Ep 16 Wapping River Pubs - Captain Cook & Mutiny on the Bounty, Captain Kidd & Pirate Executions

The Town of Ramsgate and the Prospect of Whitby along the river in Wapping have been serving some interesting clientele for the last 400 years.  Let's see who's popped in.

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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, courtesy of Andy Meddick:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

Or TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/bduca5dv

The following resources are referenced or quoted frequently in these episodes:

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty

Additionally, the  following resource(s) were used in researching this episode:

• https://travelswithadog.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/the-town-of-ramsgates-sad-sorry-tale/
• https://londonist.com/pubs/pubs/pubs/prospect-of-whitby
• https://townoframsgate.pub/our-story/

Intro music:

• Vivaldi - Spring Allegro by John Harrison w/ the Wichita State University Chamber Orch

Photo:  Matt Brown

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com/

E-mail: hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com

Transcript

Welcome to this episode of The Historic London Pubcast. I'm Eric Blair, and I'd like to take you on a journey through the rich history of London's iconic pubs. My goal is to share with you my passion for the great old pubs of London. I want to give you some facts to help you appreciate the history of these hallowed establishments mixed in with some fun stories that make it all go down as smooth as a well poured pint. 

Today we will discuss two riverside pubs in the London area known as Wapping, north of the river and east of Tower Bridge. These pubs are The Prospect of Whitby and The Town of Ramsgate. Although I will talk about these two great pubs, it's the area and its storied past that provides much of the historical hook. We need to delve into the stories of the famous folks associated with Wapping to fully appreciate these establishments. These two river pubs have been around for quite a while and were almost certainly visited by many of these famous folks. But it's hard to show actual documentation. As I have mentioned about other pubs we've covered in the past in this Pubcast series. Just like now, the drinkeries didn't have signup sheets for patrons back in the day.

Okay, how did Wapping get its start? In Medieval times, Wapping was largely a marshy area. Indeed, is thought that the name Wapping came from an antique word, Walpole, meaning a marsh. By 1600, the marsh had been drained, and Wapping began to develop. Its proximity to the river gave it a strong maritime character. For centuries, well into the 20th Century, it was inhabited by sailors, marsh makers, boat builders, mark makers, instrument makers and representatives of all the other trades that supported the seafarer.

Also, Wapping was the site of the infamous execution dock, where pirates and other waterborne criminals met their demise by hanging from a giblet constructed close to the low water mark. Their bodies would be left dangling until they went submerged three times by the tide. Although its exact location is not definitively known, there is general agreement that the execution dock was somewhere between our two pubs of today - The Prospect of Whitby and The Town of Ramsgate. For more than 400 years, the dock was used to execute pirates, smugglers and mutineers who had been sentenced to death by British Admiralty Court. The Admiralty legal jurisdiction was for all crimes committed at sea. The dock symbolized that jurisdiction, by being located just beyond the low tide mark of the river.

Anybody who had committed crimes on the sea, either at home or abroad, would eventually be brought back to London and tried by the High Court of the Admiralty. Capital punishment was applied to piracy, acts of mutiny that resulted in death, murders on the high sea and specific violations of the Articles of War governing the behavior of naval sailors.

Those sentenced to death were usually brought to the execution dock from Marshal C or Newgate Prisons. The condemned were paraded across London Bridge and past The Tower of London. The procession was led by the High Court Martial or his deputy on horseback. He carried a silver orb that represented the authority of the Admiralty. Prisoners were transported in a cart to Wapping. With them was a Chaplain who encouraged them to confess their sins. Described today this certainly seems like a grim affair. But wait, I do have some good news. Condemned prisoners were allowed to drink a quart of ale at a public house on the way to the gallows. An execution at the dock usually meant that crowds lined the riverbanks or chartered boats moored in The Thames, to get a better view of the hanging. You can bet that on execution days, it was good to be in the pub business. Let's talk about a couple of famous pirates that were done in at the execution dock. The first is probably the most famous - Captain William Kidd. He even has a pub named after him in Wapping. A nice place, but it came to us relatively recently – 1980. William Kidd was born in Scotland around 1654. Early on, Kidd made his way to New York, which had been recently taken over by the British from the Dutch. He pursued a maritime career, sailing the Caribbean, gaining experience and rising in responsibility. He also made good connections in his home port of New York. He befriended many prominent colonial citizens, including three governors, and was active in financially supporting the construction of Trinity Church down by Wall Street.

