 At the Prospect of Whitby |
 Where better to start exploring London’s past than the banks of the Thames, for centuries the main artery of the greatest mercantile city the world had ever known?
For centuries the Thames was the main artery of Europe’s greatest city. Its murky waters mirror the history of London, indeed of the rise and fall of Britain’s maritime power and, more subtly, London’s return to prominence in the information age. Today the Docklands falls right off the edge of city maps clutched by the tourists who swarm under Tower Bridge.
Amidst the crowded tenements of the seamy Wapping district, in the narrow, cobbled alleyways behind the river’s banks, publicans and prostitutes thrived, as did dozens of pubs. Theft and murder were commonplace. Some of the most venerable riverfront pubs remain, the best-known being the Prospect of Whitby on Wapping Wall. Established in 1520, the former Devil’s Tavern has hosted Samuel Pepys and Charles Dickens at its well-worn pewter-topped bar.
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