In 1891, so the story goes, Jack the Ripper left his haunts in Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, took the railway from Liverpool Street to St James's Street Station, and left a nasty little message for the people of Walthamstow. This was found outside the Coach and Horses:

"D--- you! my dear ladies and gentlemen. I shall be in Walthamstow to kill a podgy woman. Yours faithfully, - JACK THE RIPPER."

Maybe it was a real threat from the Ripper but it was never carried out. Or maybe it was what it was taken for at the time, a time-wasting hoax by some stupid idiot. The Police didn't take it very seriously at the time, and nor, as far as anyone can tell, did the podgy women of Walthamstow shiver and quake in their beds at night. They were a slender lot in those days anyway, who like the inhabitants of Walthamstow today, were not given to panic every time some idiot in our midst says he's going to cause an outrage.

The pub in question, the Coach and Horses, at 63 St James's Street, is still there, though it is not open at present and the windows are boarded up. The derelict building stands where a pub has been since the 18th century. Local suds drinkers now have to go over the road to Mr Jacks and the Market Inn or make their way up to The Cock or Chequers for an urban pub atmosphere. I should admit that I rarely drank in the Coach and Horses when it was open - it was not a good night out. Its lounge was not very intimate, the decor was unimaginative and unchanging, the broken pool table was a source of annoyance and there was a cliquey feel round the bar. Others obviously agreed, as the place is now shut.