Ten Bells (public house)

The Ten Bells is a Victorian public house at the corner of Commercial Street and Fournier Street in Spitalfields in the East End of London. It is notable for its association with two victims of Jack the Ripper; Annie Chapman and Mary Kelly.

A public house has stood on the site since 1752, but it was rebuilt in the Victorian era. Much of the interior has been removed in recent times, but the extensive decorative tiling remains including "Spitalfields in the Olden Time", on the back wall. The name is derived from a long–term competition between Christ Church Spitalfields and St Brides Fleet Street to claim the finest peal of bells. Christ Church was built in 1714, with only one bell. These were added to and the public house's name commemorates the addition of the tenth bell – the church now has twelve bells.

Between 1976 and 1988, the public house was named "The Jack the Ripper", and memorabilia relating to the case was displayed in the bars. The brewery ordered the change back to its original name after a long campaign by Reclaim the Night demanded that a murderer of women should not be commemorated in such a fashion.

The film "From Hell", about Jack the Ripper, features the pub, including a scene showing Johnny Depp (as Inspector Abberline) having a drink with Ripper victim Mary Kelly. However, this is not the original pub but an exact replica made on a film-set in Prague.

References

*Begg, P., Fido, M., & Skinner, K. "The Jack the Ripper A-Z" (Headline, 1996)
*Cullen, Tom "Autumn of Terror: Jack the Ripper, His Crimes and Times" (Fontana Books, 1966)