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After exploring the streets of east London, a group of international tourists seeks solace in a tranquil, oak-paneled room on the piano nobile of an 18th-century townhouse. Kathleen Milligan, a Texan in her fifties, luxuriates in an antique armchair while sipping tea from a delicate china cup and savoring a cake made from a 300-year-old London recipe. As she takes in her surroundings, she expresses her affection for the narrow, cobbled streets of Spitalfields, where historic buildings live in harmony with modern skyscrapers.
Milligan discovered The Gentle Author’s Tour of Spitalfields on Instagram when it launched last year. Intrigued by its promise of a fresh perspective on London, she immediately booked a spot. What sets this tour apart is its emphasis on showcasing Spitalfields through the eyes of its diverse and vibrant residents. The townhouse, generously lent by a supporter, offers a glimpse into the lives of Londoners behind closed doors. This community tourism venture was initiated by locals who wanted to share their experiences and love for this densely urban area in the East End.
Spitalfields, located within the borough of Tower Hamlets, boasts a population where more than three quarters belong to minority ethnic groups. To truly capture the essence of this culturally rich neighborhood, tour guides are carefully selected to reflect its diversity. Guides share their personal stories and lead groups of around 15 visitors on a journey through 2,000 years of culture. Spitalfields owes its character to the countless waves of migration that have shaped it over time.
However, the Gentle Author’s Tours of Spitalfields have an additional purpose: to provide an engaging alternative to the increasingly dominant Jack the Ripper walking tours that plague this part of London. While these murder-themed tours may entertain some tourists, they often perpetuate a distorted narrative of the area, creating a false image of the place locals call home. Paul Godfrey, also known as the Gentle Author, a historian, blogger, and the founder of these community tours, firmly believes that Spitalfields has so much more to offer than being known solely as the site of a series of gruesome murders over a century ago.
London is not alone in capitalizing on murder-themed entertainment. Similar tours can be found in cities across the world, from Las Vegas and New York with their gangster-themed tours, to Colombia’s Pablo Escobar-themed excursions, and even a Fritz Haarmann-themed murder tour in Hannover. However, in London’s East End, the abundance of Ripper tours has become overwhelming. Some proudly offer “Ripper-Vision™” projections that supposedly recreate Victorian London in all its dark glory. Others style themselves as investigations, allowing participants to step into the shoes of Victorian detectives on a chilling journey. Hallie Rubenhold, an American historian and author, warns that Ripper tours have been around since the days of the actual murders. While she acknowledges the long-standing morbid fascination with Jack the Ripper, she advocates for a more sensitive and intelligent approach that avoids reveling in gore.
The Gentle Author’s Tours begin and end at the majestic Christ Church, a Nicholas Hawksmoor masterpiece of English baroque completed in 1729. The content of each tour varies depending on the guide, who may be a playwright and anti-racism activist, or a restaurant insider who shares fascinating stories from Brick Lane’s renowned curry house trade. Most itineraries include visits to notable landmarks such as the ornate Edwardian Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor on Brune Street, a Roman cemetery on Bishopsgate, and a collection of mosques, synagogues, pubs, alleyways, music halls, and repurposed industrial sites that collectively narrate the neighborhood’s rich history. Accompanied by oral histories, personal testimonies, and readings, these tours seek to give a voice to the diverse range of Spitalfields residents throughout the centuries. For example, visitors may learn about Aemilia Lanyer, often considered England’s first professional female poet and speculated to be Shakespeare’s “Dark Lady,” or Suresh Singh, the trailblazing “first Punjabi punk” musician who played drums with Spizzenergi in the 1970s.
One particularly poignant story shared on the tour is that of Bedford House, a Victorian building located at the corner of Quaker and Wheeler Streets. Originally built as a mission to support the impoverished, it holds a legacy that resonates deeply. In 1900, Horace Warner, a local photographer, captured a series of portraits known as the “Spitalfields Nippers.” These photographs depict children who frequented the mission, and their life stories are shared during the tour. Some tragically died at a young age, while others lived well into the 1970s and 1980s, still within living memory. The randomness of survival in the face of poverty is a stark reality that leaves a lasting impact on tour participants. Milligan, who had participated in a Ripper tour before, remarks that many of the locations associated with the murders have been replaced by towering skyscrapers, leaving little connection to the past. She encourages fellow anglophiles to explore the more nuanced and multicultural histories that London has to offer.
The Gentle Author’s Tours of Spitalfields are approximately two hours long and priced at £40 per person. Book your spot today to discover the hidden gems and diverse stories of this captivating neighborhood.
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