These men are digging a sewer. This was one of the big improvements made to the health of people in London in Queen Victoria's times. Before sewers were put in, drinking water in wells was often contaminated by germs from sewage that was just poured into the streets from the houses. This cased diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Young children and babies were particularly vulnerable to these diseases. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband died of typhoid in 1861, sending the Queen into mourning for the rest of her life.

Read what the artist wrote about these figures...

'Here are Presented......the strong fully developed navvy who does his work and loves his beer; the selfish old bachelor navvy, stout of limb, and perhaps a trifle tough in those regions where compassion is said to reside; the navvy of strong animal nature, who, but that he was, when young, taught to work at useful work, might even now be working at the useless crank.'