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26 The Kray twins tours: London, UK

  • Craig Ancrum
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50 Dark Destinations
This chapter is in the book 50 Dark Destinations

Abstract

East Eend has a long historical association with poverty, deprivation and crime (Hobbs, 1995). A place where French Huguenots escaping persecution at home once rubbed shoulders with weavers from Ireland fleeing impoverishment and hunger, it has long been a cosmopolitan yet idiomatic cityscape. A dark, smoky and overcrowded melangemélange of both legitimate and nefarious opportunity so vividly captured by the pen of Dickens. Even after the demolition of the infamous ‘rookeries’ (Rook, 1899) and improvements in standards of living, the East Eend continued to be a place heavy with the cultural ‘miasma’ of crime and criminality, into the twentieth 20th century. It was into this run- down yet proud, maze of terraced streets, pubs and corner shops that the infamous Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald, made their entrance into the world on 24 October the twenty fourth 1933. There is a wealth of literature both academic and journalistic (Monk, 1999), Pearson (2015) on the infamous brothers and their rise to fame and the twins have cemented a place in popular culture (Wattis 2021).

The world the infamous twins were born into no longer exists. The bomb blighted and run-down East End terraces where ‘lively characters’ could ply their trades are long gone (Hobbs 1997). Many residents of the East end, including those from Bethnal Green, joined in the exodus to new more spacious residences in the burgeoning new towns of Essex and Kent (Wilmot and Young 2011). The twins themselves, now both deceased are products of a lost era yet still hold a fascination and air of mythos for much of the general public.

Abstract

East Eend has a long historical association with poverty, deprivation and crime (Hobbs, 1995). A place where French Huguenots escaping persecution at home once rubbed shoulders with weavers from Ireland fleeing impoverishment and hunger, it has long been a cosmopolitan yet idiomatic cityscape. A dark, smoky and overcrowded melangemélange of both legitimate and nefarious opportunity so vividly captured by the pen of Dickens. Even after the demolition of the infamous ‘rookeries’ (Rook, 1899) and improvements in standards of living, the East Eend continued to be a place heavy with the cultural ‘miasma’ of crime and criminality, into the twentieth 20th century. It was into this run- down yet proud, maze of terraced streets, pubs and corner shops that the infamous Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald, made their entrance into the world on 24 October the twenty fourth 1933. There is a wealth of literature both academic and journalistic (Monk, 1999), Pearson (2015) on the infamous brothers and their rise to fame and the twins have cemented a place in popular culture (Wattis 2021).

The world the infamous twins were born into no longer exists. The bomb blighted and run-down East End terraces where ‘lively characters’ could ply their trades are long gone (Hobbs 1997). Many residents of the East end, including those from Bethnal Green, joined in the exodus to new more spacious residences in the burgeoning new towns of Essex and Kent (Wilmot and Young 2011). The twins themselves, now both deceased are products of a lost era yet still hold a fascination and air of mythos for much of the general public.

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447362210-030

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures x
  4. About the editors xi
  5. Acknowledgements xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. Cocaine Bear: Fun Mall, Lexington, Kentucky, USA 9
  8. Whitney Plantation: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA 14
  9. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution: Washington, DC, USA 24
  10. From Newgate Prison to Tyburn Tree: the Old Bailey, London, UK 29
  11. Jack the Ripper tour: Whitechapel, London, UK 35
  12. The Alcatraz East Crime Museum: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA 41
  13. The Museum of Death: Hollywood, Los Angeles, USA 50
  14. The Royal Armouries Museum: Leeds, UK 55
  15. The Black Dahlia tour: Los Angeles, California, USA 59
  16. The ‘Execution Dock’: Wapping, East London, UK 65
  17. Auschwitz: Oświęcim, Poland 71
  18. Jeju 4:3 memorial: Jeju Island, South Korea 80
  19. Museum Dr. Guislain: Ghent, Belgium 88
  20. Karosta Prison Hotel: Liepāja, Latvia 92
  21. The Clink prison-based restaurant: Brixton, London, UK 98
  22. The 9/11 memorial and museum: New York, New York, USA 104
  23. The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 107
  24. Choeung Ek killing field: Phnom Penh, Cambodia 116
  25. Blue lights in the Red Light District: Amsterdam, the Netherlands 122
  26. Trophy hunting: sub-Saharan Africa 128
  27. ‘The ugly side to the beautiful game’: Qatar 135
  28. Burning Man festival: Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA 140
  29. Magaluf: Majorca 147
  30. ‘Holiday Hooters’: Hong Kong 153
  31. Scilla: Calabria, Italy 159
  32. The Kray twins tours: London, UK 165
  33. Backpacking in the outback: Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia 171
  34. The hippie trail: Nepal, South Asia 177
  35. The Museum of Confiscated Art: Brest, Belarus 182
  36. Steroid holidays: Sharm El Sheikh, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt 187
  37. The souks: Tunis, Tunisia 194
  38. Mezhyhirya Residence Museum: Novi Petrivtsi, Ukraine 200
  39. The great British seaside: various locations, UK 207
  40. The Biggie mural: Brooklyn, New York, USA 213
  41. The Rebus guided tour: Edinburgh, UK 217
  42. Volunteer tourism – ‘doing it for the ’gram’: Cambodia, Southeast Asia 223
  43. The staycation: home 230
  44. The ‘suicide forest’: Aokigahara, Japan 235
  45. Pitcairn Island: Pitcairn Islands, Pacific Ocean 245
  46. Favela tours: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 251
  47. Skid Row walking tours: Los Angeles, California, USA 258
  48. The 2019–20 anti-extradition protests: Hong Kong 264
  49. The Maldives: Republic of Maldives, Indian Ocean 271
  50. Death Road: La Paz to Coroico, Bolivia 276
  51. Vulture brains and muthi markets: Johannesburg, South Africa 282
  52. Dark tourism, ecocide and Alpine ski resorts: the Alps, Europe 288
  53. Boho Zone: Middlesbrough, UK 293
  54. One Hyde Park: London, UK 299
  55. Amazon warehouse tours: Rugeley, UK or virtual tour 305
  56. Disney World: Orlando, Florida, USA 315
  57. Conclusion 322
  58. References 325
  59. Index 394
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