A scene on south bank of the Thames at Rotherhithe, looking east to the tower of St Anne's church, Limehouse. Two ships are shown on the right, flying the red ensign. Both are, by type, merchant vessels but that on the left, on the stocks just prior to launching, appears to be a naval transport flying a naval pennant from her central flagstaff and a white St George's jack. The other is refitting in a dry-dock. Piles of timber are stacked on the wharf between these two with a Dutch flag prominent on a quayside hoist. On the left of the vessel ready for launch stands another under construction on the same slipway and in-frame up to her top-timbers. In the right background is another merchant vessel with only her lower masts standing, probably at the inland end of a dock or basin, voiding to the Thames out of sight on the left. Houses lie beyond and on the left of the skeletal ship is a low building with a red roof and a pile of timber in front of it. Men can be seen on ladders working with the timber. In the centre a Dutch trading dogger is coming upstream, and the male passenger in the skiff gestures towards her while his oarsman turns his head to look out for her. Although similar craft often appear in Dutch paintings, its presence combined with the Dutch flag on the quay indicates that the artist had intentionally established a strong Dutch connection. It is possible that the picture, painted in 1792, marks a contemporary event of Dutch or Anglo/Dutch significance such as the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-Dutch defeat of the French at the Battle of La Hogue in 1692.