The Jack The Ripper Tour

This is a tour I have been interested in covering for some time now. Back in May when I attended the symposium on Critical Tourism at NIDA  in Lithuania I remember listening to the presentation At the Grave of Santa Claus: Sketches of Thanatourism given by Aldis Gedutis. This was the first time I heard about the concept of dark tourism. I realised when I started turning my attention to East London that there is a prime example of just such a tour in Whitechapel: The Jack the Ripper Tour. Indeed, it seems to be held up as one of the iconic dark tours. In this informative literature review on the subject of thanatourism it is written: 

a range of tourist experiences has been created from the lightest shades (haunted houses at amusement parks) to the darkest (Auschwitz). This sub categorisation of dark tourism enables a broader perspective into the motivations of visitors depending on the 'degree of darkness'. For example, the motivations of a tourist on a Jack the Ripper tour in London will differ from those of a tourist at the Killing Fields in Cambodia.  

The tour began prosaically enough with a rendezvous beside a tube exit where I found a growing line of budding dark tourists checking in with the really rather welcoming guide. The only thing that was perhaps less welcoming was the London weather; a fine drizzle enveloped us and would continue to haunt the tour. It never rose to more than a faint shower, but it still managed to remove most of the pleasure from being outside on this Autumnal evening. 

I knew that there was more than just one Jack the Ripper tour as, when I was looking online and found the one I finally took, I saw several competing tours all vying for attention. Our guide explained that this explosion of Ripper tours is a relatively recent phenomenon that started as little as two years ago. My tour was given by Lindsay, a historian and researcher who has specialised in Jack the Ripper and is a definite contributor to the field of 'Ripper studies'. Many of the alternative tours are not led by experts but by actors in costumes so there are some very real differences in the character of these tours all dealing with the same basic subject matter.

We were led around Whitechapel and Spitalfield stopping at various murder sites and former homes of the victims. In general the locations have changed a lot so there was not so much of the original architecture to see; the tour succeeded of failed mostly on the ability of the guide to tell the story of the murders. The approach our guide took was to lead us chronologically through the Jack the Ripper story starting with the unattributed murders and then talking us through each of the subsequent killings. In the absence of sites that screamed murder, our guide relied upon showing us laminated grainy pictures to introduce images into the tour. This is one of the victims.

At one point our guide started to talk not so much about the murders themselves but more about the Jack the Ripper phenomenon, and in particular about film and TV adaptations. Michael Caine was apparently rather good in one version, we then got onto Johnny Depp and the film From Hell, and finally,  there was much of Ripper Street, a BBC production currently being shown. This, mind you, is just the tip of the iceberg, the number of B-movies and exploitative documentaries must be great. What then is the motivation to come on the tour, is it morbid dark tourism or is it not also coloured with the fascination of celebrity? 

For the most part, our guide gave a precise account of the murders and the social context in which they took place. This was not a dry historical lecture however, she had been giving the tours long enough to also be skilled at telling the story and getting the most out of her material. That is not to say she milked it, the tour generally stayed sober but she did affect a Cockney accent once or twice and placed herself into a role within a scene dramatising it lightly. She never stopped being herself however or got into embarrassing acting situations. 

At one of the tour's locations we had to settle for a less good position as a Spanish Jack the Ripper tour group that had been trailing us all evening got to the best position before us. It was striking how they really had been on the same path as us pretty much throughout the evening. I even started to wonder whether they were simply recycling the tour I was on and delivering it in Spanish. This did make me think that I really should take a few foreign language tours of London's East End. I might start to research French ones as I'd at least be able to follow them pretty well.

Here she is demonstrating the wounds suffered by one of the victims. This was a running feature of the tour: sometimes mere stabbings but more often mutilations and gory details retold and choreographed. 

As we were entering our final site, Mitre Square, we passed beside a building site and crossed another Jack the Ripper group leaving the square. The guides knew each other and exchanged greetings. Apparently there are as many as ten different tours and this is the most popular location, a point they all converge upon nightly. As such, there are often many groups vying for the best spot in the square. I imagine it on a busy night looking like Speakers Corner.

Mitre Square was, on most sides, a building site with boards concealing the construction work behind them. Our guide told us that, over the years she has been giving tours she has seen the site evolve and, as a historian, has taken a keen interest in documenting the evolution of this Jack the Ripper murder site. This degree of interest, or should I say this line of enquiry, struck me first as fetishistic but then upon reflection, I can see how the history and management of historical sites can be a very interesting subject to study. It was simply surprising to hear about it whilst on a tourist walk as it was a level of meta-commentary well beyond that of, "funny things that have happened whilst I have given tours."  

