The Prospect of Whitby is a historic

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

on the banks of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Wapping Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...

in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It lays claim to being the site of the oldest riverside

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

, dating from around 1520.

History

The tavern was formerly known as ''The Pelican'' and later as the ''Devil’s Tavern'', on account of its dubious reputation. All that remains from the building's earliest period is the 400-year-old stone floor, and the pub features eighteenth century panelling and a nineteenth century facade. The pub has a pewter-top bar, and is decorated with many nautical objects. In former times it was a meeting place for sailors,

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

s, cut-throats and

footpad In archaic terminology, a footpad is a robber or thief specialising in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely from the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opp ...

Sir Hugh Willoughby Sir Hugh Willoughby (fl. 1544; died 1554) was an English soldier and an early Arctic voyager. He served in the court of and fought in the Scottish campaign where he was knighted for his valour. In 1553, he was selected by a company of London ...

sailed from here in 1553 in a disastrous attempt to discover the

North-East Passage The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (russian: Се́верный морско́й путь, ''Severnyy morskoy put'', shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route officially defined by Russian legislation as lying east of No ...

to China. In the 17th century, it became the hostelry of choice of "Hanging"

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as ...

, scourge of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

. He lived nearby and a replica

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

and noose hangs by the Thameside window, commemorating his custom. He was chased by anti-Royalists into the nearby ''Town of Ramsgate'', captured and taken to the

Tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

for his own safety. According to

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles'', ''The C ...

it was "The usual place for hanging of pirates and sea-rovers, at the low-water mark, and there to remain till three tides had overflowed them".

Execution Dock Execution Dock was a place in the River Thames near the shoreline at Wapping, London, that was used for more than 400 years to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by Admiralty courts. The "dock" consisted of ...

was actually by Wapping Old Stairs and generally used for pirates.''The Thames Tunnel, Ratcliff Highway and Wapping,'' Old and New London: Volume 2 (1878), pp. 128–37
Retrieved 29 March 2007 In the eighteenth century, the first

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, '' Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republi ...

plant in the United Kingdom was sold at the pub. Views from the pub were sketched by both

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

and Whistler. Following a fire in the early 19th century, the tavern was rebuilt and renamed ''The Prospect of Whitby'', after a Tyne collier that used to berth next to the pub. The ship took sea coal from

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

to London. The Prospect was listed as a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

in December 1950. The pub underwent a renovation in 1951 to double the interior space. In January 1953, the pub was raided by armed robbers. The pub has been visited by

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

of Monaco. On the opposite side of the road (

Wapping Wall Wapping Wall is a street located in the East End of London at Wapping. It runs parallel to the northern bank of the River Thames, with many converted warehouses facing the river. On this street is the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, built in ...

) is the

Wapping Hydraulic Power Station The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station (built 1890) was originally run by the London Hydraulic Power Company in Wapping, London, England. Originally, it operated using steam, and was later converted to use electricity. It was used to power machin ...

, later an arts centre and restaurant.

In popular culture

The video for

Gilbert O'Sullivan Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and " Get Down". O'Sullivan's s ...

's 1970 hit

Nothing Rhymed Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...

was shot here as he was living close by in a bedsit when he wrote the song. The public house features briefly in an episode of ''

Only Fools And Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas specials aired until t ...

''. When Uncle Albert goes missing in one episode, Del Boy and Rodney travel around London looking for him.

Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and became best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' (1981–2003). He also had major roles in other ...

is shown in one scene walking out of the pub. There is also a scene from the 1956 film ''

D-Day the Sixth of June ''D-Day the Sixth of June'' is a DeLuxe Color 1956 CinemaScope romance war film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Harry Brown, based on the 1955 nove ...

'' starring Robert Taylor and

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

where Taylor's character is seen with

Dana Wynter Dana Wynter (born Dagmar Winter; 8 June 19315 May 2011) was a German-born British actress, who was raised in the United Kingdom and southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than 40 years, beginning in the 1950s. Her best-know ...

's character having drinks together during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in London. In the comic book ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a comic book series (inspired by the 1960 British film ''The League of Gentlemen'') co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The series spans four volum ...

'',

Mina Harker Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. In the novel She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who is engaged t ...

pauses in front of the public house and says it brings back memories. She is referring to the beaching of the ''Demeter'' at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

in the novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

''. This pub is also featured in '' Vercorss novel ''Les Animaux dénaturés'' (translated variously into English as ''You Shall Know Them, Borderline, and The Murder of the Missing Link''). The pub also appears in ''

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

'', Series 4, Episode 4, where the body of a victim is discovered on the Thames shoreline. DS Miles briefly explains its history to DI Chandler. The pub also serves as the location of the final scenes in the 2020 film The Old Guard.

References

External links

Pubs.com information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prospect of Whitby Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Pubs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Restaurants in London History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Buildings and structures on the River Thames Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Grade II listed pubs in London 16th-century establishments in England Wapping

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links