Historic Wapping Waterfront - Explored!
This is a view looking south-west along the north bank of the River Thames at high tide. The buildings, mostly refurbished old warehouses, mostly face onto Wapping Wall (those in the foreground) or Wapping High Street (those in the distance) on their inland side.
The Prospect of Whitby public house is the second building in the foreground behind the modern block of flats. Three individuals in blue, white and black shirts are visible on the pub's riverside terrace. Below and to the left of them in the image is a noose hanging from a post in the river. Some say that this was placed to commemorate Judge Jeffreys, a notorious 17th century judge who sentenced many river criminals to death. His nickname was “The Hanging Judge” as he showed little mercy. Others say that it marks the spot of Execution Dock. However, this is all a bit of historic license.
Execution Dock was more commonly known as King Henry's Wharf or Gun Wharf and is associated with a cannon foundry making guns for Henry VIII's navy. It later became the site for hanging marine criminals, sailors and pirates on the orders of the British Admiralty. That wharf is actually visible in the photo - it protrudes into the river on the very far left of shot some 575m beyond the pub, beyond all those gentrified warehouses.
I suspect Judge Jeffreys, or any other spectators on the pub's terrace, would have struggled to see anything of the wharf at the time of an execution, if only for all the activity in the warehouses and ships in between them...
The most famous death at the wharf was probably that of the infamous pirate, Captain Kidd, who was hanged at the dock in 1701. For maximum deterrent effect, the executions were usually carried out at low tide and three high tides were allowed to wash over the corpse before it was cut down and buried. The last such execution took place there as recently as 1830.
Wapping Beach would extend some 30m or so from the foot of the shoreline right into the distance at low tide.
An improved version of an earlier image.
Historic Wapping Waterfront - Explored!
This is a view looking south-west along the north bank of the River Thames at high tide. The buildings, mostly refurbished old warehouses, mostly face onto Wapping Wall (those in the foreground) or Wapping High Street (those in the distance) on their inland side.
The Prospect of Whitby public house is the second building in the foreground behind the modern block of flats. Three individuals in blue, white and black shirts are visible on the pub's riverside terrace. Below and to the left of them in the image is a noose hanging from a post in the river. Some say that this was placed to commemorate Judge Jeffreys, a notorious 17th century judge who sentenced many river criminals to death. His nickname was “The Hanging Judge” as he showed little mercy. Others say that it marks the spot of Execution Dock. However, this is all a bit of historic license.
Execution Dock was more commonly known as King Henry's Wharf or Gun Wharf and is associated with a cannon foundry making guns for Henry VIII's navy. It later became the site for hanging marine criminals, sailors and pirates on the orders of the British Admiralty. That wharf is actually visible in the photo - it protrudes into the river on the very far left of shot some 575m beyond the pub, beyond all those gentrified warehouses.
I suspect Judge Jeffreys, or any other spectators on the pub's terrace, would have struggled to see anything of the wharf at the time of an execution, if only for all the activity in the warehouses and ships in between them...
The most famous death at the wharf was probably that of the infamous pirate, Captain Kidd, who was hanged at the dock in 1701. For maximum deterrent effect, the executions were usually carried out at low tide and three high tides were allowed to wash over the corpse before it was cut down and buried. The last such execution took place there as recently as 1830.
Wapping Beach would extend some 30m or so from the foot of the shoreline right into the distance at low tide.
An improved version of an earlier image.