Lightermen

Lightermen were workers who transferred goods between ships and quays, aboard flat-bottomed barges called lighters. They were one of the most characteristic groups of workers in London’s docks during the heyday of the Port of London, but their trade was eventually rendered largely obsolete by changes in shipping technology. They were closely associated with the watermen, who carried passengers, and had their own livery company called the Company of Watermen and Lightermen.