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00:00We've all seen the pictures and read the stories in the history books about the kings and queens with their power and privilege and silks and furs.
00:12But in this series, I want to discover the other side of history. I'm already quite nervous.
00:18The side we don't often hear about. How ordinary British people lived their lives.
00:24From the Tudors, you'll see why it did attract my attention.
00:31Disgusting.
00:32To the Victorians.
00:34Throw a stone in Victorian London, you'll hit a drunken cabman. There's that many of them.
00:38We are not amused.
00:41From the Georgians.
00:43You take a saw.
00:44Oh my God.
00:44It's horrible just seeing you do that.
00:48To the people who really fought the Second World War.
00:51James could hear the ping of bullets and the platter of shrapnel.
00:58One thing's for sure, these people knew the meaning of the word tough.
01:03I'll be finding the truth about their daily lives.
01:07What they ate.
01:08How long would that have lasted?
01:10Up to three years.
01:13How they made a living.
01:15There's even value in a rat when it's dead.
01:18And those vital necessities of life.
01:20What did you do if you wanted to pee?
01:22Go in the bucket.
01:23The bucket.
01:24This is British history from the bottom up.
01:28You've got to admit, I am terrifying.
01:30This time, I'm going back over 200 years to Georgian Britain.
01:45Nowadays, it's seen as a period of great sophistication and elegance.
01:50Darling, where did you get that dress?
01:53May I have the next dance?
01:55Yes, but for ordinary people, it was far from that.
02:00For them, the Georgian period was particularly cruel and nasty.
02:05In everything from laws to living standards, there was a huge chasm between the poor and
02:11the wealthy.
02:11But, some of those who came from the wrong side of the track weren't prepared to accept
02:19their dreary lot.
02:21Jack Ran, who was born in 1750, was one of them.
02:27Here's Jack.
02:29Right there.
02:30Like many ordinary families at the time, Jack's was dirt poor.
02:35They would most likely have lived all together in just one room with no running water, and
02:40just a bucket for a loo.
02:42We think his dad was a peddler.
02:45A street seller, earning maybe six or seven shillings a week.
02:49Just 35 quid in today's money.
02:52Which meant that most of the family's money was spent on bread, certainly not on fun.
02:57And yet, just to rub it all in, Jack lived in a city that was oozing with luxury and pleasure.
03:07Bath.
03:09The go-to tourist destination for Britain's rich and privileged.
03:15They came here to party, sample the spa waters, and generally pounce around.
03:21Oh, the heartache!
03:22But at least the Toffs provided a business opportunity for a certain canny young someone.
03:30Yup, no school for him.
03:32Instead, he'd be following in the footsteps of his dad.
03:3612-year-old Jack regularly used to pitch his peddler's cart in the city centre, in the square,
03:43selling Georgian delicacies like pastries and oranges.
03:47His customers were the high society men and women, strutting around like peacocks with their hair piled high on their heads.
03:57Like a glossy magazine centre spread there, right in front of him.
04:03And the more he saw of it, the more he wanted a piece of the action.
04:07And quite frankly, he wanted to look cool enough to get some of the girls.
04:14Jack saw his chance in the Georgian lust for high-speed travel.
04:19For Jack, the growing numbers of wealthy travellers whizzing around the country in fancy carriages
04:35mend the charms of Jack going places too.
04:38When he was just 18, he got the plum job in this new world of high-speed travel.
04:48He became a coachman.
04:50And was soon running all the transport for a large household.
05:00Chris Thompson is an expert on the sort of life Jack would have had.
05:04That coat that you're wearing, that to me is a traditional coachman's clobber, am I right?
05:11Yeah, a great coat.
05:12Has many capes for keeping out the weather and is very heavy and warm.
05:16So in clement weather, it would be something of a saviour.
05:19In warm weather, it wasn't too good.
05:21And Jack would have worn something like this.
05:23What hours would he have worked?
05:24Long hours.
05:25Long into the night.
05:26If his employee requested to travel overnight, then Jack had to be at the ready.
05:30On a daily basis, he would probably work from dauntledusk.
05:35And Jack wasn't exactly raking it in.
05:38He'd get just £10 to £15 a year.
05:42A couple of grand today.
05:43Although he did get meals and accommodation thrown in.
05:52Regular public stagecoaches were uncomfortable and packed tight with smelly passengers.
05:58But Jack's was in a different class.
06:02It's beautifully padded.
06:04It's like your sofa at home and you're just sitting there watching the telly.
06:10When Jack reached one of the new coaching inns to overnight,
06:14his passengers went inside to relax with a hot meal and a freshly made-up bed.
06:19But Jack's long day wasn't over until he'd washed, brushed and fed the horses.
06:27Often, his own bed was right beside them,
06:30along with any fleas and ticks that might happen to be crawling around.
06:35One thing was for certain.
06:38Being a coachman was not giving Jack the glamour that he craved.
06:42What he wanted was the fat cat lifestyle of his wealthy passengers.
06:49He'd seen them hand over wads of cash every time they stopped
06:53to pay for the fancy wine and the gorgeous meals
06:57while he had to bed down in the stable.
07:00It was time for a career move.
07:04Jack was about to become a highwayman.
07:07Even back then, highwaymen were romantic figures.
