A tosher is someone who
scavenges in the
sewers, a sewer-hunter, especially in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
during the
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
. The word tosher was also used to describe the thieves who stripped valuable
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
from the hulls of ships moored along the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
. The related slang term "tosh" referred to valuables thus collected. Both "tosher" and "tosh" are of unknown origin.
In fiction
In the 1960 film ''
The Day They Robbed the Bank of England
''The Day They Robbed the Bank of England'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by John Guillermin and starring Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars and Peter O'Toole. It was written by Howard Clewes and Richard Maibaum and based upon the 1959 The Day ...
'', which is set in 1901, a tosher becomes involved to help break into the bank through the old sewer system.
A tosher in Victorian London is the profession of the title character in ''
Dodger'', a 2012 novel by
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
.
[Doubleday. ]
The protagonist of Nick Harkaway’s 2012 novel Angelmaker describes the London sewers and backstreets as “Tosher’s Beat”.
The character Murky John is a Tosher in ''
Year of the Rabbit'' Series 1 Episode 2.
See also
*
*, someone who scavenges in river mud.
*
*
List of obsolete occupations
This is a list of obsolete occupations. To be included in this list an occupation must be completely, or to a great extent, obsolete. For example, there are still a few lamplighters retained for ceremonial or tourist purposes, but in the main the ...
References
External links
{{wiktionary, tosher
Toshers in fiction : "Joe Rat", a novel by Mark Barratt"Dodger" a novel by Terry Pratchett
Obsolete occupations
Waste collection
Sewerage