Peter Winchcombe

A respectable quay broker of the lower Thames, whose practical authority rests on berth allocation, permits, cargo slips and the ability to connect a merchant with working river space.

Peter Winchcombe is one of the names that belong to the daily language of the lower waters. As a quay broker he controls nothing so grand as a harbour, but he holds what a merchant most needs on arrival: a berth, the permits to use it, the cargo slips that make unloading lawful, and the introductions that turn a ship waiting in the stream into a ship at a quay. His authority is practical, and on a crowded tide it is considerable.

He is regarded as respectable in the exact sense the river uses, meaning that his ledger balances and his berths go to the people he said they would. Merchants who deal with him regularly speak well of his memory for who owes whom a favour, and less well of his fees, which he defends as the price of never being surprised.

Companies meet him when they need a vessel berthed quickly, goods landed without a fortnight’s delay, or a quiet word about which quay has space that the harbour notices do not yet show. He expects his slips to be honoured, his hat to be respected, and his name to be kept out of any trouble that follows.

In person

Peter Winchcombe is a man of middle height and slightly soft build, between forty-five and fifty, with thinning sandy-brown hair and a narrow moustache. His face is long, his mouth set distinctly crooked, and his eyes miss very little. He dresses as a gentleman of business, in a respectable dark coat, patterned waistcoat and gloves, and is never seen without his hat; a pocket watch, a berth ledger, keys and a brass tally device are seldom far from his hand.