Courtesy of Wikipedia. Past and Present, no. 3 Despair , by Augustus Egg, 1858, set in the Adelphi Arches
The term ‘Dickensian’ conjures up an image of London during the times of Charles Dickens that is dark, dingy and even downright dangerous, which to be honest, doesn’t really exist anymore.
But not far from Charing Cross Station is London’s last remaining subterranean street and here you get definitory get a feel of a city that would have looked and felt very different.
Lower Robert Street, nicknamed the ‘bat cave’ by locals, was built under a grand 18th century housing development called the Adelphi, and would have been home to poor and ragged people, many of whom women, sleeping rough at night and begging during the day.
Another way for these wretched women to eke out an existence, would have been to work as prostitutes and it was down this dark and forbidding street that Poor Jenny as she has become known, was brutally murdered by a so-called customer.
Some say you can still hear her screams and the frantic tapping of her feet on the ground as she fought for life while being strangled.
There have been many cases of murder most foul throughout London’s history, but this one really makes you shudder.