These rows of “coffins”, known colloquially at the time as fourpenny coffins, were the men’s sleeping quarters in London’s Burne Street hostel and many other homeless shelters like it. It beat the penny sit up, where you were given a meal and possibly some clothing, as well as a place to stay inside for the night, but were not allowed to fall asleep. At two pence, you might be able to use a twopenny lean over, where, in addition to the meal and the possible clothing, the proprietor would allow you to fall asleep, hanging over a rope, either placed in front of your chair or, where space was more limited, in front of you while you stood, to prevent you from falling on your face. In the morning, the proprietor or one of his employees would unhook the rope to wake the sleeping. Photos circa 1900.