The High Court of Admiralty had jurisdiction over civilian crimes committed at sea and directly offshore and was established by Edward III circa 1360. It tried cases of murder, piracy and prizes (ships and goods captured at sea) and was presided over by one admiral by the early 15th century. It had a Marshall and court officers and sat at the Old Bailey.
By the 16th century it had responsibility for trying all crimes that were committed at sea or along the English coast outside the borders of individual counties, involving English merchant ship’s crews but not Royal Naval seamen. It functioned as a criminal court up to 1834 when this role was transferred to the Central Criminal Court, however it continued to try cases involving shipping, collisions, and salvage. The Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875 saw the High Court of Admiralty merged with the other courts of England into the High Court of Justice.
In its role as a criminal court it dealt with capital cases such as murder at sea, mutiny and piracy and those sentenced to death by it were hanged at Execution Dock (rather than Tyburn). This was located between Wapping Old Stairs (off Wapping High Street) and Wapping Dock Stairs in east London. The gallows was erected on the foreshore at low tide and executions were timed to fit in with low tide. For instance that of Captain John Sutherland was postponed from Monday to Thursday, June the 29th, 1809 because of the tides.
Condemned prisoners were brought from Marshalsea Prison in Southwark, across London Bridge, and past the Tower of London to Execution Dock. Some prisoners were housed in Newgate prison and they went via Cornhill, Whitechapel Road and Commercial Road to Wapping. The procession to the gallows was led by the Marshal on horseback (or his deputy) carrying a silver oar, representing the authority of the Admiralty. The prisoner travelled in a cart with a chaplain and the hangman (normally the civilian executioner who officiated at Tyburn and Newgate). Crowds lined the shoreline or hired boats moored in the Thames to get a better view of the proceedings. Hangings were carried out in the same way as on land and in later times a “New Drop” gallows was used. After execution the body(s) were chained to a stake at the low water mark and left there until three high tides had washed over them. Somewhere between 1786 and 1814, this practice ceased. In particularly serious cases of piracy the court could order gibbeting after execution in which case the body was covered in pitch and gibbeted lower down the Thames on the Isle of Dogs or Bugsby’s Hole or Reach near Blackwall, as a deterrent to passing merchant sailors. (Gibbeting ceased in 1834 for civil and nautical crimes). In cases of murder, after 1752, the court would order dissection (the same as for civilian murders). The criminal was taken down from the gallows when the tide had come in far enough for the water to touch his feet before being removed and sent to Surgeon’s Hall. Just as in the procession to Tyburn, those prisoners going to Execution Dock were allowed to stop for a drink and the landlord of The Turk’s Head pub supplied them with a quart of ale.
Between 1735 and 1830 there were 78 confirmed executions and 4 probable ones, as detailed below.
| Year & no. of executions | Name | Crime | Execution date |
| 1735 – 1 execution | Thomas Williams | Murder of James Beard | Fr. 14 March |
| 1737 – 4 executions | Richard Coyle | Murder of Benjamin Hartley | Mo. 14 March |
| Edward Johnson | Murder of Benjamin Hartley | Mo. 14 March | |
| Nicholas Williams | Mutiny on “Dove” | Mo. 14 March | |
| Lawrence Sennett | Mutiny on “Dove” | Mo. 14 March | |
| 1738 – 2 executions | John Richardson | Murder of Benjamin Hartley | Sa. 28 January |
| James Buchanan | Murder of Michael Smith | W. 20 December | |
| 1743 – 1 execution | Thomas Rounce | High Treason | W. 19 January |
| 1744 – 1 execution | Andrew Miller | Murder of James Nelson | M 21 February |
| 1752 – 1 execution | Captain James Lowry | Murder of Kenneth Hossack | W. 25 March |
| 1754 – 1 execution | John Lancey | Destroyed the “Nightingale” | Fr. 7 June |
| 1759 – 4 executions | Joseph Halsey | Murder of John Edwards | W. 14 March |
| Nicholas Wingfield | Piracy | W. 28 March | |
| Thomas Hide | Piracy | W. 28 March | |
| William Lawrence | Piracy | W. 19 December | |
| 1760 – 1 execution | John Tune | Piracy | Mo. 8 December |
| 1762 – 2 executions | Thomas Smith | Mutiny on the “King” | Mo. 10 May |
| Robert Main | Piracy | Mo. 10 May | |
