Why Execution Dock Is Worth Seeking Out
You may have come looking for Execution Dock because you’ve heard the stories of pirates being hanged beside the Thames—or perhaps you’ve spotted the noose dangling over the river behind The Prospect of Whitby.
There’s just one problem.
Nobody can point to the exact location of Execution Dock with certainty.
For centuries, pirates and other criminals convicted under Admiralty law were brought to the Wapping waterfront for public execution. The gallows disappeared long ago, and even the precise location of the execution ground has been lost.
But the landscape hasn’t disappeared.
You can still walk this stretch of Wapping, find the old river stairs and stand beside the Thames where the Execution Dock story unfolded.
And that famous noose behind the pub is a good place to start.
Start at The Prospect of Whitby—but Don’t Stop There
Head to The Prospect of Whitby on Wapping Wall and make your way toward the river.
Behind the pub, you’ll find one of Wapping’s most photographed reminders of its darker maritime history: a wooden gallows and noose extending over the Thames.
That noose is not Execution Dock.
It’s a replica commemorating the executions that once took place along this part of the river. It isn’t a surviving gallows, and its location doesn’t prove that condemned pirates were hanged directly beneath it.
Take the photograph anyway.
The replica does something useful: it puts you beside the Thames and gives you a physical starting point for understanding what happened along this waterfront.
Then keep exploring.
The replica gallows behind The Prospect of Whitby recalls Wapping’s Execution Dock history—but the exact location of the original execution site remains disputed.
So Where Was Execution Dock?
Somewhere along this stretch of the Wapping waterfront—but exactly where remains disputed.
Historic maps provide one particularly intriguing clue.
John Rocque’s 1746 map of London labels Execution Dock Stairs near what later became known as King Henry’s Stairs, opposite Brewhouse Lane.
But another location has become strongly associated with Execution Dock: Wapping Old Stairs, immediately beside The Town of Ramsgate pub.
Rather than choosing whichever location makes the tidiest story, it’s better to think of Execution Dock as part of this surviving Wapping riverscape.
The pubs, warehouses and riverfront have changed.
The Thames hasn’t.
And there’s one place where you can still get down close enough to understand why the river itself mattered.
Head Toward Wapping Old Stairs
Make your way along Wapping High Street toward The Town of Ramsgate.
Once you reach the pub, look for the narrow passage immediately beside it. It doesn’t look much like an entrance, but that’s Wapping Old Stairs.
Follow the passage toward the river.
Before heading down, check the tide and look at the condition of the steps. The Thames is strongly tidal, and the lower stairs and foreshore can be wet, muddy and slippery. If the water is high or the footing looks poor, there’s no need to descend.
And remember: you’re not descending onto a proven execution site.
You’re stepping into the surviving riverside landscape associated with Execution Dock.
If conditions are good, make your way carefully down toward the Thames.
And if you spot something interesting in the mud, leave it where it is. Searching the Thames foreshore—including digging, scraping or deliberately turning over stones—requires permission from the Port of London Authority. If mudlarking is what brought you here, there’s a legal way to do it.
Then stop and look around.
What Happened to the Pirates Here?
This is where the river becomes important.
People convicted of piracy, mutiny and other crimes under Admiralty jurisdiction were brought to Execution Dock because the executions took place at the edge of the Thames—the boundary between land and maritime authority.
After being hanged, the bodies of condemned pirates were traditionally left at the river’s edge until three tides had washed over them.
Some particularly notorious offenders received an additional punishment after death. Their bodies were coated for preservation, enclosed in iron frameworks called gibbets and displayed along the Thames as warnings to passing sailors.
The most famous was Captain William Kidd.
Kidd was convicted of murder and piracy and executed at Execution Dock in 1701. His body was then taken farther downriver and displayed in a gibbet near Tilbury.
So although Captain Kidd really did meet his end at Execution Dock, the famous display of his body happened somewhere else.
Are Those Old Posts Really From the Gallows?
At low tide, you may notice old wooden posts and other remnants protruding from the Thames foreshore.
It’s tempting to connect every ancient-looking timber with the pirates who died here.
Don’t assume you’ve found part of the Execution Dock gallows.
The Wapping waterfront has been used for wharves, stairs, jetties and other river structures for centuries. Old timbers survive in the foreshore, but there’s no reliable evidence identifying a convenient post as part of the original Execution Dock.
The same applies to the traditional pirate stories attached to the pubs along this stretch.
They’re part of Wapping’s folklore.
The river, the stairs and the execution records are the history.
And standing beside the Thames makes the distinction much easier to understand than simply looking for an X on a map.
Keep Exploring Wapping’s Dark Maritime History
The Town of Ramsgate — Continue the Execution Dock story inside the historic pub beside Wapping Old Stairs.
The Prospect of Whitby — Return to one of London’s oldest riverside taverns, where the replica gallows keeps Wapping’s pirate history hanging dramatically over the Thames.
Mudlarking on the Thames — Tempted to start looking for something old while you’re down by the river? Find out what modern mudlarks search for and why Thames beachcombing now requires a permit.