 The equally romantically named Captain Thunderbolt, not to be confused with Captain Thunderbolt in New South Wales, was said to roam the area and even emulated the mythical Robin Hood...

Richard Dawes, carpenter of Prospect Village, returning home... was... attacked by Captain Thunderbolt... Mr Dawes [handed] him his purse, but on inspecting it [found] some few silver coins of little value; [Captain Thunderbolt] said, "Oh!I see you're a poor man like myself and I don't want to injure you..."

By the 1870s Stepney contained many small houses with small backyards and no drainage.They were considered to be hotbeds of disease and fever.