Greenwich and Guildhall

Hey everyone!

So last night we met a Jack the Ripper tour at Tower Hill tube station which went for 1.5 hours. We learned all about the autumn of terror in 1888 when Jack the Ripper murdered and mutilated five prostitutes. The average life expectancy in London's east end at that time was just 27 years olds. Conditions weren't good and people were poor. For this reason many women turned to prostitution, and at the time there were 80,000 prostitutes in London. To put that into context, even with the massive increase in population since 1888 today there are 80,000 prostitutes in the whole of England! At that time there were that many in the city alone. 

The Jack the Ripper murders were the first recorder serial murders so the police and public were in shock and didn't know how to react. There were/are 70-100 suspects and the case has never been solved!

The women murdered and the dates they died are as follows: Mary Anne Nichols 31/8/88, Annie Chapman 8/9/88, Elizabeth Stride 30/9/88, Catherine Edder 30/9/88 and Mary Kelly 9/11/88. The murders got progressively worse each time, with the bodies horrifically mutilated, various organs removed etc. Yuck!

The tour took us to the areas where the murders took place but these days a lot has changed obviously. Then Brendon and I walked along the east end of the Thames for a while. Had a drink in a bar then got the bus home. 

This morning we got the overground to Shadwell then changed to the Docklands Light Railway. I've been on it before but not as far southeast as we got it today. It reminded me a lot of getting the monorail in Sydney! Lots of the surrounding area looked a bit like Darling Harbour. 

We eventually arrived at the stop 'Cutty Sark' in Greenwich. Greenwich is in southeast London and was once a massive maritime hub here, as well as being home to the Royal Observatory which has the prime meridian line (more on that soon!). We walked past the Cutty Sark, a huge ship and then went through the pedestrian tunnel under the Thames. From here we could see Greenwich and all its buildings! We crossed back over and then walked up the hill through Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory. 

The royal observatory was built in 1675 to solve the riddle of longitude and distances from East to west. Many shipwrecks were occurring due to ships not knowing their position from East to west and so much research went into solving this problem. 

First of all the lunar distance method meant that the prime meridian line (a meridian line being a line running from the North Pole to the South Pole) ran right through the observatory due to observers taking measurements and calculations here. George Biddell Airy's was the line chosen and is the one used today for time zones. We got our picture with a foot in the eastern and western hemispheres! The line runs through England, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana and Antarctica. The timekeeper method was also developed here, a competition was run asking for a solution to the problem of being unable to take a pendulum clock onto ships to keep track of time due to moving about because of waves etc. We saw Thomas Harrison's designs (he won the competition) and lots of other instruments used on the premises. After a trip to Jamaica the clock he had produced was just 5.1 seconds slow!

The exhibition was inside Flamsteed House which used to house the observers. We saw lots of instruments used and learned a lot about what went on there. Since 1833 every day a ball is dropped on the top of the house to signal to Mariners in the Thames that it's 1pm (today for tourists!). It got dented in the 1960s during renovations as the builders weren't told it was still required atop the house. 

In 1884 there was an international conference where 24 time zones were designated based on the prime meridian line and Greenwich mean time was established! Since this line was already used by so many ships for navigation it would have been too problematic to move it anywhere else.

After wandering around the courtyard in the sun and enjoying the view, we went back down the hill and had lunch at Goddard's Pies which dad had recommended from when he and my brother came here a couple of years ago. It was delicious and cheap! I had chicken and mushroom and Brendon chicken and ham - mmmm!

Then we made our way to the (free!) Maritime Museum. We saw a giant map of the world and some ships and items from them. We learned about the Battle of Trafalgar that Trafalgar Square is named after where Lord Nelson led the British navy to victory against Spanish and French forces off the southwest coast of Spain, before passing away at the end of the battle. Sixty ships and 50,000 men were involved. 

We then ventured to the Old Royal Naval College where we saw the Painted Room (stunning!!!) which took Sir James Thornhill 19 years to complete and the chapel. We got the train back and stopped at Guildhall near Bank station. Guildhall is the seat of the city's local government and has been for 800 years. We saw the Great Hall where the city's mayor is sworn in!

Now we are having a rest at the flat before having dinner later on in Brick Lane (Indian food - YUM) and then seeing 'Jurassic World' in Angel. Back to work tmro! Gosh the weekend goes quickly. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox