Pirates and plunderers - the gruesome history of Canary Wharf

Published 05/11/2024

Today, Canary Wharf is one of the main financial centres in the United Kingdom and the world. It boasts loads of retail and office space, boat mooring and some of the highest buildings in the UK. However, hop back in time to the 170s and you will see a very different sight. London was the world’s busiest port, being a hotspot for trade and expensive goods. Of course, this also attracted plenty of thieves and pirates.

In the 1700s, London was the world’s busiest port, with industrious thieves lying in wait at every turn. Cargo left unmanned would be spirited away by gangs with names like The Night Plunderers and The Heavy Horsemen.

Thieves, wreckers and plunderers stalked the Thames, working under cover of darkness to steal whatever they could get their hands on and commit other unsavoury crimes. Pirates who were caught and sentenced to be hanged would be allowed to stop by the Turks Head Inn, the only pub licensed to sell pirates their last quart of ale, before they continued their journey to Execution Dock by Wapping Stairs.

The renowned pirate William Kidd, or Captain Kidd, found guilty of murder and five counts of piracy, was sentenced to death and hanged in a public execution on 23 May 1701, at Execution Dock. He was hanged twice. On the first attempt, the hangman’s rope broke, and Kidd survived. While some saw this as a sign from God, and called for his acquittal, he was hanged again and died.

London at that time was known as the City of Gallows, and you were never far from an execution site. Cuckolds Point in Rotherhithe, Blackwall Point opposite Blackwall and the Isle of Dogs were popular sites for these public display of pirates, because of their clear view from the river to remind the many mariners who passed by the perils of becoming a pirate. These rotting corpses of pirates and criminals became a familiar sight and to keep them in place, the bodies would have been covered in pitch and tar to keep them swinging from the “gibbet” for years to come.

Captain Kidd’s body was gibbeted at Tilbury Point for three years to serve as a gruesome warning to any would-be pirates.

In the 1790s, a quarter of Britain’s income came from imports from the West Indies, with most coming straight into London Docklands. Sugar, rum, coffee and timber were in abundance, and the temptation for theft would have been high.

Number One Warehouse was built to hold 80,000 giant barrels of sugar, and 20,000 smaller barrels of rum. The sinister side of the trade in sugar was the enslaved Africans, captured to produce it, making some Londoners incredibly rich, but leaving a legacy of horror.

Thankfully, Canary Wharf is a far cry from its slave-trading, pirating, and criminal past and nowadays, it is a cosmopolitan centre of modern life. You can still find clues across the docks of its sinister past though, if you want to find them.

Located close to Canary Wharf, the museum of London Docklands will bring stories of the Docklands’ murky past to life. 

Or what about a treasure hunt through the Docklands which winds its way along the riverside?

For exploring Canary Wharf’s past and present, park at West India Quay – and we have some special offers for you this autumn!

• Get 10% off short-stay parking from 1 – 30 November 2024, with the code GUYFAWKES24
• Get 15% off six-month permits from 1 – 30 November 2024 with the code PIRATES24