here are some of our lovely recent guests huddled together on Brick Lane. The building they’re standing in front of hasn’t always been an eatery and hotel — up until 1991, it was a pub called the Frying Pan.🍺
If you look carefully, you can still see the name of the pub and the frying pan logo in the terracotta brickwork at the top of the building. You can swipe to the next photo for a closer look. 🙂👉🏼
It’s pretty well-known that back in August of 1888, a woman by the name of Mary Ann or “Polly” Nichols had been drinking here. She later bumped into a friend who tried to urge her to return to the lodging house with her, but poor Polly had no money for a bed, and had been turned away. Tragically, this encounter would be the last known sighting of Polly alive.
There are all sorts of stories that we hear on the streets of Whitechapel about Polly. I’ve heard some guides describe her as “young” — and whilst I’m in my forties myself (and do indeed consider myself a young woman!) — I don’t think that people are picturing a 43-year-old woman when they’re being told about her. Polly had enjoyed a rich life full of experiences. She’d come to Whitechapel after her marriage ended — her husband had blamed her drinking, but was it more to do with the fact that he’d been having an affair with the neighbour?
Another story we frequently hear others saying about Polly is that in Whitechapel, she was a pr******te. There’s actually no real evidence of this, and as public historians, of course we have really looked.
Join our “Jack the Ripper: What About the Women” walking tour, to hear more of Polly’s story. We’ll also tackle the “they’re all pr******tes” claim, and discuss why police sometimes drew this conclusion, despite any supporting evidence. We’ll also explore how and why alcohol played such a big role in the lives of people in Whitechapel in 1888 (spoiler alert: women weren’t the only ones drinking).
The tour runs every day at 6.30pm, but pre-booking is essential — link in bio.
