The Prospect of Whitby
The oldest riverside pub in London has much to entice you: a pedigree that stretches back to 1520, during the reign of Henry VIII. A 400-year-old stone floor. A backstory that includes a seamy stretch as a den for river smugglers, thieves, bare-knuckle boxers, and cock fighters. The replica scaffold commemorating the hanging of infamous pirate Captain Kidd beside the pub in 1701. A client list ranging from Charles Dickens (of course) to Richard Burton (of course), Princess Margaret (again, of course), and artists J. M. W. Turner and Whistler, who both captured the view from its confines. Not enough? If all of that doesn’t convince you of its appeal, take note that it’s fully reputable now, partly due to the popularity of its two creaky but spacious floors and its big side yard, where you can kick back with wide Thames views and great old-growth trees—look out for a replica scaffold that commemorates the many bankside executions that happened around here. Over weekends, it can get overly crowded, so to share the atmosphere with fewer souls, come on a weekday.
The oldest riverside pub in London has much to entice you: a pedigree that stretches back to 1520, during the reign of Henry VIII. A 400-year-old stone floor. A backstory that includes a seamy stretch as a den for river smugglers, thieves, bare-knuckle boxers, and cock fighters. The replica scaffold commemorating the hanging of infamous pirate Captain Kidd beside the pub in 1701. A client list ranging from Charles Dickens (of course) to Richard Burton (of course), Princess Margaret (again, of course), and artists J. M. W. Turner and Whistler, who both captured the view from its confines. Not enough? If all of that doesn’t convince you of its appeal, take note that it’s fully reputable now, partly due to the popularity of its two creaky but spacious floors and its big side yard, where you can kick back with wide Thames views and great old-growth trees—look out for a replica scaffold that commemorates the many bankside executions that happened around here. Over weekends, it can get overly crowded, so to share the atmosphere with fewer souls, come on a weekday.
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