A Swashbuckling Self-Guided Historical Pub Crawl In Wapping

Wapping is a fascinating area with a rich maritime history. Once a key area for ships to offload their cargo, the docks, built between 1799 and 1815, would have been bristling with masts.

This maritime history of trade and commerce can still be seen all over the area in the names of the old warehouses (now mostly flats), the street names and, of course, the pubs!

There are some brilliant pubs in Wapping, each with their own fascinating history. This self-guided walk will take you to the most interesting, taking in lots of the history of the area as you go.

The Dickens Inn

We start our historical pub crawl just outside Wapping in St Katharine’s Docks. St Katharine’s Docks followed the London Docks in Wapping and opened in 1828. Previously area had been predominantly occupied by slum housing and 11,000 lost their homes in the clearance.

As well as the poor housing there were a number of small wharves and warehouses for offloading cargo. One of these warehouses is now the Dickens Inn. It is first recorded in the late 1700’s but the current building is thought to have been built early in the 18th century. It is likely to have been a tea warehouse or owned by a local brewery.

When the docks were developed, the 120 tonne timber frame had to be moved 70 metres to the spot it is on now. It was reconstructed in the style of an 18th century galleried inn.

It became an inn in 1976 and was formally opened by Cedric Charles Dickens, grandson of THE Charles Dickens. As far as I can tell that is the only link to Dickens the pub has.

Click here for their website.

Town of Ramsgate

The Town of Ramsgate on Wapping High Street is our next stop. The current building dates from 1758 but it is thought to have been built on the foundations of a much older pub. Some sources say 1545 and others go back to the 1480’s. Either way it has long been the haunt of salty sea dogs, looking to quench their thirst.

The name Town of Ramsgate dates from 1811, having previously been called Ramsgate Old Town from 1766 and the Red Cow before that. The name derives from the fact that Ramsgate fishermen from Kent would land their catches here rather than upriver, to avoid the taxes imposed nearer Billingsgate Market.

It is supposedly in, or just outside, the Town of Ramsgate that the notorious Judge Jeffreys (1645-1689) was captured in 1685. He was known for brutally enforcing royal policy under James II and gained the nickname ‘the hanging judge’. After the Glorious Revolution and the accession of William III he tried to flee to the continent but was captured here disguised as a sailor.

Its huge wine cellars were apparently once used by the Admiralty as a holding cell for the unfortunate men forced into the navy by the press-gangs that roamed these streets and to hold prisoners before their deportation to Australia.

Click here for their website.

Wapping Old Stairs

Next to the Town of Ramsgate you will find Wapping Old Stairs.

Wapping Old Stairs, along with many of the other narrow walkways, are a very old route down to the river, potentially dating from the 16th century.

The foreshore here, along with a couple of other locations, is one of the contenders as potentially the location of ‘Execution Dock’. It was here that, for 400 years, pirates and smugglers were publicly hanged.

They were often hanged with shortened ropes leading to a long, agonising suffocation, rather than an instant death. Their bodies were then left tied to posts until three tides had washed over them. The last execution took place here in 1830.

The Turk’s Head

The Turk’s Head was once located on Wapping High Street itself and it was there that the pirates, on their way to meet their fate at execution dock, would be given their final drink.

There has been a pub on the current site since 1896.

A plaque on the side of the building commemorates Mog Murphy, the formidable landlady during World War Two. She kept the pub open 24 hours a day for the community to receive news of loved ones.

It closed in the 1950’s, after which a fire decimated the building. In the 1980’s a group of local women brilliantly known as ‘The Wild Women of Wapping’ lead by Maureen Davies, saved the pub from demolition. They raised funds to restore the building and made sure that it would benefit the community. The profits from the leasehold today still go to local causes.

Website here.

Turner’s Old Star

Turner’s Old Star is said to be one of the last remaining traditional, unaltered, East End pubs in London.

It dates back to 1830 when the artist JMW Turner converted a string of cottages here into a pub. In 1833 he met Sophia Booth, a widowed landlady from Margate. She became proprietor of the pub and his mistress until the end of his life in 1851.

It was originally called ‘The Old Star’ and renamed ‘Turner’s Old Star’ in 1987 after a significant restoration.

Another curious historical connection is denoted by a plaque on the side of the pub. It was on this spot that in 1658, Lydia Rogers confessed to witchcraft, specifically ‘allowing the devil to draw blood from her hand to form an evil pact’.

Click here for their website.

The Captain Kidd

The Captain Kidd is named after one of Britain’s most unlucky pirates.

The building dates from the 19th century and was a three storey house before becoming a coffee warehouse. It was converted into a pub and named after Captain Kidd in the 1980’s.

Captain Kidd was born in 1654 and became a privateer, sanctioned by the state to attack enemy ships. However, the rules changed whilst he was away in the Caribbean and he was subsequently arrested.

Captain Kidd was executed at Execution Dock in 1701. He had to be hanged twice because the rope breaking on the first attempt.

As an infamous pirate, after he was hanged, he was gibbetted: his body tarred and put in a hanging cage as a warning to others. His body hung at Tilbury for 3 years!

Prospect of Whitby

Named after a ship that was moored nearby for a long period, The Prospect of Whitby is said to date back to 1520. It claims to be the oldest riverside tavern in London.

It has a dazzling and eclectic list of alumni including Samuel Pepys, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Charles Dickens and Sir Hugh Willoughby. Sir Hugh set sail from here in 1553 on his failed mission to discover the North East passage. When I say failed, he and the crews of two of the ships froze to death.

As well as the Town of Ramsgate, the Prospect of Whitby also claims to be an old haunt of Hanging Judge Jeffreys. It is due to this connection and the likely nearby proximity of Execution Dock that on the beach, behind the pub, you’ll find this ominous reminder…

Click here for their website!

Thank you for reading. More self-guided London history walks below!