Westminster stairs 1872 Size:extra large Mudlarking: Lost and Found on

Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames is a must-read for anyone fascinated by London’s past

A crowd gathered around an East End stationer and newsagents window where the latest edition of the Illustrated Police News has been displayed

The reality was often very different

Westminster Bridge showing stone alcoves

It has been suggested that some of the girls could be Reid's daughters

Westminster stairs 1872 Size:extra large Mudlarking: Lost and Found onAn illustration of steam boats, full of Boat Race spectators, at Westminster Stairs, from 'London: a Pilgrimage' by Blanchard Jerrold and Gustave Dor, 1872. Jerrold questions: 'Is it possible that this tremendous rush along both banks of the river; this block of a dozen bridges, this unbroken water procession and these moving steamers massed to the funnels with humanity can all be provoked by a single contention among a score of University students?'