Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner City | Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0)
Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner City
- 102 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner City is examined in Paper 1, Thematic study and historic environment.
It covers the local context of Whitechapel, the inhabitants of Whitechapel, the organisation of policing in Whitechapel, Investigative policing in Whitechapel, the Metropolitan Police and the national context and sources for a Whitechapel enquiry.
Sample questions from Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner City
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The local context of Whitechapel
Why did clearing slums often leave the poorest residents worse off?
Show the answer
Their old rooms were demolished but the replacement blocks charged higher rents, so they crowded into whatever slum property was left standing nearby. -
The local context of Whitechapel
What happened to a family admitted to the Whitechapel workhouse?
Show the answer
They were separated into different wards for men, women and children, put into uniform, and set to dull hard labour such as picking oakum or breaking stones. -
The inhabitants of Whitechapel
What was a common lodging house, and what did a bed in one cost?
Show the answer
A doss house where a stranger could rent a bed for the night in a shared room, usually for about fourpence. -
The inhabitants of Whitechapel
Why were Irish residents regarded with suspicion in the 1880s?
Show the answer
A bombing campaign by Irish republicans in London made many people treat the whole community as a threat to public safety. -
The organisation of policing in Whitechapel
Why were the rookeries so difficult for officers to patrol?
Show the answer
The courts and alleys were narrow, dark and interconnected, so constables entered in pairs and still risked being cornered or losing a suspect in seconds. -
The organisation of policing in Whitechapel
Which gangs preyed on Jewish businesses in the area, and why were they rarely convicted?
Show the answer
The Bessarabian Tigers and the Odessians, whose victims were too frightened of reprisals to give evidence in court. -
Investigative policing in Whitechapel
What was unusual about the report Thomas Bond wrote in November 1888?
Show the answer
He set out the sort of man he believed the killer was, from the wounds alone, making it an early attempt at what would later be called offender profiling. -
Investigative policing in Whitechapel
What was the double event of 30 September 1888?
Show the answer
Two women, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, were killed within about an hour of each other in different parts of the East End.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The local context of Whitechapel | Whitechapel's place in the East End, rookeries and Flower and Dean Street, the Dwellings Improvement Act of 1875 and slum clearance, George Peabody and the Peabody Estate of 1881, the workhouse and the casual ward, streets that helped criminals escape, and discontent in the 1880s. | 13 |
| The inhabitants of Whitechapel | Casual work and dock labouring, the sweated trades, phossy jaw, Booth's findings on poverty, common lodging houses and penny benches, pubs, the shifting population, Irish settlement and suspicion, and Jewish migration after 1881, where newcomers settled and worked and the resentment they faced. | 16 |
| The organisation of policing in Whitechapel | H Division at Leman Street and its strength, the beat constable, his beat and equipment, patrolling the rookeries, local hostility, dark and foggy streets, drink, prostitution, protection rackets, the Bessarabian Tigers, the Odessians and the Blind Beggar Gang, Bloody Sunday in 1887, radical clubs and the Goulston Street message. | 17 |
| Investigative policing in Whitechapel | Why physical clues gave little, house-to-house enquiries, witness interviews, sketches and photography, police surgeons and Thomas Bond's report, bloodhounds, the Metropolitan and City of London Police and Scotland Yard, the five victims of 1888, the Ripper name, newspaper coverage, and George Lusk's Whitechapel Vigilance Committee. | 20 |
| The Metropolitan Police and the national context | The founding of the Metropolitan Police, the Home Secretary, recruits and why many left, raising standards, the CID of 1878, distrust of detectives, Abberline, Matthews and the reward, Warren's resignation, and rich and poor attitudes. | 10 |
| Sources for a Whitechapel enquiry | Census returns, Charles Booth's survey and poverty maps, council, housing, employment and workhouse records, local police records, coroners' inquests, photographs, the Star and The Times, police investigation files, Old Bailey records, Punch and 'The Nemesis of Neglect', the limits of each, and how to plan a follow-up enquiry from a detail in a source. | 26 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby options
Edexcel GCSE History Active Recall Guide
Every option, not just this one. 2,881 questions with their answers.