SWEENEY TODD: PART 1 : IS IT TRUE OR JUST ANOTHER MYTH
A-LONDON-TOURIST-GUIDE INVESTIGATES THE LEGEND OF SWEENEY TODDIs the story of Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett, his accomplice, True or False. A story in which Todd a barber, murdered his clientelle and Mrs Lovett then turned his victims into meat pies. Was he Benjamin Barker a middle class barber, who sought vengeance on the man who was responsible for his transportation to Australia, for crimes he did not commit. Or was he a lifelong criminal, born into a life of abject poverty, to a pair of gin swigging parents, who on one of their usual night time sorties in search of alcohol, failed to return home, and were never seen again, leaving young Sweeney to fend for himself. Was he later in life to be apprehended by the Bow Street Runners, who only had enough evidence to charge him with one murder, and for which he was hanged, after being found guilty at his trial at The Old Bailey.
ABOVE: AN OLD BAILEY TRIAL ABOUT 1808.
It is a question which has been the subject of much debate for nearly two hundred years. So A-London-Tourist-Guide,will present you with the knowledge we have at our disposal. Armed with that knowledge, you can then make an informed judgement, as to whether such a monster did in actual fact exist or not.
ABOVE:SWEENEY TODD'S HOUSE AT NO. 186 FLEET STREET. NO.186 IS THE CORNER SHOP TO THE RIGHT OF ST.DUNSTAN'S CHURCH. For nearly two centuries, theatre-goers and cinema audiences, the readers of penny dreadfuls, or newspapers and the like, have all been entertained by the stories of diabolical deeds being carried out in a premises at 186 Fleet Street in the City of London. During the Reign of King George III, in the closing years of the eighteenth century, it appears a barber, by the name of Sweeney Todd, occupied the said premises and by means of a revolving chair, would drop his unsuspecting clientele down into the cellar beneath his shop. The long drop to the floor of the cellar was usually enough to kill them, but Sweeney would race down and slit their throats to make absolutely certain.
ABOVE: BELL YARD IS THE ALLEYWAY ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH BESIDE THE PARKED TAXI. THIS IS WHERE MRS LOVETT HAD HER PIE SHOP. He would then strip the flesh from his victims bones, and by means of a network of subterranean tunnels, deliver the meat to his lover Mrs Lovett, who had a shop selling pies in nearby Bell yard. She would then proceed to prepare, bake and serve up the most delicious meat pies in the whole of London. Many people look on the Demon Barber of Fleet Street as the stuff of Urban Legend. It is a story passed down from generation to generation. He is immortal, he will never die. However, every legend or myth is not just based on fantasy, for somewhere within the realms of truth, it has a foundation. There can be no exception made for the legend of Sweeney Todd. He is a bogeyman we English parents use to frighten and instill discipline on misbehaving and unruly offspring, in order to bring them back under our parental control. In school playgrounds, without exception, Sweeney's name is used from time to time by the children, whether just to frighten their younger peers, or to be casually mentioned in the course of playing their games.So was Sweeney Todd a true historical character then, or was he taken from earlier stories or vice versa. Occurrences of a mad barber murdering his customers and then using them as ingredients for meat pies, apparently took place in several other European cities. Mrs Lovett - His Lover and Accomplice Return from Sweeney Todd To A-London-Tourist-Guide Home Page.
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