Editing Prospect of Whitby (section)

==History==
The tavern was formerly known as ''The Pelican'' and later as the ''Devil’s Tavern'', on account of its dubious reputation. All that remains from the building's earliest period is the 400-year-old stone floor. The pub features 18th-century panelling and a 19th-century [[facade]].<ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eflk15CDPiEC&q=london%27s+oldest+riverside+pub| title= Historic London: An Explorer's Companion| last=Inwood| first=Stephen| publisher=[[Pan Macmillan]]| date=June 2012| isbn= 9780230752528| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> The pub has a pewter-top bar and is decorated with many nautical objects.<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/Englands-great-pubs/| title= England's great pubs|last=Paris| first=Natalie| work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| date=18 April 2013| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wlKwBgAAQBAJ&q=london%27s+oldest+riverside+pub| title= Fodor's London 2016|publisher=Fodor's Travel Guides| date=2016| isbn= 9781101878880| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> In former times it was a meeting place for sailors, [[smuggler]]s, cutthroats and [[footpad]]s. [[Hugh Willoughby (sea captain)|Sir Hugh Willoughby]] sailed from here in 1553 in a disastrous attempt to discover the [[North-East Passage]] to China.

According to [[John Stow]], it was "The usual place for hanging of pirates and sea-rovers, at the low-water mark, and there to remain till three tides had overflowed them". [[Execution Dock]] was actually by Wapping Old Stairs and was generally used for pirates.<ref name=brit>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=45082 ''The Thames Tunnel, Ratcliff Highway and Wapping,'' Old and New London: Volume 2 (1878), pp. 128–37] Retrieved 29 March 2007</ref><ref name="Manners">{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7UOqCgAAQBAJ&q=prospect+of+whitby+pub+history| title=The Seven Noses of Soho: And 191 Other Curious Details from the Streets of London| last=Manners| first=Jamie| publisher=[[Michael O'Mara Books]]| date=October 2015| isbn=9781782434627| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/Londons-most-notorious-execution-sites/| title= London's 11 most notorious public execution sites| last=Smith| first=Oliver| work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| date=18 February 2016| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> In the eighteenth century, the first [[fuchsia]] plant in the United Kingdom was sold at the pub.<ref name="Farman"/>

Views from the pub were sketched by both [[J. M. W. Turner|Turner]] and [[James McNeill Whistler|Whistler]].<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/Londons-best-historical-pubs-the-ultimate-tour/| title= London's best historical pubs: the ultimate tour| last=Attwooll| first=Jolyon| work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| date=22 February 2016| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref> 

Following a fire in the early 19th century, the tavern was rebuilt and renamed ''The Prospect of Whitby'', after a Tyne [[Collier (ship type)|collier]] that used to berth next to the pub. The ship brought [[Coal#Sea_coal|sea coal]] from [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] to London.<ref name="Farman">{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pZh9c6smZ8wC&q=prospect+of+whitby+pub+history| title= The Very Bloody History of London| last=Farman| first=John| publisher=[[Random House]]| date=May 2012| isbn= 9781448121168| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://knowledgeoflondon.com/pubs.html| title= London Pubs| publisher=Knowledge of London| access-date=18 September 2016}}</ref> The Prospect was listed as a [[Grade II listed building]] in December 1950.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1357505 |desc=Prospect of Whitby Public House |access-date=9 December 2008}}</ref> The pub underwent a renovation in 1951 to double the interior space.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000687/19510917/048/0002| title= The Prospect of Whitby| work=[[Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer]]| page=2| date=17 September 1951| access-date=11 September 2016| via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In January 1953, the pub was raided by armed robbers.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000273/19530319/151/0007| title= Jail for Prospect of Whitby Raiders| work=[[Yorkshire Evening Post]]| page=7| date=19 March 1953| access-date=11 September 2016| via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The pub has been visited by [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]] and [[Prince Rainier III]] of Monaco.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/london/pubs.shtml| title= The Historic Pubs of London| last=Harris| first=Pearl| publisher=Time Travel Britain| access-date=11 September 2016}}</ref>

On the opposite side of the road ([[Wapping Wall]]) is the former [[Wapping Hydraulic Power Station]], later an arts centre and restaurant.