|
 Mud Larks were scavengers, often very small children, who had to make
a living by poking around in mud on the banks of the River Thames.
But it wasn't
just confined to mud. In Victorian London, the sewers emptied into the Thames
and Mud Larks would have no choice but to wade through excrement while
scavenging.
They couldn't afford shoes and wore nothing but rags, even in
freezing conditions. Nails and glass would stick in their feet and disease and
infection was all around them.
But if a Mud Lark didn't collect enough coal,
metal or anything else they could sell before the tide rose they would starve
until they could begin hunting through the excrement again when the tide had
subsided. |