Here our guide showed another of the victim pictures; this one more graphic than most. She warned the group to turn away if they would be upset by seeing it, but of course this only made people more curious to see it. She often closed her eyes when showing these pictures and I was not sure if this was as a mark of respect for the victim or to give the image gravitas and make the group feel less self-conscious about staring at the picture. I had a feeling it was more the latter and I suspect it worked: you don't want to be observed looking at ghoulish images.

Just as our tour ended, another group arrived in Mitre Square and they were led by a guide dressed up in an old fashioned police costume. This was yet another of the competing Jack the Ripper Tours and he had a good-sized tour group in tow. I had to ask how being dressed in a vintage police uniform and assuming that point of view would alter the nature of the Jack the Ripper tour, this is something I will only be able to say if I take that tour, I guess. Somehow I have resolved to take another one of these as it seems to me the variation between them should be interesting to observe and, I suspect, there are some far more camp dark tours of Whitechapel than this one.

Throughout the tour our guide had to pause whilst police cars raced past sirens blaring. This was because of a car accident that took place very close to our walking route. Looking at the real police who were trying to disperse the small crowd that had formed to watch the medics and fire crew at work I could not but think about the tour I had just taken. Some terrible things resist being staged while others, like these serial killings that took place over 125 years ago have spawned a small entertainment and scholarly industry of its own. I had to wonder if it is distance from the event which allows this to happen. Right now it would be unthinkable to offer a Moors Murders tour outside Manchester, as one of the perpetrators is still alive and in prison. But will this too, one day, become yet another point on the thanatourist's map, and if so, what is the process by which this transformation takes place?   

The Alternative Street Art Tour

Today I took The Alternative Tour around East London. The name immediately makes me wonder, what is it an alternative too? 

We gathered around a statue of a goat beside Spitalfields Market at noon and finally there was a group of 20 of us, most of whom were visitors to the UK. Our guide Doug checked us off his list and then make a brief introduction to the tour. He didn't bother with the typical health and safety routine that many guides give, but instead told us the themes we'd be returning to and reminded us that this was a pay what you want tour which went to pay his rent.

We set off and got a smattering of historical information about the waves of immigration that have made the area what it is. We stopped in front of the church where he even made a joke of knowing practically nothing about Christ Church, a good way to say this wasn't important information for this tour. We came across a few tour groups in the street as we made our way around such as the group in the distance. Their tour did seem to be more involved in the history as I saw them enter Christ Church before heading down to towards the mosque where we caught up with them again.

It was when our guide started talking about street art that he really got into his stride. Here he was extolling the virtues of street art and telling us about the artist who made the work behind him, his background and how he made this piece. He also told us that he himself was also involved in street art, mostly through making videos about street artists. 

We then arrived at Truman's Brewery and got the history lesson on the rise of the hipsters. He seemed to say that the closure of the brewery freed up a lot of space that was colonised by creatives, space which was now getting ever more expensive and un-creative. While the was a street art tour the not so subtle subtext was that this was also a gentrification tour  located at the moment when the artists who started the trend have themselves been moved on and nostalgia for the good days has set in. 

This was another tour we crossed. They were also interested in street art, though they seemed fewer in number and a bit older than our group. It seems that wherever there is a popular formula that works, rival tours exploiting the same route and theme quickly spring up. This alternative tour therefore had its rivals, just as the Jack the Ripper tours (to be covered imminently) are a veritable small industry with as many as 10 of them in competition pounding the same streets.

We then got onto some of the larger works: the street art jewels of Spitalfields. We learnt how the area attracts a constant international roll call of street artists who come here to leave their mark. He explained how this work is inherently temporary and often gets quickly painted over. This crane however would take quite some work to disappear given its size and prestige. He also pointed out how some of the work references its actual location on the street while musch of it is generic and could appear anywhere. It seemed like we were getting a 101 class in street art appreciation!   

We continued to inspect some very recent work which, in street art terms, means it was less than a week old. He then pointed out the different techniques that were used to apply paint such as spray cans, brushes, stickers and tiles.

We then got a discussion on the legality of street art and the different tactics that artists use to get their work up. This piece by Space Invader was apparently done at night by wearing high vis jackets, coning off the street and looking like workmen.

The Eastward creep of the City of London and corporate business was roundly decried on several occasions. I felt he would have made his point better, however, if he hadn't have been carrying around and sipping from a Costa coffee cup for at least half of the tour. It sort of undermined the argument a little.

He took us to his favourite works which were located on slightly quieter roads. These had escaped the fate of the Brick Lane works, namely being painted over by other artists.

It seemed that everywhere I looked there was more street art. What's more, even the simple car park sign that was not street art was being photographed like it was. I was left with the feeling that this neighbourhood is a bit too over-represented, located as it is in a media zone undergoing galloping gentrification. Doug was not shy of giving his opinions on this and given this was "The Alternative Tour" I was happy to hear them. The general hook seemed to be that this was a tour where you would get a real person giving their honest opinions rather than a formulaic message. Even the bits where he went off on one leaving behind his own script went to build this impression, so it worked in a sense. In any case, he was a likeable enough sort of guy and I always have time for an opinionated Scot. 

