Residents of Cromwell Street in Gloucester, where Fred and Rose West committed their infamous murders, report that the area continues to be affected by stigma and social problems decades after the crimes.
Although the house at 25 Cromwell Streetโwhere the couple murdered at least 12 young women and girls between 1967 and 1987โwas demolished and replaced with an alleyway to the city centre, local residents say the emotional impact remains.
Several residents believe local authorities have neglected the area and failed to support those living with the street’s notorious history. Some also expressed concerns that the street’s dark reputation attracts antisocial behavior.
Polly Lowthian, 27, who works in supported living and moved next door to the former “Horror House” site earlier this year, acknowledges she was initially hesitant about the location. “There is always going to be stigma around the street because of what happened,” she said. “People pass and point to the alleyway, saying, ‘that’s where Fred West used to live.'” She noted that the historical distance from the events helped her decision to move there.
A 54-year-old longtime resident, who has lived on Cromwell Street for 40 years, remembers seeing Fred West working as the local builder and being friends with the Wests’ son, Stephen. “I knew the family… The children of the family, we grew up here, and most of us played in the street,” he recalled. “They seemed like a tight-knit family. They would go to the park to play as a family with the kids. It was a complete shock. At that age, you don’t think about what people might be doing behind closed doors.”
The same resident expressed disappointment with how the area has been treated since the case. “There has been a lot of publicity around the world, which is understandable, but I don’t think much is being done to support people living in this street,” he said. He noted that most properties on the street have been converted to HMOs or bedsits, changing the neighborhood’s character. “These were all family homes at the time. There is no community spirit and neighborhood spirit.”
Chrysoula Koutsogranni, 40, who receives universal credit, said she only learned about the street’s history a couple of years after moving there. Unlike some residents, she stated, “I don’t feel scared about going out at night. If you deal with people that do bad stuff, you are going to have problems; if you are just minding your own business, nothing happens.”
The recent Netflix documentary “Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story” has renewed attention on the case. University of Gloucestershire veterinary nursing student Morgan Dickenson, 22, who lives near the area, found the documentary “freaky” and commented on Fred West’s suicide before trial: “It seems like he got away with it because he killed himself.”
Her classmate Juliet Dobell, 21, noted ongoing safety concerns in Gloucester: “We don’t really leave the house at night – there are a lot of drunk people, people doing drugs.”
Local window cleaner Derek Rees, 73, who works in Cromwell Street, recalled meeting Fred West years before his arrest. He remembered West’s earlier court appearance for sexual abuse, where he was found not guilty. “When he was at the pub, he was like, ‘I told you so,’ with a smirk on his face,” Rees said, though he added he was surprised when West was eventually arrested for murder.
Rees observed how the case permanently changed the city’s image: “When you mention Gloucester to people, they don’t mention the cathedral; they say, ‘Oh, that bloody Fred place’โit’s horrible, isn’t it.”
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