07:18More daring and glamorous than bog-standard robbers.
07:23The Mid-Georgian period was the heyday of the highwaymen.
07:27There were loads and loads of travellers around.
07:29There was no organised police force to catch them.
07:33And like most highwaymen, and indeed highwaywomen,
07:35Jack would ride up to the coach with the travellers in it.
07:40He would shout, your money or your life.
07:42And he would wave his pistol.
07:44But it was extremely dangerous.
07:48Passengers could carry guns too.
07:52So Jack knew the risks.
07:55But he was determined that even if his career was going to be really short,
07:58at least it would be fun and exciting and just great.
08:04So he dressed like a dandy.
08:06He had these silk britches and each one was tied with eight silver strings at the knee.
08:13So he got the nickname 16-string Jack, which is a pretty good nickname, isn't it?
08:19And there was one victim who remarked,
08:21Jack behaved exceeding civil and rather begged for the money than used any violent means.
08:28He was so cool.
08:33As Jack notched up success after success,
08:36his pile of cash and his charisma rapidly grew.
08:40But the authorities were on to him.
08:47He was caught and tried, not once, but an incredible 17 times.
08:53And on each occasion, silver-tongued Jack outwitted the judge and charmed the jury.
09:00But finally, in 1774, Jack was accused of stealing from the king's daughter's chaplain.
09:07What's wonderful is that you can hear Jack's brass cheek and his accent in the court transcript.
09:14He says,
09:16I knows no more of it than a child does unborn.
09:20They have said false things to you.
09:24But Jack had made a fateful error.
09:27The court didn't take kindly to the princess's pastor being called a liar.
09:31He was found guilty and, this being the Georgian era, he was sentenced to death.
09:42But in true Jack style, he enjoyed a saucy last supper with the governor of Newgate Prison
09:48and seven delightful young ladies.
09:51The next day, a showman to the end, he danced a high jig on the scaffold
09:58before the noose tightened around his neck.
10:08Coming up, what happened to the seaman who jumped ship?
10:12This is what he would have got, the cat-o'-nine-tails.
10:15Wham!
10:15And don't break a leg, facing surgery in Georgian Britain.
10:20Whoa, so that's just splitting me right open all the way round.
10:24Yes.
10:30In Georgian times, Britain began to rule the waves
10:36and ordinary men went off to sea, exploring, trading
10:41and generally enjoying themselves far too much in ports across the globe.
10:47That's me wages gone.
10:49Hello, big boy.
10:51Another drink, anyone?
10:52One such man was a 24-year-old Irish sailor called John Mara.
10:58He was minding his own business one day in 1770,
11:01just hanging out in a lively port on the Asian island of Java.
11:06Having a drink down by the harbour, checking out the girls.
11:10Oi, you!
11:11Grab him!
11:11Come here!
11:12When suddenly, John was surrounded by British marines.
11:16Are you employed?
11:17They were looking for crewmen.
11:19Who are you working for?
11:19And had the right to force any seaman between 18 and 55
11:23to join their ship.
11:25Pushing me!
11:25Whether he wanted to or not.
11:27Right, get over there.
11:28John had no choice.
11:30He'd been press-ganged.
11:31About a quarter of the Navy's sailors were recruited like this.
11:38So who exactly was behind John's dastardly kidnap?
11:43None other than the famous explorer Captain James Cook.
11:47John was now a sailor in Cook's crew on board HMS Endeavour.
11:52John Mara soon calmed down.
11:59He admitted that one ship was pretty much as good as any other
12:02and that only a fool would want to stay in this disease-ridden port.
12:06So he was welcomed on board.
12:10Mama told me to never look back.
12:13She said, strap your things tied across your back.
12:16In Georgian times, there was no such thing as cabins for ordinary seamen.
12:21So, when John first got on board, he would have been given a hammock
12:24and gone below and found somewhere to put it
12:28and that would have been his living quarters for the rest of the voyage.
12:33But at least he travelled light,
12:35so storage of all his worldly goods wouldn't be a problem.
12:39These were called ditty bags.
12:41This was where each sailor kept his spare change of clothes,
12:45his mementos, his knife, his Bible.
12:49That was the lot.
12:51And John wouldn't even have had a uniform to worry about
12:53because he wasn't an officer.
12:55Strap your things tied across your back, honey.
12:59So this is where the men lived
13:01and down here was the officers' quarters.
13:04And if any of the sailors just went beyond that line,
13:08they could be shot by a marine.
13:10If you just looked an officer in the eye,
13:13then you could be punished for dumb insolence.
13:16But look at the difference.
13:19This was how the officers lived.
13:27John became a gunner's mate.
13:29His job was to keep the cannons secure and the powder dry.
13:36He also made sure all the ship's ropes, pulleys and sails were in good order.
13:42He'd worked four hours on, eight off,
13:45with extra time off when they reached port.
13:47Most days, John would be faced with just endless skies and endless seas.
13:57But it wasn't exactly peaceful.
13:59It's hard to imagine, but this deck would have been covered
14:04in goats, sheep and chicken, even cows.
14:11And some of the men had clubbed together and brought a pig on board.
14:16And all those animals would have created a right old mess.
14:22One that John and the other seamen would have to clean up.