On the 16th of May 1691, Kidd married Sarah Brady Cox, who was still in her early 20s but also twice widowed. She was one of the wealthiest women in New York, based on an inheritance from her first husband. In December 1695, the Earl of Bellomont and Governor of New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire asked,

“The trusted and well-beloved Captain Kidd”

to attack a number of named pirates and their crews, along with any enemy French ships. His request had the weight of The Crown behind it, and Kidd would have been considered disloyal, carrying much social stigma to refuse Bellomont.

Side note here I checked the Earl's name, thinking that there might be a typo, but it is indeed Bellomont, not Belmont. Kidd's ventures were financed by several noble lords, including his buddy the Earl, and he was presented with a letter of marque signed personally by King William the Third of England.

A letter of marque authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a nation at war with the issuer. Kidd made his hunting grounds around the Cape of Good Hope, the southern part of Africa. As the voyage progressed, he did not have good luck in seizing ships and collecting booty. Consequently, he began to feel increasing pressure by his crew to produce. Still, he refused to attack several ships that he believed were outside his commission. At home, the British Navy hierarchy was never a fan of Kidd, and there were rumblings that he should be regarded just as another pirate. On board the ship Kidd developed a reputation for being hard on his crew, but I guess we have to remember this was not a job for nice guys.

On January 30th, 1698, Kidd and his crew took the Quedagh Merchant, a prize haul flying a French flag. Finally, the booty coffers were filled, but a problem arose despite flying the French flag, there were British interests associated with Quedagh Merchant. This became the last straw for the captain. Word went out through the British authority that Kidd had turned rogue and was a Pirate.

He returned to North America, aware that the fates had turned against him, and he tried to lay low but aware of the accusations against Kidd, his buddy, Governor Belmont was afraid of being implicated in the piracy himself, and believe that presenting Kidd to England in chains was his best chance to survive. He lured Kidd into Boston with the false promise of clemency and ordered him arrested on July 6th, 1699.

Kidd was placed in Stone Prison, spending most of his time in solitary confinement. His wife Sarah was also arrested and imprisoned. They were separated and she never saw him again. Kidd was taken back to London, imprisoned in Newgate (the infamous lock up in Holborn), and was eventually tried and convicted because his crimes were naval in nature. The execution dock in Wapping was the place where ”Justice was to be handed out on May 23rd, 1701.”

He was hanged not once, but twice.  On the first attempt, the hangman's rope broke, and Kidd survived. Although some in the crowd called for Kidd's release, claiming the breaking of the rope was a sign from God, but Kidd was hanged again minutes later and died. His body was given over to the River Thames at Tilbury Point, as a warning to future would be pirates for three years.

Now let me say that if you look into different sources on Kidd, you could come away with the view that he deserved it, that he really had turned rogue. I take the other view that he got a raw deal. As you can probably guess in my telling of this tale. Lots has been written on this, so interested parties can read and make up their own minds. But one thing is certain The Town of Ramsgate pub's predecessor, The Red Cow, was there when William Kidd met his fate and probably served some of the spectators, if not Kidd himself. Remember, the prisoners led to execution were allowed to stop for a bit of refreshment. I found that there was another pirate of some fame associated with Wapping.

His name was Walter Kennedy, and he has an interesting story. Let me briefly relate his tale here. Kennedy was born in 1625 at Pelican Stairs, which is the passageway down to the river next to our second pub of today, The Prospect of Whitby. He was illiterate and had few prospects as he grew up. Add to that he was known to have a bad temper.

