In 1888 Buck’s Row (now Durward St) ran between Brady St at the east end and Thomas St. (now Fulbourne St) at the west end. Continuing west beyond Thomas Street was White’s Row (now also Durward St), which ran for just one block ending at Baker’s Row – also mentioned in the inquest testimonies. The western third of Buck’s row was a large square officially called “Great Eastern Square”, though the name never took with the public and is not mentioned in the inquest or labeled on the below maps. At the east end of this long court sat the National School for Boys & Girls (aka the Board School). Just south of the National School, and running between Great Eastern Square and Brady Street, was Winthrop Street (previously Little North Street; now only a short narrow walkway along the west and south sides of the school which still stands). Just east of the school, the new Whitechapel Tube line was constructed in 1875 (opening in 1876) had cut through (beneath) Buck’s Row, which required the demolition of all of the effected buildings. This left some additional open space just east of the metro line, on the south side of Buck’s Row, which became a gated passage that led to stables, called Brown’s Stable Yard. Continuing east on the south side of Buck’s Row, beyond the passage, were a long row of old row houses, the first of which was the home of Mrs. Emma Green. On the north side of the street, opposite the passage gate and Mrs. Green’s home, was another passage gate and the frontage of the Essex Wharf, a three story brick building.
The body of Mary Ann Nichols was found in front of the gate to Brown’s Stable Yard on the south side of Buck’s row. She was laid on her back, lengthwise along the street, eyes open, with her head facing east (toward Brady Street) and her left hand resting against the gate. Her hat was off and resting between the body and the gate.
Below are maps showing the area.
A highly accurate artists depiction of the crime scene. The body is correctly depicted just as described in the inquest and the details of the buildings correctly match the only known photo (also below). The only detail that is incorrect is the position of her hat, which actually sat between her body and the gate near her left hand. This was published on the cover of the “Penny Illustrated Paper” on 8 Sep 1888. The body was found in front of the gate to Brown’s Stable Yard. The first house was that of Mrs. Emma Green, then called #6 Buck’s Row or “New Cottage”. The scene as it looked in July 2022 (Google Street View image), I’ve added the magenta stick figure to show where I believe the approximate location of the body would have been – give or take – based on comparing the inquest descriptions and above sketch to the the various below maps – all official survey maps that were meant to be accurate to the inch. My apologies for the poor rendering. A far less accurate, and perhaps rushed, rendering of the crime scene, published in the “Illustrated Police News” on 15 Sep 1888. This may partially be a poor copy of the earlier depiction as several details are incorrect and it does not appear that the artist was on the sceneA photo of the same scene. The date is unknown but seems to be the early 20th century prior to the houses (#6 and #7, both pictured here) and gate being gone by 1948 (as seen in maps below). Note that #6 on the right is of a slightly different design than it’s neighbor #7 on the left, which was identical to the rest of the row houses on Buck’s Row. The original #1-6 had been demolished in 1876 for the railway and #6 was rebuilt as seen above and then also called “New Cottage”. The gate has been replaced by the time of this photo and looks as though a small shed may have been built behind it.
1873 – Buck’s Row as it looked before the metro line was built. Essex Wharf and Brown’s Stable Yard did not yet exist. The red x marks the approximate location of the body in front of #5 Buck’s Row, but which would be a gate to Brown’s Stable Yard by 1888. #1-6 Buck’s Row would be demolished in 1876. [link to original]1894 – Buck’s Row is now renamed Durward St. Although not numbered on this map, the houses along the south side of Durward Street were numbered in the 1891 census as numbers 6 to 29, numbers 1-6 having previously been demolished and #6 rebuilt by this time. #6, just below the letter R and next to the red x, was the home of the widow Mrs. Emma Green, and her three children, at the time of the murder. Her son would wash the blood off the pavement. In the 1881 census, #6 was called “New Cottage” and was the home of Walter Purkiss who, by the time of the murder, had moved across the street to Essex Wharf, later #43 Durward St. #6 was originally called “New Cottage” because it had more recently been built compared to the rest of the street, after the previous house on the spot was demolished in order to build the Whitechapel Station railway in 1876. Note that the shape of the house is unlike the rest of the houses on the road (and see different design in the photos above). The National School has expanded and the Working Lads’ Institute has also been built, with its entrance off Whitechapel Road next to the Station entrance (the facades of both still standing, though the shape of the institute has changed dramatically). The coroner’s inquest would be held at the institute. The red x marks the location of the body at the entrance to Brown’s Stable Yard. [link to the original]1914. Several additional buildings have been demolished for new railway lines, including the back portion of the Working Lads’ Institute. Note the narrow passage called “Wood’s Buildings” running from the school to Whitechapel Road. The two buildings on either side of this passage that face Whitechapel Road were built in the 18th century and are still standing today. If you look back to the first 1873 map you will see that originally there were row houses on either side of the north end of this road. They were all demolished for the railway and a bridge was built over the tracks. This was still accessible at the time of the murder and it has been speculated that Jack the Ripper may have used this passage as a quick escape from the murder scene to the busy Whitechapel Road without being seen. [link to original]1948 – The school is now a Coffee Mill. Mrs. Green’s house at #6 Durward St (aka New Cottage), along with neighboring #7 and likely the original gate to the Stable Yard, are all gone. It has been speculated that it may have been hit during the blitz in WW2, but this does not seem to be confirmed. [link to original]1962 – little has changed since 1948, the school is now a warehouse. It would later fall into disrepair by the 1980’s but would eventually be saved and renovated into apartments – today it stands as #6 Winthrop Street. Through the 1950s to 1980s all of the remaining buildings on the street would be demolished – Brady House, the old warehouses on the north side of Durward, and all of the original row houses on the south side of Durward Street and the north side of Winthrop Street. Essex Wharf at #43 Durward was the last to go, demolished in 1990. [link to original]
Hardly recognizable from the time of the murder, this is the modern view of the same area as taken from a Google satellite view (2 Mar 2025). The body is marked by a red x, the school, still standing since 1888, is outlined in green, and the Working Lad’s Institute is outlined in pink. The bridge over the tracks connecting the school to the Wood’s Buildings passage (mentioned above for the 1873 and 1914 maps) has been demolished. However, the lower part of the Wood’s Building passage still exists today, it is now gated and no longer accessible to the public due to the high traffic of drugs and human waste in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