14:26Everyone knows that sailors used to scrub the decks.
14:30And I'd always assumed that that meant with a scrubbing brush.
14:33But it didn't.
14:34This is what they used.
14:35This is like a square of sandstone.
14:38And you stuck a peg in it like that.
14:40And you went back and forward and back and forward, day after day.
14:44Essentially, it was a discipline thing.
14:46It just kept the lads from arguing and thumping each other.
14:50But it had a secondary effect, which they weren't at all aware of,
14:54is that it kept the germs down.
14:56So, essentially, ships were a pretty healthy place to live.
15:00Though, after a few months at sea, there'd be less mess to clean up
15:04because all the animals would have been eaten.
15:09Sophie Forgan, an expert on Georgian naval cuisine,
15:14knows what kind of food John would have been left with.
15:16That's a bit of really manky salt pork.
15:20Now, that is as solid as a rock.
15:22How long would that have lasted?
15:24Well, they did last up to three years.
15:29But pretty awful by that time.
15:33It must have been incredibly salty.
15:35Very, very salty.
15:37But one way you got rid of the salt
15:39was to put the joints in a small net
15:43and tow them behind the ship
15:46to wash some of the excess salt off.
15:49Is it right that occasionally John would be treated
15:52to something weird like albatross?
15:55It is right.
15:56Everything they shot was eaten.
15:58The only one they turned their backs on was walrus.
16:03The sailors said, no way.
16:08But there was one fate even worse than walrus for breakfast.
16:14Scurvy.
16:15On long voyages, it was the biggest threat to John's life.
16:19The disease was caused by a lack of vitamin C
16:22and on some ships, it killed half the crew.
16:26Men like John were terrified of scurvy
16:29and you can't blame them.
16:30It was absolutely horrible.
16:31Your skin started to go pale,
16:35your eyes sunk in,
16:36your gums went all swollen and bloody,
16:40your teeth fell out,
16:41you got covered in bruises,
16:43then your arms and legs started to go black.
16:46Death, when it came,
16:47was a blessed relief.
16:51Luckily, John never got scurvy
16:54and travelling at a modest speed
16:56of just under 10 miles an hour
16:57made it as far away as it's possible to be from Britain,
17:01the South Pacific.
17:05He must have thought he was in paradise.
17:09In Tahiti, he got friendly with the local chief
17:11who apparently offered him his own house,
17:14his own land
17:15and the prettiest girl in the village
17:18to be his wife,
17:19chosen from among a dozen maidens.
17:23John was over the moon.
17:24What an offer!
17:26Let's get out of here!
17:27And being a strong swimmer,
17:29he knew when to make his move.
17:30He waited till the sails were being lifted
17:33and the anchor was being weighed
17:35and sprinted to the side,
17:38dived overboard
17:39and began swimming
17:40through the crystal clear waters
17:42towards paradise.
17:46Unfortunately, he was spotted,
17:48he was dragged back
17:49and brought dripping into the ship
17:53to be punished by the captain.
17:56This is what he would have got,
17:58the cat and nine tails.
18:00Wham!
18:00But he wouldn't have been standing up
18:03and he would have to lie down like this
18:06and this was known as kissing the gunner's daughter
18:09and get whacked on the back and on the bottom.
18:13Dozen lashes, that was the standard dose.
18:16Although, quite honestly,
18:17for a bloke like Mara,
18:18I don't think it would have made any difference.
18:23After five years sailing round the world with Cook,
18:27John finally returned to Britain.
18:30He'd made a bit of money
18:31and he could have called it quits.
18:33settled down in Ireland
18:34in a cottage by the sea.
18:38But he didn't.
18:40Grog got the better of him
18:41and he drank it all away.
18:48And the last time we ever hear of him
18:51is in a port
18:52on the coast of Australia
18:54looking for another berth,
18:56another ship
18:57and another adventure.
19:08One thing you definitely didn't want to be in Georgian times
19:11was ill.
19:13You might find yourself being bled for acne
19:16or get tobacco smoke blown up your bottom
19:20to cure a headache.
19:23And as for surgery,
19:24even if you could afford it,
19:26run a mile if you're able to.
19:29If you were poor,
19:31naturally, you'd be stuffed either way
19:33unless you happen to be in the right place
19:35at the right time,
19:36which surprisingly could be somewhere round here.
19:40It's just another day
19:44in London's most notorious district,
19:47Jacobs Island near London Bridge.
19:50Also known as the capital of cholera
19:52or the Venice of slums.
19:55Houses rotted by dampness,
19:58windows covered in paper and rags,
20:01the whole place overcrowded with people
20:04and dirty-faced kids swarming everywhere.
20:08One of the residents,
20:1060-year-old Elizabeth Regan,
20:13is woken up really early
20:14by the racket of people clattering past.
20:18When she's emptied the contents
20:20of her chamber pot out of the window,
20:23she pops out and joins the queue for the pump
20:26to get some water for her stew.
20:30In Georgian times,
20:3160 was considered pretty ancient,
20:35so Elizabeth was probably shacked up
20:37with her grown-up children,
20:38helping out with the cooking
20:39and the shopping.
20:41Nearby Borough Market
20:42was the perfect place
20:44for her to bag a bargain.
