Permalink Reply by Liz on January 18, 2010 at 11:51
I found a few criminal case records from this area from newspaper archives not so long back. While most were quite 'low level' stuff like theft and fraud, a couple of them were quite sensational and rather sad. You're right, Moonta, our neighbours lived as varied lives as we read about in the red tops now (although the language in which they were described was more Dickens than Dacre)
I lived in Alba place W11 off Portobello road.
It wasn't until a few years after i found out this used to be called 'Rillington Place', the same little mews of the famous court case about the christie murders and book by Ludovik Kennedy and of course the film with richard attenborough.i was in number 5.
(this is not 'local' but i thought important enough to mention) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Reginald_Christie
This is what facinates me about many of our grand old buildings, they remain the same in appearance but have seen so many changes as far as residents go over the last hundred years or so.
Makes me smile when I think of the old saying 'The walls have ears'... never mind all that, I wish they had mouths, some of the stories these old places could tell.
And imagine how many people literally got away with murder in the old days, when we consider todays DNA testing capabilities and forensic science etc.
Would be interesting to create a HOL macabre local property list!
Alice. I was born at this house in 1946 and lived there until 1957. I know evrryone sho lived at the house between thise dates if you are interested. I have sent an email to HOL. Michael