By its very nature, 'underworld' London has also been a popular resort of thieves and the book relates outrageous tales of robberies, such as that of the unfortunate William Frost, shot during a mugging on the Metropolitan Line in 1910.

The Nile on eBay FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE London's Labyrinth by Fiona Rule A new, paperback edition of Fiona Rule's fascinating history of the city beneath London's streets FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description London's Labyrinth exposes the sinister side of the subterranean city in Victorian times: from the shocking bomb attacks on the Metropolitan and District Lines in 1883 to the sad tale of unrequited love at Charing Cross, where a young man shot the object of his affections before turning the gun on himself. Item: 385371647609 London's Labyrinth: The World Beneath the City's Streets by Fiona Rule (English). ‘…an entertaining and most competent social history of an area and extremely well-researched.Seller: the_nile_uk_store ✉️ (10.592) 99%, ‘Fascinating micro-history of the life and grimes of a long forgotten place…’ Leo Hills, The Independent It also tells the story of a part of London that, until quite recently, was largely left to fend for itself, with truly horrifying results.

Its remarkable history gives a fascinating insight into an area of London that has, from its initial development, been a cultural melting pot – the place where many thousands of immigrants became Londoners. This book chronicles the rise and fall of this remarkable street, from its promising beginnings at the centre of the 17th Century silk weaving industry through its gradual descent into iniquity, vice and violence to its final demise at the hands of the demolition men. All signs of Dorset Street, ‘ the worst street in London’, may all but have disappeared from the map but its legacy is too powerful to ever be entirely erased. However, as dusk falls, the seemingly indelible, sordid side of this fascinating part of London begins to emerge once again as the unknowing descendants of Mary Kelly, Mary Ann Austin and Kitty Ronan and others begin to ply their trade around the hallowed walls of Christ Church. Spitalfields as a whole is now a vibrant and fashionable place to live, work and play the home of artists and artisans, just as it was when the Huguenots settled there.

But unlikely though it may seem, this characterless, 400ft strip of tarmac was once Dorset Street – the most notorious thoroughfare in the Capital the worst street in London and the resort of Protestant fire-brands, thieves, con-men, pimps, prostitutes and murderers, most notably Jack the Ripper. The average pedestrian wouldn’t even notice it existed. Halfway up Commercial Street, one block away from Spitalfields Market, lies an anonymous service road.