The Jack the Ripper Location Photographs: Dutfield's Yard and the Whitby Collection

by Hutchinson, Philip

  Whether or not you believe Elizabeth Stride to have been a victim of Jack the Ripper, she nevertheless remains one of the so-called ‘canonical five’ generally regarded as being a Ripper victim. The Dutfield’s Yard photograph was a major discovery on several levels. Firstly, and most importantly, it is the only photograph of the location known to exist. Secondly, it was the last remaining location of a Ripper murder that had not previously been seen photographically, being limited beforehand to sketches and drawings in period newspapers. Lastly, though her identity remains elusive, our photographer may be classed – at present – as the world’s first known Ripper tourist. The tens of thousands of people who join guided tours each year to view the locations of the atrocities all follow in her wake, and she had no idea.

  Delegates at the biannual Ripper Conference recreate the Dutfield’s Yard photograph on the exact spot, 25 October 2009 (Courtesy Gareth Williams)