He took up being a pickpocket and house burglar part time while he apprenticed with his father – an Anchor Smith. When his father died, he joined the Royal Navy, but later became seduced by the pirate trade. After some adventures in the Caribbean, he found himself at the helm of a ship in a pirate fleet as a result of the death of one of the fleet captains.

There was a high attrition rate in this business, I guess, and it was a good opportunity for career advancement. Wiki tells us how that went, 

“Under his leadership, the crew decided to give up piracy. They broke from the fleet and set sail for Ireland. But Kennedy's poor navigation skills led them to land on the northwest coast of Scotland instead. The crew passed themselves off as shipwrecked mariners, but owing to their drinking and rioting in each village they came to, the whole countryside was soon roused. 17 of the crew were arrested near Edinburgh and put on trial for piracy. Nine of them were hanged. Kennedy slipped away and reached Ireland. Having soon spent all of his ill-gotten gains in Dublin, he came to Deptford, where he is said to have kept the brothel. When one of the prostitutes accused him of theft, he was sent to Bridewell Prison, where he was denounced as a pirate by a mate of a ship that he had taken. Kennedy was transferred to the Marshall C Prison in London and put on trial for piracy. He was hanged on July 21st of 1721. Where else? Back where he started - in Wapping.”

But Wapping was not just for pirates. There were decent folks walking the streets and living there, too. One famous Wapping resident of old was Captain James Cook. He was a British explorer, choreographer and naval officer, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779, in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia.

Cook joined the British Merchant Navy as a teenager and made some career progression, but he realized his career would advance more quickly in military service, and despite needing to start at the bottom of the Naval hierarchy, he entered the Navy at Wapping on 17th June 1755. Cook married Mary Elizabeth Batts, the daughter of Samuel Batts, the keeper of The Bell Inn in Wapping in 1762.

The Bell Inn is now long gone, but said to have been right next to the execution dock. Captain and Mrs. Cook had six children, but all his children died before having children of their own. Therefore, Cook has no direct descendants, so don't believe the guy in the bar stool next to you when he says that he is. Captain Cook served during the Seven Years War, and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance of the Saint Lawrence River during the Siege of Quebec. This brought him to the attention of The Admiralty and the Royal Society (that's the preeminent scientific organization in Britain of its day). That led to his Commission in 1768 as a Commander of the HMS Endeavor for the first of three Pacific voyages. In these voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail, and on a scale not previously charted by Western explorers.

He surveyed and named features and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for Britain, naming it New South Wales. By all accounts, he was a good leader. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.

During his third voyage in the Pacific, Cook encountered, I guess, in a more Eurocentric term, you could say he ‘discovered’ the Hawaiian Islands in 1779. He was killed while attempting to take hostage of the Chief of the island during a dispute. He left a legacy of scientific and geographic knowledge that influenced his successors well into the 20th Century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him.

However, he remains a controversial character for his occasional violent encounters with indigenous people, and there is a debate as to whether he bear some responsibility for paving the way for British imperialism and colonialism. Now, both The Town of Ramsgate, then known as The Old Town of Ramsgate, and The Prospect of Whitby were both in operation in Cook's time, but family obligations probably meant that he drank at The Bell Inn. I'm sure he wanted to stay in good graces with his in-laws - remember, they owned the place. But there was a fellow that Cook sailed with on his third voyage, the voyage on which he was killed that is said to have drank at least one of our pubs. That man is William Bligh, later Captain of HMS bounty of The Mutiny fame. In about 1787. The British powers that be decided that an experiment should be conducted to see if the Breadfruit plant, which was indigenous to Tahiti, could be brought to the West Indies and grown as food for the enslaved workers there. William Bligh was tagged to captain that mission.

Bligh and Sir Joseph Banks, the famous Botanist and longtime President of the Royal Society, came out to Wapping Dock to check out whether The Bounty should be purchased for the Tahiti to West Indies mission. The run to check out The Bounty was not a long trip for Bligh. He lived in nearby Reardon Street between 1785 and 1790.

