Bella Dunn and The 1901 Census...

Have you ever heard of Bella Dunn? Well I certainly hadn't until discovering her name on the 1901 Census. It seem's she was the tragically ill fated second child of Simon and Rebecca. She is listed as an infant on the census, aged about 1. Sadly however she died by June 1901, as her death is recorded in the period of April-May-June of the 1901 registration of deaths for England and Wales.

Perhaps the loss of their second baby, in an area of east London known to be riddled with filth, squallar and disease was the catalyst which pushed our ancestors to make a better life for themselves in the cool, crisp, purer air of Puntas Arenas...

The Dunn's of Dunk Street

This map of Whitechapel, in the East End of London would have been a familiar layout to the Whitechapel Simon, Rebecca and family knew for a few years before they set sail for Chile. They lived at number 14 Dunk Street, at the time of the 1901 census.

Old Montague Street, leading to Dunk Street

Old Montague Street in 1961.By the start of the 20th century, Old Montague Street was mostly populated (95-100%) by Jews[9], there being no fewer than twelve synagogues in the immediate area - Dunk Street alone could boast five. Old Montague Street was home to the Kehol Chasidim and Chevra Chass Synagogues at Nos.5 and 42 respectively. Most of these were closed by the 1960s, with only Great Garden Street Synagogue and its popular Kosher Luncheon Club lasting into the 1990s[10][11].

The site of the former Whitechapel Mortuary was covered by new buildings erected for the Davenant School in 1898, with the former burial ground becoming the playground.

As a consequence of the widespread migration of East End Jews to the London suburbs following World War 2, the fortunes of Old Montague Street began a rapid downturn. By the 1960s, many properties had become slums, with piecemeal demolition unresolved by new development. Those that remained were in a poor state of repair, generating a distinctly squalid air. Pupils from the Davenant School were warned to avoid Old Montague Street, or at least not linger there on account of the meths drinkers and prostitutes who had by this time gravitated towards the area[12]. It is seen at this time in the film The London Nobody Knows, made in 1967. Several new blocks of housing were built on the north side (on the site of Dunk and King Edward Streets) in the mid-1960s, but it was in the early 1970s that a concerted effort at slum clearance was undertaken, ending in the demolition of several tributaries such as the reknowned Black Lion Yard.

Further redevelopment in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in new estates replacing the old Davenant School classrooms (where the Mortuary once stood) and numerous office premises, particularly on the south side. The oldest surviving buildings are at the junction with Brick Lane.

From http://wiki.casebook.org/index.php/Old_Montague_Street