20:49This particular morning,
20:51she was rushing down Borough High Street,
20:53avoiding all the crowds of people
20:56and all the horse-drawn carts.
21:01And as she's crossing the road,
21:06she trips over,
21:10a cart runs over her leg.
21:15Multiple compound fractures.
21:18And remember, in those days,
21:19there were no ambulances,
21:20no NHS,
21:21but she's very lucky
21:23because the accident has happened
21:25just outside
21:26one of the most important hospitals in London
21:29that's been here
21:30since medieval times,
21:32St Thomas's.
21:35There must have been a friendly bystander
21:37who helped her limp to the door.
21:40Then,
21:40Elizabeth would have been carried up these stairs.
21:4352 ancient,
21:47cranky,
21:47wooden steps.
21:49You really do feel like
21:50you're walking back into history.
21:54Next,
21:55bleeding,
21:55in pain
21:56and on the edge of consciousness,
21:58Elizabeth wouldn't have been certain
22:00that the hospital would even admit her.
22:04Julie Mathias
22:05knows all about the history of St Thomas's.
22:07If I came here,
22:09I've had a road accident,
22:10my legs are all smashed up,
22:13my mates carry me here,
22:14dump me on the floor,
22:16what would be your response?
22:17Well,
22:18you would actually be quite fortunate
22:19in that case
22:20because the hospital provided
22:21one ward
22:23to access cases of an emergency
22:25such as yours.
22:26Casualty.
22:27So I've actually come to casualty.
22:28Priority patients,
22:29as you were.
22:30Yes, indeed.
22:32So,
22:33things are sort of looking up.
22:35Despite being from the worst postcode
22:37in London,
22:38Elizabeth had a world-leading surgeon
22:40on her case.
22:43I'm going to put myself in her place
22:45to get an idea
22:46of what Elizabeth went through
22:47in Europe's oldest operating theatre.
22:54Coming up,
22:55casualty Georgian style.
22:57That's actually to stop the blood
22:59going through the floorboards.
23:00Can the surgeon save Elizabeth?
23:03And,
23:04risking everything
23:04to put a decent meal on the table,
23:06along comes Mr Rabbit.
23:08No, no, no.
23:08No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
23:10Oh, God, yes.
23:21London, 1824.
23:2460-year-old Elizabeth Regan,
23:26a poor lady from a local slum,
23:28has been involved in a road traffic accident
23:31and broken her leg.
23:33Luckily,
23:34she's been admitted
23:34to St Thomas' Hospital
23:36for emergency surgery.
23:38Unluckily for Elizabeth,
23:40it's the Georgian times.
23:42I'm following the surgery
23:44in Elizabeth's footsteps.
23:46Well,
23:46footstep.
23:47Karen Howell
23:48is my surgeon.
23:50Scary.
23:51Karen,
23:52presumably,
23:52you're going to operate on me
23:53because you've got the pinafore on.
23:55That's right.
23:55I'm the operator for today,
23:57the surgeon for you,
23:58so I'm hoping to amputate your leg.
24:02Elizabeth must have been a tough cookie,
24:04but this experience
24:05would have terrified her.
24:07I must admit,
24:08I'm already quite nervous
24:09just below me here.
24:11Yeah.
24:12Look at this.
24:13This sawdust,
24:14presumably,
24:15is for collecting
24:17my blood in bits and pieces.
24:18You got that right.
24:19That's actually for,
24:20to stop the blood
24:21going through the floorboards,
24:22the churches below us.
24:24There was a church,
24:25I don't want to drip
24:26on the congregation.
24:27That's right.
24:27Yeah.
24:29But fear not,
24:30Elizabeth.
24:30You're getting
24:31high-tech treatment.
24:33The operating table
24:34was the latest design,
24:36featuring a pop-out platform
24:37for Elizabeth's good leg,
24:39even a headrest,
24:41and the table
24:41was a handy height
24:42for holding her down.
24:44Thoughtful touch.
24:48It's trying to case on
24:49to limit the damage.
24:50We're managing your blood
24:51so that when we cut,
24:53I don't lose much blood.
24:54But that wasn't all
24:57Elizabeth had to cope with.
24:59She suffered this indignity
25:00in front of crowds of people
25:02who were making
25:03an incredible amount of noise,
25:05yelling at the assistants
25:06to keep their heads
25:07out of the way.
25:08There would be
25:09a few medical students,
25:11naturally,
25:12but in some hospitals,
25:13they actually issued tickets.
25:16There was no anaesthetic,
25:17just a piece of leather
25:19to chew on
25:19and maybe a prayer
25:21before the chop came.
25:23In the 18th century,
25:25Georgian method
25:26is circular action
25:27on one knee.
25:29Are you ready?
25:30Yeah.
25:30We have permission
25:31to amputate
25:32and you're bracing yourself.
25:34There's an old technique
25:35they call the tour de metre.
25:37The master's round
25:38goes around like this
25:39and you can see
25:40what's going to happen.
25:41So we're ready
25:42and sort of say
25:43and pull out like this.
25:44Wow!
25:45So that's just splitting me
25:46right open
25:47all the way around.
25:47And the idea was
25:49then you take the saw.
25:50Oh, my God.
25:51We know really
25:51it's about six to eight cuts
25:53through that one bone.
