Interior of a Stepney Doss-House

Seven destitute men have gathered inside a doss-house where beds cost as little as fourpence a night. Four of the men occupy simple bunk beds and are in discussion with another man who stands with his back to the couple crouched in the left corner of the painting. While they are cast in shadow, the others are well-lit. A line of a sparse washing, including a pair of socks, hangs across the room.

Although this picture was painted in William Stewart's (1886-1967) later life, it is based on sketches he made between 1900 and 1914 when he was a young man.

Doss-houses have rarely been depicted by artists and were largely superseded in the Edwardian era by working men's hostels.