A black-hooded box camera sits on a tripod on the Somerset bank of the Avon, pointing across the river towards Rownham Wharf, Rownham Tavern and the slipway for the Rownham Ferry. Just beyond are the locks of the Cumberland Basin. The large number of people lining the locks, standing still long enough for this photograph to capture them in reasonable detail, suggests they arrived in time to claim a good spot to view a special event - perhaps the launch of a ship (the river is at high tide) or arrival of a ship possibly carrying a dignitary or another important cargo. This would of course be the reason for why the photographer was there. Sitting near to the camera is a group of figures comprising a woman wearing a bonnet, and two children, one facing the camera. They may be members of a family who have chosen to sit there, but their proximity to the camera suggests they are linked to the photographer, who, having set up his camera in readiness for taking the all important picture, has wandered away with another camera to capture a quiet moment. To the right of the family is the wall of the New Inn, and just visible on the nearby footpath are the ghostly outlines of people, the ubiquitous fleeting figures caught on many old photographs during long exposure times.

This photograph was taken between 1858 and 1871. The Dockmaster's House, the square-towered building just beyond the Cumberland Basin, wasn't built until 1858, and the Rownham Tavern changed its name to the Rownham Hotel in 1871. The event about to be captured by the camera shown, assuming it was successful, has yet to come to light.