Evidently, Bligh and Sir Joseph concluded that The Bounty would do, and was said to have had a drink at The Ramsgate Old Town. Bligh’s Second in Command was chosen - one Fletcher Christian. Again, legend has it that Bligh and Christian had their last drink in a proper pub at The Ramsgate Old Town. The Bounty sailed from Wapping two days before Christmas 1787.

What followed was a long voyage, much disagreement in Tahiti, and finally a mutiny, with Christian taking control of the ship and setting Bligh and the non-mutineers adrift in the middle of the Pacific. Bligh and a crew with him made an amazing voyage of 4000 miles to East Timor in a vessel that was nothing more than a small lifeboat, and not a man was lost on the voyage.

Christian and The Bounty crew made it to the remote Pitcairn Island, where their descendants still live today. Not particularly lucky that last drink at the Ramsgate Old Town, right? Maybe things would have been better if they’d have sailed after Christmas.

The Town of Ramsgate pub itself has quite a long history. Their website claims that a previous pub was on the site from the 1460s, and that one was called The Hostel, and that the current pub was founded in 1545. It is thought that that pub was named The Red cow, a reference to a barmaid working at the time. Wow! I bet that barmaid is still mad about being called that! It would have been The Red Cow in Captain Kidd’s and Walter Kennedy’s time. Wiki thinks that today's building goes back to 1758, with only the foundations being older. 

The pub was renamed Ramsgate Old Town in 1766. That's how Bligh and his friends would have known it. The name later morphed in 1811 to The Town of Ramsgate - our pub name of today. Okay, so why the association with Ramsgate? Ramsgate is a town on the coast southwest of London, in the area known as East Kent and home to many fishermen who used to sell their catches in London, specifically at the adjacent Wapping Stairs.

Why Wapping stairs? Money. Why else? By doing so, they avoided the river taxes, which had been imposed higher up the river close to Billingsgate Fish Market. Wiki has some nice things to say about the pub today, 

“It benefits from a Grade II Listing, awarded primarily for the pub's interior and the beamed ceilings, benches, plank paneling and engraved glass screen but also for its group value and historical associations. Despite later changes, the pub has a distinctive atmosphere crammed into a small rectangular area between Wapping Stairs and Oliver's Wharf. Its fight for space is reflected in the long, narrow spaces of the pub's main bar, walking out to the pub's riverside terrace. The visitor is confronted by dramatic sight of narrow steps leading up to the mock gallows that loom against the sky. It's featured in several books about London and a noble specimen of a Waterman's Tavern.”

Thank you. Wiki 

Ted Bruning gives us an additional interesting factoid going back to the old days, 

“The cellars of The Red Cow were the setting for more grisly scenes. They were used as holding cells for the Press Gang men waiting to board their ships, and for transportees waiting for one-way voyages to America and later, Australia.”

So not everybody had the pleasant departure experience that Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian did, and neither did Judge Jeffreys - another famous person associated with the pub. Judge George Jeffreys, was also known as ‘The Hanging Judge.’ Born in Wales in 1645 and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he began to advance his legal career by association with the royals - King Charles the Second and Charles's brother, the Duke of York.

He became Chief Justice of Chester and was associated with the Titus Oates affair. Oates sounded the alarm about a vast conspiracy of Catholics to assassinate King Charles. He wove an intricate web of accusations and fueled public fear and paranoia for a time. But it proved to be all made up, but not before at least 22 innocent men were executed. Jeffreys was on the bench for the conviction of the innocent, but also the conviction of Oates. The public remembered this. The Judge continued to hand out strong justice. In a time of political turmoil, Jeffreys prosecuted the rebels with ferocity, executing perhaps 150 to 200 persons and ordering hundreds of others sold to into slavery in the colonies. At the same time, he profited by extorting money from the victims. Not surprisingly, this further tarnished his public image. But who cares? His star continued to rise with those who counted - The Royals. He became Lord Chief Justice in 1683 and was Lord Chancellor in 1685. But it sucks when your patron gets fired, doesn't it, Judge? James The Second was deposed in what was known as ‘The Glorious Revolution.’ The King quickly left the country, but Jeffreys hung around a bit, and those who remembered him and his harsh justice felt he should answer for that.

