Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End 1888
Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.
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On this two-hour guided walk, we will look at several surviving buildings and locations that show varied approaches to helping the poor, as well as attempts to bring learning, skills and the arts to the impoverished East. En route, we will also consider attempts by the working classes themselves to organize for a better life. We will set these against a background of the ‘Whitechapel Murders’ and so in addition to the usual Ripper tour haunts, our itinerary will include: the Crispin Street Night Refuge; the Jewish Soup Kitchen; Toynbee Hall; Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry; the Whitechapel Art Gallery; and will end at London’s first planned council estate, just behind St Leonard’s Shoreditch.
What will we cover?
Sites of interest at Whitechapel will include:
'Ripper haunts'
The Crispin Street Night Refuge
The Jewish Soup Kitchen
Toynbee Hall
Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry
The Whitechapel Art Gallery
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
Assess different sites of significance in Whitechapel related to the late Victorian period.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This is an introductory course and no prior knowledge is required. An ability to participate in a 2 hour tour off site and follow any safety instructions from your tutor are the only requirements.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Tutor led guided walk.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Please attend in clothing/footwear suitable for the weather/walk
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Please see our London Walks area
You may also be interested in Dr Wise's other walk this term -
HLW268 Victorian Soho: Sex and Shopping, Anarchy and Tourism
Sarah Wise is an award-winning writer and historian, with an MA in Victorian Studies from Birkbeck, University of London. She teaches social history and literature at the University of California’s London Outreach Center. Her interests are urban history, working-class history, medical history and nineteenth-century literature and reportage. Her most recent book, Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England, was shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize. Her 2004 debut, The Italian Boy: Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London, was shortlisted for the 2005 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction and won the Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger. Her follow-up The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum (2008) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize. She was a contributor to the volume Charles Booth's London Poverty Maps, published by Thames & Hudson/London School of Economics, and appeared on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time to discuss Booth's work https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wsxf For reviews www.sarahwise.co.uk/reviews.html
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
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https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/history-culture-and-writing/streets-of-horror-streets-of-hope-the-east-end-18881803538Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End 1888https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/s/t/streets-of-horror-streets-of-hope-hlw267-square.jpg2929GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/London history & walks/Courses/Weird and wonderful City Lit/Courses/vm/Courses to do around London22851177117811841745167812285117711781653<p>Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.</p>002995523Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End 18882929https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/s/t/streets-of-horror-streets-of-hope-hlw267-square_2.jpgInStockDaytimeWedOff SiteNo longer availableOne-off onlyWeekday2026-01-21T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allJan 2026Culture, history & humanitiesHLW2672929Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End 1888231929Sarah Wisestreets-of-horror-streets-of-hope-the-east-end-1888/hlw267-2526<p>Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.</p>0015-FullStillOpen|2026-01-21 00:00:00<p>On this two-hour guided walk, we will look at several surviving buildings and locations that show varied approaches to helping the poor, as well as attempts to bring learning, skills and the arts to the impoverished East. En route, we will also consider attempts by the working classes themselves to organize for a better life. We will set these against a background of the ‘Whitechapel Murders’ and so in addition to the usual Ripper tour haunts, our itinerary will include: the Crispin Street Night Refuge; the Jewish Soup Kitchen; Toynbee Hall; Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry; the Whitechapel Art Gallery; and will end at London’s first planned council estate, just behind St Leonard’s Shoreditch.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.</p><p>Sites of interest at Whitechapel will include:</p><p>'Ripper haunts'</p><p>The Crispin Street Night Refuge </p><p>The Jewish Soup Kitchen </p><p>Toynbee Hall </p><p>Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry </p><p>The Whitechapel Art Gallery</p><p>Assess different sites of significance in Whitechapel related to the late Victorian period. </p><p>This is an introductory course and no prior knowledge is required. An ability to participate in a 2 hour tour off site and follow any safety instructions from your tutor are the only requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Tutor led guided walk. </p><p>Please attend in clothing/footwear suitable for the weather/walk </p><p>Please see our London Walks area</p><p>You may also be interested in Dr Wise's other walk this term -</p><p>HLW268 Victorian Soho: Sex and Shopping, Anarchy and Tourism </p>HistoryLondon history & walksvirtual232919HLW267NONEWed21/01/2611:00 - 13:0011:0013:001 session1One-off onlyWeekdayOSOff SiteSarah WiseBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allNo longer available2026-01-21T00:00:00+00:00DaytimeJan 2026Culture, history & humanities2929Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End 1888streets-of-horror-streets-of-hope-the-east-end-1888/hlw267-2526<p>Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.</p>0015-FullStillOpen|2026-01-21 00:00:00<p>On this two-hour guided walk, we will look at several surviving buildings and locations that show varied approaches to helping the poor, as well as attempts to bring learning, skills and the arts to the impoverished East. En route, we will also consider attempts by the working classes themselves to organize for a better life. We will set these against a background of the ‘Whitechapel Murders’ and so in addition to the usual Ripper tour haunts, our itinerary will include: the Crispin Street Night Refuge; the Jewish Soup Kitchen; Toynbee Hall; Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry; the Whitechapel Art Gallery; and will end at London’s first planned council estate, just behind St Leonard’s Shoreditch.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Because of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.</p><p>Sites of interest at Whitechapel will include:</p><p>'Ripper haunts'</p><p>The Crispin Street Night Refuge </p><p>The Jewish Soup Kitchen </p><p>Toynbee Hall </p><p>Annie Macpherson’s Home of Industry </p><p>The Whitechapel Art Gallery</p><p>Assess different sites of significance in Whitechapel related to the late Victorian period. </p><p>This is an introductory course and no prior knowledge is required. An ability to participate in a 2 hour tour off site and follow any safety instructions from your tutor are the only requirements.</p><p> </p><p>Tutor led guided walk. </p><p>Please attend in clothing/footwear suitable for the weather/walk </p><p>Please see our London Walks area</p><p>You may also be interested in Dr Wise's other walk this term -</p><p>HLW268 Victorian Soho: Sex and Shopping, Anarchy and Tourism </p>HistoryLondon history & walksconfigurable
11841178London history & walkshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/history/london-history-and-walks1/2/285/1177/1178/11841/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/History/London history & walks
