Prospect of Whitby

The claim

Perched on the Thames at Wapping, the Prospect of Whitby markets itself as London's oldest riverside tavern. The 1520 date is unproven and the building is Georgian and Victorian, yet the atmosphere is irresistible: flagstones, a pewter-topped bar and a terrace facing the river near the old execution site described by John Stow.

What the records show

Historic England notes that references to a 1520 foundation did not appear until the 1950s and "may have been related to a marketing campaign rather than historical research"; the building is of the 18th and 19th centuries. The statutory list entry itself was read on 17 September 2026 and hedges in the same direction. Entry 1357505, first listed on 29 December 1950 at grade II, describes No 57 Wapping Wall as a building whose original fabric is said to be about 1520, with the north-west front refaced in the early nineteenth century: yellow brick, three storeys and three windows, recessed sashes with glazing bars, a hooded balcony with a needled balustrade on the river side, the interior much altered but keeping some eighteenth-century dado panelling on the first floor. The entry ends by saying the house was included principally for its historic associations and as a surviving riverside inn, and it groups the pub with Pelican Stairs and the hydraulic power station. So the register carries the 1520 as something said rather than something shown, and everything it can see for itself is Georgian or later.

What to look for inside

• Pewter-topped bar and old stone-flagged floor
• Formerly known as the Pelican and the Devil's Tavern
• Sketched by Turner and Whistler
• Named after a Whitby collier ship

Visiting

Prospect of Whitby is in London, England, at 57 Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SH. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.

Sources

1. heritagecalling.com/2025/09/25/what-is-the-oldest-historic-pub-in-london/
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_of_Whitby
3. www.greeneking.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/prospect-of-whitby
4. historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1357505
5. ratings.food.gov.uk/business/43871

Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026

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