The tour concluded with a little self promotion and money collection. It was not heavy handed but done simply and cleanly. My overall impression was that his position as being in solidarity with the artists who were now being pushed out was a compromised one from which to critique this process of gentrification. If he were one of the Bangladeshis maybe he would be on a surer footing, I don't know. I sympathise with this position having been in it long enough myself in many different cities, however, it is not a very strong one from which to critique the very process that you yourself are simultaneously, if unwillingly, aiding. As such, I think he might have been safer sticking to talking about the street art as this was clearly his passion.

The Littlebredy Tour

Little Bredy or Littlebredy, the village gets spelt both ways, is indeed little. It's a village in South Dorset that I was shown around in preparation for the arts festival Inside Out that will be held there next September. I shall be constructing a tour for the festival which takes the South Dorset Ridgeway as its frame and Littlebredy as its focus. 

The day began in the village hall with talks about the area and an opportunity to meet the other artists. We assembled outside later in the afternoon to take a walking tour.

This tour led us past a number of points that the artists had selected to site their work in. Here for example is one of the artists with a plan of the landscape artwork she will create showing it to us and describing how it will sit upon the side of the hill. 

There was no precise tour guide leading this walk so there was no group commentary but instead a straggle of artists following a route that had been more or less decided in advance. The leader at the front of the group changed from time to time but was always one of the festival team who knew the route. As there was no ongoing commentary it was far more a chance to walk around the village and ridgeway and talk with the other artists. The going underfoot became increasingly muddy as it had been raining recently. There was much sidestepping of puddles.

We encountered our first real obstacle with a series of gates, this being one of them. We had to clamber over them but when it came to the dog in our group this variously meant coaxing it to squat under the gate or lifting it up and passing it over the gate. Undignified.

We then met the livestock. They took us for intruders and a showdown ensued. After a few nervous advances they scattered and let us pass. This was one of those moments that divided the group into those of us familiar with animals and farms and those of us more familiar with the Coffee Republic and city life.

We then came to an impasse by a farm at the bottom of a hill. There ensued much consultation of maps and smart phones, which started failing as we drove deeper into the folds of the South Dorset Ridgeway. Finally we had to ask the farmer.

Our path was an unlikely overgrown one that passed beside the cow shed. They eyed us keenly, they don't get many walkers coming this way.

And where you have cows you have cow slurry. Our path passed directly through several ankle deep, hold-your-nose stretches of manure and mud. There was no alternative but stoically soldiering on and hopping that it did not get any deeper.  

We reached an abandoned chapel in the woods some distance from Littlebedy as the light was failing. Later than expected with the night closing in we took it in and made an exit for the road which seemed to be some distance still.

By the time we reached the road it was a dark and not long after a taxi arrived to whisk us through the winding roads back to the village. This ended the first day and first part of the village tour but there was more to follow the next day.

As I had expressed an interest in tours I was offered a tour around the village's visitor attraction, The Walled Garden. I was joined by some of the artists and our guide was both responsible for maintaining the garden and showing people around so she knew the place very well.

She told us that various people visited the garden such as ramblers and horticultural societies from as far away as Somerset. I asked her if she could offer her standard visitor tour so I could get a sense of it and she agreed however as we started looking around I realised that what I was experiencing was something quite different. The artists were asking about the buildings and looking inside in order to see if they might be useful locations to site artworks and events in. Our guide was obliging and shared what she knew about the places and I realised that I was not on a normal visitor's tour but was instead getting a different sort of tour: the artist's site visit tour. Once I realised this was what was happening I relaxed more into it and took it for what it was rather than wishing it to be a different sort of tour.

With a storm forecast for the next day there were preparations afoot to limit possible damage to the garden by taking down temporary structures such as this gazebo. The approaching storm was a bit of a conversation topic in general over the weekend as it was being talked up as if it was going to be a devastating hurricane when in fact it turned out to be far less.  

Perhaps as a nod to our curiosity and the nature of the group we were treated to the ghost story. While our guide acknowledged she was not a believer in the ghost she did not disappoint us by omitting the fact that a ghost was said to haunt the garden. Coming on the back of the Haunted Holborn Tour I'm starting to see a strange connection between ghosts and tourism. This will have to be investigated a whole lot more. 

Overall then, this was a very relaxed and informative introduction to the village for what will be a new commission for The Tour of All Tours. I'll be returning here next year to develop the project and have many ideas of tours to reference. As it is not a saturated site I will have to be creative and this may in fact mean the work refers out into the society more than it might do in a place where there is an overwhelming amount of tours already in place. The festival will take place in September next year, details and updates will stream in before then. 

