Pen and wash design drawing for a row of labourers' cottages, comprising a ground plan, plan of the bedrooms, and front elevation. All three diagrams show two of the cottages in a row, illustrating that the interior design of each is a mirror image of the adjacent cottage. The sheet also contains notes on the layout of the cottages, a record of the scale used, and some calculations written in pencil.
In keeping with Webb's socialist principles he believed that all social classes should have access to comfortable and hygienic dwellings, and took pains to design generous living accommodation in his projects for labourers' cottages. The cottages in these designs each have three bedrooms, which would have been considered a luxury by the standards of the day, and Webb's annotations show he took care to make the cottages ventilated and protected from draughts and direct sunlight. It is unknown which project this design relates to, but the scheme does not appear to ever have been realised. In all Webb worked on only three workers' terraces during his career, including a row of houses for artisans in Worship Street, Shoreditch, which can still be seen today.

Philip Speakman Webb (Oxford, 1831-Sussex, 1915) was a prominent British architect who designed numerous buildings throughout Great Britain. Known for his contributions to British vernacular architecture, Webb was also a skilled draughtsman, and designer of tableware, tiles, stained glass, and furniture. He also designed gravestones and memorials for his friends and clients. Webb lent his hand to many collaborative projects and worked closely with his colleagues, namely William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and Edward Burne Jones. His precise drawings of animals, particularly birds, frequently adorn tiles, stained glass, textiles, and wallpaper produced by Morris and Co. Webb is best known for designing Morris’ Red House in Bexleyheath, as well as Clouds House, Naworth Castle, and several London town houses. Among his other accomplishments, Webb is attributed with laying the groundwork for the Arts and Crafts and Modern movements, establishing longstanding principles in historic preservation, and creating some of the most influential designs still studied and celebrated today.