Workbench, tobacco handlers workbench with treadle

Wooden bench used for wrapping bundles of dried tobacco leaf in the Royal Victoria Dock, Newham. The pedal and rope beneath the bench was used for holding down the loose leaves during the packaging process. The bench itself is carved with the initials of both the 'Victoria Dock' and the 'London & India Joint Docks Committee'. Since the Victoria Dock was renamed the Royal Victoria Dock in 1880, the bench may date back to the late 1850s.