What Did Toshers Do?

A tosher is someone who scavenges in the sewers, a sewer-hunter, especially in London during the Victorian era. The word tosher was also used to describe the thieves who stripped valuable copper from the hulls of ships moored along the Thames.

What did toshers look for?

London sewer hunters, often called toshers, were those people that ignored roguish odors to descend into London's sewers and scavenge, pan, and retrieve “tosh,” which was the term for copper.

What work did poor Victorians do?

Poor people could work in mines, in mills and factories, or in workhouses. Whole families would sometimes have to work so they'd all have enough money to buy food. Children in poor families would have jobs that were best done by people who weren't very tall.