Sheffield connection to the Christie murders of the early 50's

[hillsbro]

After the murders Rillington Place was renamed Ruston Close ...

 

Quite right, the Bartle Road renaming dates from 1981. This is actually mentioned on the web page to which I provided a link in post #4, but you need to scroll down to see later contributions to the thread - http://www.youhaventlived.com/bartle/wynn.htm. There are also some modern photos of the probable location of No 10, as well as a link to Pathé News photos taken during the demolition of the houses. The Pathé news footage apparently now belongs to ITN and it can be viewed via their site - go to http://www.itnsource.com/en/Entire-Archive/Search/ShotListNonDigitised/?ref=/Bpathe/1971/01/01/BP010171329304.htm&links=RILLINGTON%2cPLACE&thumb=/img/assets/no_preview_available_pathe.png&duration= and click on "View this story".

[Hollis]

Thanks, that's fascinating, even though the information in the link seems to get contradictory at times. The film clip is especially interesting, though.

 

As I said, I visited Ruston Close very soon after seeing the movie so that would have been around 1971/72. At that stage I don't believe anyone was still living there as all the houses appeared to be boarded up and the street (which was a cul de sac) was fenced off to prevent access (although some of the corrugated iron fencing was broken, so it was possible to see the houses)

[hillsbro]

The film clip is indeed interesting; it's a pity that the soundtrack has evidently been lost, or not included in the download.

 

This thread has encouraged me to do a bit more research into a subject that I studied in some depth as a student - that was in the "pre-Internet" days! I remember seeing the Richard Attenborough film, and somewhere I have Ludovic Kennedy's book "10 Rillington Place"; I must look it out...

[marcJboy]

Hiya Hillsbro, I actually live in London, but like yourself whilst trawling the inernet, about Christie, you bump into plenty of links, like your Sheffield one (Which is good by the way!). I went to Bartle Road in London on 17.5.08, trying to establish the precise whereabouts of number 10 (Ok for the residents I suppose this could be considered macabre, a lady was looking at my spouse and I, so it is a bit naughty) . The garden that features on 'Bartle info.' would be about where the house was aligned, but because there are now NO houses on the north side as there were with the real Rillington Place, the houses are 'centred' (i.e where the original street would be) So the house must be further back - probably (see Google Earth) the block BEHIND the garden would be about right. Interestingly, I don't know if you've seen it on the 'net, but the Ruston Mews tenants (The street over the road from Bartle road) have their own association website -showing the mews, but importantly, a view of Rillington Place totally gone, but the old 'Bartle James Ironworks' pear-shaped chimney still the only remaining thing standing. They mention on there though, that they are often erroneously (at the Mews) purported to be the old 'Rillington' street, because of the mix-up with the Rillington Place 're-name' 'Ruston CLOSE'. (Can't remember the exact addy for their website, but if you type 'Ruston Mews Website' you'll get there). Today, the only original marker in the area although it would have been 50 yards from number 10, is the St. Andrews Methodist Church on the corner of St. Andrew's Square/Lancaster Road end . (In the film, sometimes, you can just catch a glimpse of its spire, near some trees to the side of the house). I looked up various maps/quotes, everyone says that Rillington Place would have been built as part of the St. Quintin Estate in the 1860's, but all available online maps don't even show it built by the 1870's. You can see Lancaster Road/St Mark's Road/railway, but the mews and Rillington Place aren't listed, it looks like they're the next in line to be built. I have an ordnance survey map of 1914 showing the street. It's only three quid from Alan Godfrey Maps on the 'net. I also saw Tim Evans' grave in St. Patrick's cemetery, Leytonstone, East London. On YouTube, it's quite dirty and dilapidated, and the headstone fallen down but (you'll see my quote on there to the originator) that it's now like new, dazzling, white and totally clean and the stone upright. I also saw on Google Earth the place where Christie was born, 'Black Boy House' (It may not be known as that now for PC reasons), Turner Lane, only a little north of Halifax Town. Interestingly, with a name like that for the house, he hated the black tenants in Rillington Place after Tim Evans' murder!

[hillsbro]

All very interesting. I can imagine how difficult it could be to locate the exact site of the infamous house and garden. Of course, it may also be considered a macabre interest, but such things need to be remembered I think.

 

To describe Christie as a nasty piece of work would clearly be an understatement. He was more-or-less a comtemporaryf John Haigh - they would probably have got on well together (assuming one didn't murder the other).

 

I didn't know about "Black Boy House". There is actually a village in East Sussex called Blackboys (the PC brigade haven't had it renamed - at least, not yet...)

[marcJboy]

Yeah, interesting stuff though, I saw the letters from Ethel Christie and a key for the door to 10, Rillington Place , I imagine it's genuine, not sure how you'd prove that now though! I worked at Scotland Yard for the Met Police as a civilian a few years' ago, and a police sergeant showed us Christie's, files, fingerprints, petty theft/crime leading up to his worse convictions. MarcJboy and Miss Demeanour

[ceegee]

The letters that Ethel Christie wrote to her sister Lily - 62 in total - came to light through a house clearance in Sheffield. (a trunk in the attic?)

The letters, all hand-written, were found by Terry Hill and Paula Rankin, market traders from Rotherham, among bric-a-brac that came from a house in Firth Park, Sheffield, near to where Ethel Christie's sister Lily Bartle lived. They were auctioned at T.Vennett-Smith auctioneers of Nottingham on 8th July 1998 and fetched the not inconsiderable sum of £4,600.

 

I don't know if the letters were split but it appears that there was some spirited bidding at the auction from Criminologists.

[Keithbarrett]

Black Boy House, Turner Lane, Halifax, where John Christie was born was an Inn before Christie's birth, the family moved to Haley Hill, Halifax when Christie was a boy. His future wife Ethel lived a few streets away; which does make it quite a coincidence that he met her later in Sheffield?

In the winter of 1966/67 I played with a group in Notting Hill in the Ladbroke Hotel (demolished in the 1970s slum clearance). A local lad gave us a lift home one Sunday afternoon and enroute he asked us if we would like to see Rillington Place. We parked at the end of Rillington place and looked down this foreboding Street. We could clearly see number 10 at the far end on the left. I must say it was one of the grimmest places I have ever seen, of course taking its past into consideration.

The street seemed to be occupied by mainly West Indians.

Where was Rillington Place? The whole area, streets and all, was demolished (when the film 10 Rillington Place was filmed, the street was waiting to be demolished), Rillington Place was replaced by, finally, Bartle Road. I have looked at old and new maps and I have found the position of Christie’s back garden which can be seen from Lancaster Road. If you find Wesley Square the garden was at the far end from Lancaster Road.