25:54Very fast saws they are.
25:55It's horrible
25:56just seeing you do that.
25:57Then that is the bone through.
26:00So my leg's gone now.
26:01Yeah, there's no leg there now.
26:02Yeah.
26:07Elizabeth began to faint
26:09but got a hefty slap
26:11to keep her conscious.
26:14With blood everywhere,
26:15she must hang on in there.
26:23The arteries are now severed
26:24and we need to act quickly
26:25to close up the wound.
26:27Basically,
26:28we put a thread through there
26:30like this,
26:30big thick thread
26:31and tie it
26:32like a drawstring bag.
26:33The operation was a success.
26:41Well, at least
26:42Elizabeth didn't die
26:43on the operating table.
26:45But then came the tricky bit.
26:47Recovery.
26:49Thanks to the unsanitary conditions
26:51in the hospital,
26:52Elizabeth's chance of survival
26:53was just one in three.
26:57Despite her ordeal
26:58in the operating theatre,
27:00Elizabeth didn't make it.
27:01She never left the ward.
27:03Within a week,
27:04she died of infection.
27:07And yet,
27:08within 50 years,
27:09the medical profession
27:10had started to become aware
27:12of bacteria
27:13and began cleaning
27:15their surgical instruments
27:16and their operating theatres.
27:19Although, sadly,
27:20for one brave Georgian,
27:22that came too late.
27:23One of the biggest problems
27:30for the poor
27:30in Georgian times
27:31was that they were powerless
27:33to change their lot.
27:36Ordinary people couldn't vote,
27:38so the laws were made
27:39by the rich
27:40and for the rich.
27:41And we'll hang them.
27:42And to keep the working class
27:44under control,
27:45the powerful voted
27:46in a long list of crimes
27:48you could be hanged for.
27:50Over 200 of them,
27:52in fact.
27:55You could be strung up
27:57for anything
27:57from, oh,
27:59destroying a toll gate
28:00to impersonating
28:03a Chelsea pensioner.
28:04How dare you!
28:06But even more serious
28:07was pinching
28:08the Toffs game.
28:11Local rumour
28:12down here in Hampshire
28:13at the time
28:14suggested that
28:15Charles Smith
28:16was a practitioner
28:18of the dark art
28:19of poaching,
28:20although no-one
28:21had ever actually
28:22seen him do it.
28:24This looks like Charles
28:25in 1821,
28:27aged 28,
28:28with his son.
28:30Standing at six foot tall
28:32when the average
28:33was just five foot five,
28:35he was thought
28:35a rather romantic figure.
28:38He even married
28:39above his station.
28:40Charles lived with his wife,
28:42who was the daughter
28:43of a wealthy farmer,
28:44and his kids,
28:46and his little terrier,
28:47in a cottage
28:48very much like
28:49this one.
28:58So he'd got a roof
28:59over his head,
29:00probably thatched
29:01like this one.
29:02This is actually
29:03quite gorgeous,
29:04isn't it?
29:04But to feed his family,
29:06Charles needed money.
29:08Some of it came
29:09from his day job
29:10as a casual labourer.
29:12He could get
29:13the occasional day
29:15digging ditches,
29:16lugging clay around
29:18at the brick kilns,
29:19scraping the skins
29:20at the tanners.
29:23And back in the old days,
29:25that might have been enough
29:26to buy things like
29:27butter, cheese,
29:29and the occasional
29:30bit of meat
29:31for dinner.
29:32But getting food
29:34on the table
29:34was getting harder
29:35and harder.
29:38A run of terrible
29:40harvests,
29:41new food laws,
29:42and fat landowners
29:43jacking up their prices
29:45changed everything.
29:47Now,
29:47to avoid starvation,
29:49families like Charles's
29:50had to spend
29:51all their money
29:52just to buy the basics.
29:54This is how the food
29:55would have been cooked,
29:57although it would have
29:58been pretty rudimentary,
30:00something like
30:01tatters and shake,
30:02which was potatoes
30:03with salt on it,
30:04or a flatbread,
30:07like something
30:07that you get
30:08in the kebab shop,
30:10the difference being
30:11that there was
30:12no meat in it.
30:13In fact,
30:14they had virtually
30:14no protein at all.
30:18I want some protein!
30:20And in 1816,
30:22the government
30:23made it illegal
30:23for ordinary people
30:25to hunt and kill
30:26any sort of game.
30:27even wild rabbits.
30:31Oh,
30:31courgettes in butter.
30:33So,
30:33while the rich
30:34had more fine food
30:35than they could
30:36fill their faces with,
30:37Turbot,
30:38Turbot,
30:38Turbot,
30:39Charles and his family
30:40were starving.
30:42Mmm,
30:43halibut!
30:44Charles's local landowner
30:46was an aristocrat
30:47called Henry Temple
30:49Viscount
30:49Lord Palmerston,
30:50which is a bit
30:51of a mouthful,
30:52and he was
30:53the future
30:53Prime Minister.
30:54He loved having
30:55fancy parties
30:57for his hunting friends,
30:58and his estates
30:59were jam-packed
31:00full of deer
31:02and pheasant
31:02and partridge
31:03and all sorts
31:05of yummy treats.
