The Prospect of Whitby, London, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Prospect of Whitby is a historic riverside pub on Wapping Wall in London's East End, and it claims to be the oldest tavern on the Thames, with origins around 1520. It stands among the old docklands warehouses, where sailors, smugglers and river pirates once passed through, and it is closely tied to the grim story of Execution Dock.

The story behind it

The tavern is said to have opened in the early 1500s, and it has gone by more than one name. It was first known as The Pelican, and later it became The Devil's Tavern, a nickname that reflected the rough company it kept. Its customers were the people of a working port: sailors, dockers, smugglers and, if the tales are to be believed, cutthroats. The name it carries today is said to come from a ship, the Prospect, which was moored nearby.

Beside the pub, a passageway leads to a replica scaffold and noose that recall Execution Dock. For centuries the Admiralty sentenced pirates, smugglers and mutineers to hang at the riverside in Wapping. The condemned were hanged at the water's edge, within sight of the ships that came and went on the Thames. The exact spot of the original gallows is not certain, which is why the pub's reminder is as much a piece of local memory as a marker.

What to look for

• Look at the pub's facade, which keeps its nineteenth century appearance and gives a sense of how the building looked when the docks were busy.
• Notice the old flagstone floor inside, which is said to be very old, and the panelling that survives from the eighteenth century.
• Find the passageway beside the pub and the scaffold with its noose, the pub's nod to Execution Dock.
• Take in the view across the Thames from the riverside terrace, and think about the ships that once crowded this stretch of water.

Tips for your visit

• Allow around 30 to 45 minutes if you want to see the outside, the passageway and the river view, and longer if you stop for a drink.
• It is a working pub, so you go inside as a customer. Check current opening hours before you plan a visit.
• Late afternoon is a pleasant time, when the light falls on the river and the terrace is at its best.
• Wapping is good for wandering. The Thames Path and the old warehouse streets around Wapping Wall are close by, so combine the pub with a longer walk.

See it on a quest

Historical London: The Docklands of East End is a good way to see the Prospect of Whitby. You reach it on foot as one stop on a longer route through the docklands, so you see the pub in the setting that shaped it. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot, which makes you look properly at what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, and you can start whenever suits you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.