Neckinger
 
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Location of the Neckinger estuary in Greater London |
The Neckinger is an underground river in London that flows into the Thames through St Savior's Dock . The river is completely built over and flows underground.
history
The area in which the Neckinger flows over the St. Savior's Dock into the Thames was formerly called Jacob's Island (east of St. Savior's Dock). Today it is the elegant district around the Shad Thames (west of St Savior's Dock). Jacob's Island was an early London slum, was known to be dirty and is described in the Morning Chronicle of 1849 as the “capital of cholera ” or “ Jauchenvenedig ”.
In the 17th century, convicted pirates were hanged at the estuary; their bodies were then displayed downstream at Blackwall Point as a deterrent. The name of the river is said to have been derived from "Devil's Neckcloth" (German: the devil's scarf = hangman's noose).
The area has been vividly described by Charles Dickens in his novel Oliver Twist as the place where one of Dickens' most famous characters, Bill Sikes , met a filthy death in the mud of St Savior's Dock or one of the adjacent flood channels.