31:09So,
31:09if a man's kids
31:10were hungry,
31:11what else
31:11was he supposed
31:12to do?
31:14Charles
31:15turned to poaching.
31:19Seb Littlewood
31:20is an expert
31:21on poaching
31:22in Georgian times.
31:24What kind of snares
31:25or traps
31:26did Charles use?
31:27There were small traps,
31:28like these small animal traps.
31:30What is that?
31:30It looks like a trap
31:31for fairies.
31:32Yeah,
31:33it's about the right size.
31:35So,
31:35this is how this operates.
31:37So,
31:37it sprung
31:38by pushing this down.
31:39You open
31:40the teeth
31:41and then
31:43we clip that up
31:44like that.
31:45Okay,
31:45so it's all set
31:46for the rabbit.
31:47Along comes
31:48Mr Rabbit.
31:48Yeah.
31:50La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
31:52Oh, God,
31:53it's so horrible, isn't it?
31:55It's not nice.
31:56And presumably,
31:57the thing about
31:58leaving a few of these around
32:00is that it means
32:00the gamekeeper
32:01will know
32:01that there are poachers
32:02about.
32:02If the gamekeeper
32:03comes across them,
32:05he knows people
32:06out and about.
32:07Poacher comes back
32:07to check his traps.
32:08Gotcha.
32:09Gotcha.
32:09Yeah, yeah.
32:10So a rabbit trap
32:12could become a trap
32:14for the poacher
32:14who set it.
32:18So if Charles
32:19wanted something
32:21much bigger
32:21and much more effective,
32:23what might you do?
32:24Well, there is this option.
32:27I suppose something like this.
32:28Hey.
32:31Would you actually
32:32be able to bring down
32:33something like a rabbit
32:34with that?
32:34You would.
32:35Although it's a musket,
32:36it works much the same way
32:38as a modern shotgun.
32:39Oh, so you put pellets
32:41in it?
32:41Pellets in it.
32:42This was a scattershot,
32:44meant that hopefully
32:45anything sort of
32:4610, 15 yards away,
32:48you're going to hit it.
32:49But isn't there
32:50a big drawback
32:51to using a gun?
32:53The bang?
32:54The bang,
32:54the size,
32:55absolutely.
32:57Generally,
32:57the whole idea
32:58about poaching
32:59is you relying on stealth,
33:01on a level of secrecy.
33:03Something like this,
33:04you're going to hear it
33:05from half a mile away.
33:09But Charles was presented
33:11with an irresistible opportunity.
33:14On the 22nd of November,
33:151820,
33:16there was a big
33:17and noisy local festival.
33:19Oh, rebel, rebel, rebel.
33:20I do love a rebel.
33:22None of the revelers,
33:24Charles figured,
33:25would hear his musket
33:26in the distant woods.
33:27Hooray!
33:28When it was dark,
33:35Charles went over
33:37to his hiding place,
33:39produced his musket,
33:42and he would have had
33:43a big tunic on
33:44with a pocket in it
33:45down here somewhere,
33:46and he would put the butt in it
33:48to support it.
33:49And then he would sneak out,
33:52hoping that before morning
33:54he would have been able
33:55to find something warm
33:57and furry
33:57with which he could feed
33:59his family the next day.
34:02The weather was perfect,
34:04just enough moon
34:05to light the way
34:06and just enough wind
34:07in the trees
34:08to mask the sound
34:10of footfall.
34:11Taking his terrier,
34:13Charles made his way
34:14to collect his brother-in-law,
34:16John Poynter,
34:17then the two of them
34:18pressed on
34:18to the plantation
34:20of Palmerston's estate
34:21with all its rich pickings.
34:27Cautiously,
34:28they crept to the spot
34:30where they'd seen
34:30pheasants roosting earlier.
34:33Charles raised his gun.
34:35But, unfortunately,
34:37deputy gamekeeper
34:38Robert Snellgrove
34:39was a party pooper
34:41who'd rather be lying
34:42in wait for poachers
34:43than revelling.
34:44As soon as he heard
34:46Smith's gun,
34:47he was after them.
34:49Snellgrove caught up
34:50with them
34:50and as he did so,
34:52there was a bang
34:53and an almighty cloud
34:56of smoke.
35:01It cleared
35:02to reveal Snellgrove
35:04bleeding badly
35:05from his thigh.
35:07The poachers
35:08were nowhere to be seen.
35:11Charles Smith
35:12went on the run,
35:14but Snellgrove
35:15had seen his face
35:16clearly enough
35:16to identify him.
35:18It took them
35:19over a year
35:20to catch up
35:20with Charles,
35:21but eventually
35:22he was tried
35:23in Winchester
35:23and on March
35:25the 23rd,
35:261822,
35:27he was hanged.
35:31Charles was one
35:32of the last men
35:33hung for poaching
35:34under the Georgians.
35:37He was unlucky.
35:38Just a year later,
35:39the law was changed
35:41and poaching
35:41was no longer
35:42punishable by death.
35:44coming up,
35:47a gin hawker
35:48who sells her spirits
35:49at the gallows.
35:50If you're going to go
35:51see a proper set
35:52of hangings today,
35:53you're going to need
35:54refreshment.
35:54You're going to need gin.