Wiki tells us,

“He was captured in a public house in Wapping, now named The Town of Ramsgate. Reputedly, he was disguised as a sailor and was recognized by a surviving judicial victim who claimed he could never forget Jeffreys’ countenance, although his ferocious eyebrows had been shaved. Jeffreys was terrified of the public when dragged to the Lord Mayor and then to the prison for his own safety. He begged his captors for protection from the mob, who intended to show him that same mercy he had ever shown to others. He died of kidney disease while in custody in the Tower of London in April 1689, at age 43.”

Okay, The town of Ramsgate, nay, The Red cow, is certainly worth a visit. You can sit back and drink in the history as you drink in your pint, but that is not the only riverside pub in which you can do that.

Let's stroll down Wapping High Street for about 13 minutes to The Prospect of Whitby. In doing so, you will pass the overground station. Some sources say that is where the execution dock used to be. Maybe so, but if not, there's a high probability that some point along your walk was the dock’s location. The Prospect of Whitby is probably one of the most famous pubs in London, not in small part due to its great location by the river.

Wiki tells us 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 earlier period is the 400-year-old stone floor. The pub features 18th Century paneling and 19th 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, smugglers, cutthroats and footpads. 

Side note. I had to look this one up. A footpad is a thief who robs pedestrians. Termed so because they were on foot, as opposed to on horseback like the highwaymen. 

Back to Wiki. John Stowe, and Author of the late 1500s, wrote that it was,

“The usual place for hanging of pirates and sea rovers at the low watermark, and there to remain ‘til three tides had overflowed them.”

So, the same technique as the execution dock run by the Admiralty. 

Two famous artists sketched views from the pub - J.M.W. Turner, in the late 1700s to early 1800s timeframe, and the American artist James McNeill Whistler in the mid-1800s. Both artists were enticed by navigation and seafaring scenes, so the view of the river from The Prospect was a natural.

Following a fire in the early 19th century, the tavern was rebuilt and renamed The Prospect of Whitby after a collier vessel that used to berth next to the pub. A collier is a ship specifically fitted to haul coal. This one worked a regular route, bringing coal from Newcastle upon Tyne down to London. The pub underwent renovation in 1951 to double its interior.

The pub's robber and pirate clientele seemed to extend a bit into the 20th century. The Londonist writes,

“The Prospect was a target of plunderers in 1953, when staff and patrons were forced to the floor by armed robbers, who subsequently made off with valuables and the pubs taking. The four malefactors were sent to jail rather than the traditional punishment of hanging over the Thames for three tides.”

The Prospect has an impressive list of famous patrons. First, Diarist Samuel Pepys who probably visited The Red Cow as well. Working for The Royal Navy, he was in and around Wapping quite a bit, and we know he loved stopping at places for refreshment. Wapping is mentioned in his diary, something like seven times, but from what I can find no specific pubs are named. It's very likely he popped into the pub though, and the pub assumed so. One of the upstairs sections is named The Pepys Room. Blogger Ann Lafferty writes of other famous patrons,

“The Prospect has served ale to an eclectic mix of celebrities including Judy Garland, Paul Newman, Princess Margaret, Richard Burton, Prince Rainier of Monaco, Frank Sinatra and Charles Dickens. It also held cockfights and bareknuckle fights, so basically it had something for everyone.”

The pub has a great historic feel to it. The second floor provides a great view of the river and Canary Wharf beyond. There are a couple of outside decks that are nice when the weather cooperates. Put it on your list along with The town of Ramsgate, on your next visit to Wapping.

Okay dear Listeners, that concludes our trip to the river pubs of Wapping. It ran a bit long, but I won't make you cringe by saying this episode was a whopper! With this one, we're up to 16 episodes of this Pubcast, not including The Trailer. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoy putting these together. If you have any feedback, you can email me at hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com. Also, please consider thumbs up by liking, subscribing and all that. I'm told it helps. Until the next time. Cheers!