pirates

For more than four centuries pirates were hanged at Execution Dock on the north bank of the Thames. The exact spot is shown on old maps of London and lies a mile downstream from the Tower of London on a bend of the river at Wapping.

Today the riverside pub called 'The Captain Kidd' overlooks the original site of the gallows. In the early years of the 18th century the waterfront at Wapping was a jumble of wharves, wooden cranes and small shipyards. Beyond the wharves were narrow streets lined with the houses of seamen, dockers, shipwrights and their families.

This picture shows the execution of the pirate James Lowry who was hanged at Execution Dock, Wapping. The prison chaplain stands next to the condemned man on the scaffold. The church of St Mary, Rotherhithe, can be seen in the background. The official on horseback at the left holds the Admiralty oar.



A public eventThe gallows were built on the shore near the low tide mark. When an execution was due to take place, large crowds gathered on the shore and in boats moored out in the river.

The condemned man had to travel in a procession from the Marshalsea Prison on the south bank, across London Bridge and past the Tower of London to Execution Dock.



The procession was led by the Admiralty Marshal or his deputy who carried the silver oar that represented the authority of the Admiralty. The pirate travelled in a cart and was accompanied by the prison chaplain.

After the pirate had been hanged it was usual to let three tides pass over the body before it was taken away to be buried in an unmarked grave or sent to Surgeon's Hall for dissection. The dissection of executed criminals had been authorised in Henry VIII's reign and was common practice by the 18th century.