35:55In Georgian times,
36:06the countryside
36:06was beginning
36:07to get crowded.
36:09So,
36:10a lot of ordinary
36:11country folk
36:11started heading off
36:12to the cities.
36:14And nowhere
36:15was a more
36:16seductive destination
36:17than the booming
36:19capital.
36:19In the 1730s,
36:23the whole of London
36:24was squashed
36:24into a fraction
36:25of its size today.
36:28London started here,
36:29round about Tower Bridge,
36:31that's there,
36:31and stretched
36:32about a mile
36:34in this direction
36:35over towards Westminster.
36:36And that
36:37was London.
36:39And it was
36:40ram-packed full,
36:41about 700,000 people
36:44and dogs
36:44and horses
36:45and other animals.
36:47And amongst
36:48this hurly-burly
36:49was a woman
36:50called Elizabeth Bowman.
36:54She's in there
36:55somewhere.
36:57That's her.
36:59Elizabeth was
37:01one of the many
37:01young single women
37:03who saw an opportunity
37:04to make money
37:05from Georgian London's
37:06expanding population.
37:08Six days a week,
37:09she'd get up
37:10at sunrise
37:10and leave her
37:11small rented room
37:13to come shopping
37:14here at
37:15Covent Garden Market.
37:17It was the best
37:17place in London
37:18to buy juniper peries,
37:20herbs and spices
37:21because Elizabeth
37:23was a maker
37:24and seller
37:25of the capital's
37:26most popular
37:26recreational product,
37:29gin.
37:30In Georgian times,
37:32in London,
37:33they were knocking back
37:34an incredible
37:35seven million gallons
37:37of gin
37:38every year.
37:39That's...
37:40It's stupid.
37:41Two pints of gin
37:43every week
37:44drink for every adult.
37:46Oh, thank you.
37:49Two pints
37:50is what we drink
37:51on average
37:51per year.
37:53I mean,
37:53all right,
37:53I'm slightly more
37:54than the average,
37:55but you know what I mean.
37:58Anyway,
37:59Elizabeth certainly
38:00had a lot of eager
38:01customers for her product,
38:02but what was
38:03her life like?
38:05Anastasia Miller
38:06is an expert
38:07on drinking
38:08in the 18th century.
38:11Why do you reckon
38:12a woman like Elizabeth
38:13would have got involved
38:14in the gin-making trade?
38:16Because if you were
38:17a good girl,
38:18you would want
38:20to do something
38:21where it's honourable enough
38:22that you could sell something,
38:24you could make something,
38:25you could make enough
38:26of a profit.
38:27So you're implying
38:27that she could avoid
38:29the sex trade?
38:30She could avoid
38:30the sex trade.
38:31An incredible 20%
38:35of Georgian London's
38:36young women
38:36were involved
38:37in the sex trade,
38:39whereas selling
38:40and making gin
38:41was considered
38:42far more respectable.
38:44For Elizabeth,
38:45it meant she could afford
38:46a new bonnet
38:47when she needed,
38:48or visit one
38:49of the new theatres
38:50that were springing up
38:51around Covent Garden.
38:53And she might even
38:53treat herself
38:54to a ball of scented soap
38:56for her daily ablutions.
38:58Making gin
38:59was a bit of
39:00a dodgy business.
39:01First,
39:03Elizabeth probably
39:04blagged a jug or two
39:05of rough, neat spirit
39:07from the local distillery.
39:09No questions asked.
39:12OK, so Elizabeth's
39:13got some of this
39:14dodgy stuff.
39:14She takes it home.
39:16Yes.
39:16What does she do?
39:17Well, she's going
39:18to make it into gin.
39:20Easiest way
39:21is you take your spirit.
39:25And she probably used
39:26just regular old
39:28crockery jugs,
39:29things like that.
39:29Now, here's the important part.
39:30She had to have juniper.
39:32Is that the thing
39:33that really marks gin out?
39:35That is what gin is.
39:37But juniper berries
39:38were pricey
39:39and might sometimes
39:40have been beyond
39:40Elizabeth's budget.
39:42Other way to do it
39:43to get that piney smell
39:45was to use this.
39:47I mean, I know what that is.
39:49Is that paint stripper?
39:51Well, that's oil of terps.
39:52Terps?
39:53Yes.
39:53They used to take
39:54terps into the gin.
39:56Well, they also used
39:57to take oil of vitriol
39:59to give it a little bit
40:00of peppery bite.
40:01Which is what?
40:02Sulfuric acid.
40:03Oh, that's ridiculous.
40:04Oh, I know.
40:05And if she was feeling
40:06creative,
40:07Elizabeth may have added
40:08her own herbs
40:09and spices as well.
40:11Seal this up,
40:12let it sit overnight,
40:13and you're done.
40:14You've made gin.
40:18Once Elizabeth
40:19had made her gin,
40:20the next challenge
40:21was to flog
40:21her dodgy homebrew.
40:23One of the most
40:24horrible things
40:25confronting Elizabeth
40:26daily would have been
40:27the sheer filthiness
40:28of London.
40:30There had been rubbish
40:30strewn all over the place,
40:32pigs snorting everywhere.
