Wapping Old Stairs

Stairs with a gruesome history - What a whopper!

Location: Nr Wapping high Street

Description: If the tide is out you can descend the steps on to the riverbed, but be careful, as it is slippery.

These stairs have a gruesome history. Pirates were hanged nearby in Execution Dock and their corpses brought here so that they were washed over by the tide three times.

This caused them to be swollen and people said 'What a whopper!' - hence the name Wapping. It was also here that the notorious Judge Jeffreys was apprehended in 1689 when trying to escape to France disguised as a sailor. He was taken to the Tower, but died before he could be executed.

Tours: The Doctor Whoish tour of London

Tours: m

Tours: Dark London

Tours: Pirates and penthouses at the old London Docks

Themes: Subterranean Subterranean Theme