| 1767 – 1 execution | John Winne | Murder of a negro sailor | Tu. 10 March |
| 1769 – 6 confirmed executions | Thomas Ailesbury | Piracy | W. 29 November |
| Samuel Ailsbury | Piracy | W. 29 November | |
| James Hide | Piracy | W. 29 November | |
| William Geary | Piracy | W. 29 November | |
| William Wenham | Piracy | W. 29 November | |
| Edward Pinnell | Murder of Alex Henderson | W. 29 November | |
| plus 2 possible where | Mark Chatfield | Piracy | Unknown |
| no reprieve traced | Robert Webb | Piracy | Unknown |
| 1772 – 2 executions | David Ferguson | Murder of Peter Thomas | Th. 3 January |
| John Shoales | Stole ship | W. 11 December | |
| 1775 – 1 probable execution | Thomas Sawyer | Murder of William Barbet | Eo 14/11/75 |
| 1781 – 4 executions | William Townsend | Murder and piracy | Sa. 17 November |
| James Sweetman | Serving on a French Privateer | Tu. 4 December | |
| Matt Knight | Serving on a French Privateer | Tu. 4 December | |
| William Paine | Serving on a French Privateer | Tu. 4 December | |
| 1784 – 2 executions | Samuel Harris | Murder of John M’Neir | Sa. 13 November |
| “ | John North | Murder of John M’Neir | Sa. 13 November |
| 1786 – 2 executions | George Combes | Murder of William Allen | Mo. 23 January |
| William Hines | Piracy | W/Th. 15/16 Feb. | |
| 1787 – 5 executions | Henry Parsons | Mutiny on the “Ranger” | Mo. 14 January |
| George Steward | Mutiny on the “Ranger” | Mo. 14 January | |
| Thomas Johnson | Piracy against “La Pourvoyeuse” | Mo. 14 January | |
| John Ross | Piracy against “La Pourvoyeuse” | Mo. 14 January | |
| John Thompson | Piracy against “La Pourvoyeuse” | Mo. 14 January | |
| All 5 sentenced to be hanged in chains after execution | |||
| 1790 – 5 executions | Thomas Brett | Stole off the “Dutch Hoy” | Mo. 4 January |
| (tried in 1789) | John Williams | Mutiny on the “Gregson” | Mo. 4 January |
| Hugh Wilson | Mutiny on the “Gregson” | Mo. 4 January | |
| John Clark | Stole off the brig “Arno” | Mo. 4 January | |
| Edward Hobbins | Stole off the brig “Arno” | Mo. 4 January | |
| 1792 – 3 executions | George Hindmarsh | Murder of Samuel Cowie | Fr. 6 July |
| Charles Berry | Mutiny on the “Fawy” | Fr. 6 July | |
| John Slacke | Mutiny on the “Fawy” | Fr. 6 July | |
| Berry & Slacke hanged in chains at Blackwall Bridge | |||
| 1796 – 3 executions | Francis Cole | Murder of William Little | Th. 28 January |
| Michael Blanche | Murder of William Little | Th. 28 January | |
| George Colley | Murder of William Little | Th. 28 January | |
| 1798 – 1 probable execution | George Jay | Serving the French | ordered Mo. 5/3/98 |
| 1799 – 1 execution | Jean Prevost | Murder of James Wilcox | Mo. 23 December |
| 1800 – 1 execution + | James Wilson | High Treason | ordered 09/07/1800 |
| 1 probable one (Wilson) | Thomas Potter (25) | Murder | Th. 18 December |
| 1802 – 1 execution | William Codlin (45) | Destroying the “Adventure” | Sa. 27 November |
| 1806 – 1 execution | Andrew Akow (36) | Murder on the high seas | Fr. 18 July. |
| 1809 – 1 execution | Capt. John Sutherland (46) | Murder at sea of Richard Wilson | Th. 29 June |
| (his 13 year old cabin boy) | |||
| 1812 – 2 executions | Charles Palm | Mutiny & murder at sea | Mo. 21 December |
| Samuel Tilling | Murder on the high seas | “ | |
| 1813 – 2 executions | James Bruce | Murder on the high seas | Mo. 4 January |
| Moses Wiltshire | High Treason (open hostility) | Fr. 30 July | |
| 1814 – 6 executions | Martin Hogan | Murder | Mo. 24 January |
| Panjang | Murder on the high seas | Th. 15 December | |
| Moodie (14) | Murder on the high seas | “ | |
| Sootoe | Murder on the high seas | “ | |
| Cadern | Murder on the high seas | “ | |
| Munoo | Murder on the high seas | “ | |
| 1816 – 4 executions | John Gillam | Murder | Tu. 30 January |
| William Brockman (40) | Murder | “ | |
| Robert Smith | Murder at sea | Th. 21 November | |
| Charles Furney | Murder at sea | “ | |
| 1817 – 4 executions | John Pierie | Piracy | Tu. 7 January |
| Jonas Norburgh | Piracy | “ | |
| Daniel Brace | Piracy | “ | |
| William Hastings | Piracy | “ | |
| 1820 – 1 execution | James Pater | Murder at sea of his brother, John | Tu. 1 February |
| 1830 – 2 executions | William Watts | Piracy | Th. 9 December |
| George Davis | Piracy | “ | |
Eo = execution ordered for the specified day. It cannot be confirmed that it was carried out.
Support the Archive
If you have found this article useful and would like to help preserve and maintain this historical archive, please consider supporting the site.