40:35And in the days
40:36before main sewers
40:37had been put in,
40:38human effluent
40:39was just chucked
40:40into the street
40:40or else whoosh
40:42went straight
40:43into the River Thames.
40:45Elizabeth would have
40:46had to walk
40:47many miles a day
40:48through this
40:48without wellies
40:49or a face mask
40:50just to get
40:51to her customers.
40:54Where and when
40:55was gin sold?
40:57They sold it everywhere.
40:59They went up
40:59and down the streets
41:00to do it,
41:01but the best place
41:01to sell gin
41:02was if you showed up
41:03to places
41:03where people gathered.
41:05And you're looking
41:05at hangings
41:06at the Tyburn tree.
41:08If you're going to go
41:08see a proper set
41:09of hangings for the day,
41:10you're going to need
41:11refreshments.
41:11You're going to need gin.
41:14After spending
41:15the day at the gallows,
41:17Elizabeth might have
41:18found some more
41:18thirsty customers
41:19at the local
41:21fight night.
41:22Women used to do
41:23bare-knuckle fighting
41:24because it's another
41:25way to make money.
41:26And they'd be selling
41:27gin as a refreshment,
41:29but they also gave it
41:29away as a prize.
41:30Really?
41:31Ladies love gin.
41:34But unfortunately,
41:36ladies loved it
41:37too much,
41:38as did men
41:39gin and quite a few
41:41children.
41:42By the 1730s,
41:44gin was no longer
41:45just a recreational
41:46drug.
41:48Londoners had become
41:49hopelessly addicted
41:50to the tipple
41:51Elizabeth was selling.
41:53So the government
41:54banned hawking
41:56gin on the streets
41:57and that meant
41:59Elizabeth's livelihood
42:01was seriously
42:02under threat.
42:05Desperate for an
42:06income,
42:06she moved her gin
42:07operation underground
42:08and found a clever way
42:10to advertise her bootleg
42:12a puss and mew.
42:14What you do,
42:17you fancy a gin,
42:17right?
42:18And this is absolutely
42:19true.
42:20You would stand
42:21outside it going,
42:23puss, puss, puss,
42:23puss, puss, puss,
42:24puss.
42:25Inside,
42:25Elizabeth would hear
42:26it and she would
42:27reply,
42:28mew, mew,
42:29mew, mew.
42:30So the bloke knew
42:31that it was time
42:32to put his penny
42:33in or his tuppence
42:34if he wanted a double
42:35and then she would
42:37pour the gin
42:38out and it would
42:39come down that
42:40spout and he
42:42would get out
42:42his pewter mug and
42:43drink it.
42:44It was a bit like
42:45ordering a burger
42:46from a drive-in.
42:50But in spring 1738,
42:53Elizabeth's luck
42:54finally ran out.
42:56She was snitched
42:57on for selling gin
42:58and sentenced to
42:59two months' imprisonment
43:00at the Tothill
43:01House of Correction.
43:03Georgian houses
43:04of correction
43:05were pretty brutal
43:06places.
43:07Inmates like Elizabeth
43:08were forced
43:09into hard labour.
43:10They used to have
43:10to spend the whole
43:11day hammering
43:12away at tough
43:14hemp plants
43:15to extract the
43:16fibres for rope
43:17making.
43:18They lived in
43:19squalid, cramped
43:20conditions.
43:21The food was
43:22meagre.
43:23The whippings
43:23were frequent.
43:25All for committing
43:25the crime
43:26basically of being
43:27a poor person
43:28trying to get a
43:30living in a rich
43:31man's world.
43:33After prison,
43:34Elizabeth disappears
43:35from the historical
43:36records.
43:37Maybe she stopped
43:38selling gin.
43:39Or maybe this
43:40canny operator
43:41became even
43:42better at hiding
43:43her trade.
43:48For ordinary
43:49people in
43:50Georgian Britain,
43:51whether gin
43:51hawkers,
43:52sailors or
43:53poachers,
43:54life was a
43:55hell of a
43:55struggle.
43:57But I'm just
43:57in awe of their
43:58spirit of survival.
44:01Next time,
44:03taking on the
44:04Nazis.
44:04It's the
44:05Second World
44:06War.
44:07The whole
44:07day was a
44:08long list of
44:09drills,
44:10physical exercises
44:11and skills
44:12training.
44:13How they
44:14survived.
44:14What did
44:15you do if
44:15you wanted
44:15to pee?
44:16Go in the
44:17bucket.
44:17The bucket?
44:18How they
44:19fought.
44:20James could
44:20hear the
44:21ping of
44:21bullets and
44:22the clatter of
44:23shrapnel.
44:24And how they
44:25kicked back.
44:26They played
44:26hard and
44:26worked hard.
44:31And Tony's
44:32back next
44:33Saturday at
44:33eight.
44:33Elvis is
44:35in the
44:35building.
44:36Well, a
44:36life-size
44:37edible version
44:38of him at
44:38least.
44:38Take a bite
44:39out of the
44:39wonderful world
44:40of chocolate
44:40new tomorrow
44:41at nine.
44:42We're moving
44:42through the
44:43centuries next
44:43as Michael
44:44Burke inspects
44:45some very
44:45impressive
44:46handiwork.
44:47It's new
44:47how the
44:47Victorians
44:48built Britain.
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