The Haunted Holborn Tour

Finally, in the week running up to Halloween I made it round to taking a ghost tour, and it's about time too as I have felt this is a tour experience I have lacked. The tour was free and offered by gotomidtown a Business Improvement District whose package includes street rangers in uniforms and, more originally, guides.   

They have an information point outside Holborn Tube station and this acts as the meeting point for the tour. Note the adoption of the i for information. 

As it was a busy place the guide used amplification. I first encountered these little amps when taking a guided tour in Souther China around some UNESCO sites that were inundated with guides and people selling stuff. To cut through the noise the guides all used these, which of course significantly contributed to the acoustic arms race. Here in Holborn it was useful as the traffic and crowds would have been a bit much to shout over.

There must have been about 25 of us taking the tour and we had to follow our guide through the lunchtime crowds. The timing was tricky not only on account of the bustle but also because of the subject matter. Evening must work far better for ghost tours I imagine. There was no real chance of crating a spooky atmosphere here, indeed the guide didn't even try. He related the stories with considerable distance saying "some people believe this" rather than just telling the story like it happened. This sitting on the fence didn't offer him anything more as a position to narrate from; it is obvious that not everybody believes in ghosts. By the end I was wishing he was in some sort of costume and making an effort to ham it up and scare us.

While waving us on I noticed he was holding these cards which had his script on them, complete with highlighted sections. It is generally a little disappointing to have a guide working from a script and ours here was at least only referring to these cards for dates and facts. What was revealing however was when we arrived at the former entrance to The British Museum underground station. Here he began by reading from a card that had the construction details and dates of this former tube station. These were given in a standardised history tour format. He then moved on from that card and onto a new card which was written with the idea of a ghost tour and not an architectural tour and which contained the story of a wailing Egyptian mummy. My guess is the architectural card belonged to a different tour and was used to introduce the location on the ghost tour. Whist only slightly jarring it did make me wonder about this way of structuring knowledge. It reminded me of wikipedia in the sense that each topic has a discrete entry and you bring your own context and narrative path to the reading and understanding of it. Rather than smoothing over the cracks resulting from the different source materials that the tour's narrative was drawn from this crack was left unintentionally visible. Rather than simply overlooking this minor mistake I feel that there may be something interesting in it if it is enlarged and made deliberate. It makes me wonder if this compartmentalised approach to applying facts could itself become a principle for a tour.

After having taken the ghost tour it was my turn to play guide. The same evening I was scheduled to give a tour around Bloomsbury to a class of students from Birkbeck College. I had neither the time nor inclination to research a Bloomsbury tour so I conducted a little experiment. I decided upon a simple route, looked at what was around and then projected the stories of tours that I had taken elsewhere onto the locations I found in Bloomsbury. I added to these the ghost tour that I had taken earlier and one or two other tours I happen to know about such as the Jehovah's Witness British Museum Tour, so that there was a collection of true and false tours. An example of a false tour was my treatment of The Original Tour, a bus tour which I projected the story of another bus tour The Stuttgart Tour onto.

The Original Tour is in fact interesting for me more generally. I am studying the maps of these bus tours as I will be developing a tour around Shoreditch for 2014 (more on this later) and want to include a bus tour within those I cite. It won't be The Original Tour as the nearest they go is Tower Bridge, following a route that is depressingly similar to the 2012 Olympic Marathon route after the original route through East London was controversially substituted to the sightseeing route.

A curious quality that most of these bus tours have is that they are hop-on and hop-off. This is another way in which the narrative of the journey is flattened as it is impossible to write a beginning, middle and end into such a structure if it is meant to be experienced in that order. What you get instead is an endless stream of touristic information.  

I have noticed that my review of the Sex Tour of Stuttgart is quite popular and tends to get more hits than other blog posts. I'm not sure if this is because people already reading the blog see a list of blog entries and that one pops out at them or if the readers are sex tourists who stumbled across it by accident but one way or another it is a popular subject. I therefore decided to dust it off and apply it to Russel Square. This started with the phone boxes and their prostitute cards which offered the opportunity to talk about a walk I took some years back collecting these cards from Aldgate East to Paddington and looking for correspondences between the services offered and the neighbourhoods. Curiously, Bloomsbury seemed to have a lot of teachers offering to punish naughty boys... In any case I could then move onto applying the Stuttgart narrative to London and cast The Imperial Hotel overlooking Russel Square as a den of high class prostitution.

Another ubiquitous tour that was easy enough to apply was the Chinese Tour, this can be brought out wherever there is a Chinese restaurant. Although this approach has its limitations I rather enjoyed applying tour formulae to locations as this is in a sense the way the tourism industry operates in any case. I think there was some genuine ambiguity as to which were real and which false and this experiment certainly opens possibilities into alternative forms of presenting the guided tour research.