In the 17th century, St Saviour’s Dock was a notorious site for public executions.

Here, convicted pirates faced their grim fate, hanged at the wharf where the infamous Neckinger met the river Thames. The etymology of “Neckinger” itself is thought to come from a slang term for a hangman’s noose, famously referred to as the “devil’s neckcloth.”

In his 1891 book ‘London Past and Present’, historian Henry B. Wheatley noted that Jacob’s Island, and the River Neckinger was a site of execution.

As you stroll along the southern bank of the Thames today, you might notice the warehouse-lined inlet of St Saviour’s Dock. While it may seem like a quiet spot now, it once bore witness to the grim fate of many pirates and mutineers that had been convicted by the Admiralty and were subsequently hanged; their bodies left as a stark warning to others.

Image Credit: Jacob’s Island and Folly Ditch, an engraving from a book published in 1873 (Internet Archive Book Images/licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Have you found all six of our historical facts about Shad Thames in Courage Yard? Make sure to look for them if you haven’t!