Lighters were barges used for the conveyance of cargo from ship to shore, or vice versa. They took their name from this process of 'lightening' the ship. They lacked their own means of propulsion and were either rowed by lightermen with sweeps or towed by steam tugs. At the height of the port's prosperity some 6000 lighters were engaged in carrying cargoes from the docks. As a result of the 'free water clause' the dockers were able to enter the docks and receive or deliver goods directly to or from vessels.

This study was painted by the well-known London-born artist W. L. Wyllie. Wyllie often painted views associated with the Thames, and during the mid-1870s he spent much time on a barge, converted into a floating studio, going up and down the Thames.