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00:03150 years ago, Victorian Britain became the world's first industrial superpower.
00:09And as the country thrived, London, the beating heart of empire, became the world's richest city.
00:17But this was a city divided.
00:20For the first time, geographical lines were drawn between those enjoying the nation's wealth in the West
00:27and those who weren't in the East.
00:33This is the story of one poor community living in London's East End.
00:39In the heart of modern Stratford, a Victorian slum has been recreated.
00:47And a group of 21st century people are moving in.
00:53Oh, absolutely awful.
00:56I'm just a bit dumbstruck.
00:59To survive, they'll have to work to keep a roof over their heads.
01:04It's absolutely shattering.
01:08And put food on the table.
01:10I'm starving.
01:11This was making me a bit emotional, to be honest.
01:14And they'll learn first-hand what life was like.
01:17You will call me mum.
01:19For those at the bottom of the social pile.
01:21If they were disabled, they couldn't do it.
01:23They didn't eat.
01:24They didn't eat.
01:24They died.
01:26They'll live through five decades of turbulent history.
01:29Look at the newspaper!
01:32And seismic social change.
01:34I am proud to be an East End suffragette.
01:39Part of the people.
01:40This is the story of how a quarter of a million slum dwellers in the East End
01:45changed our attitude to poverty forever.
01:49This is the slum.
01:59Last time.
02:01It looks like a dungeon.
02:03The residents experienced the 1860s.
02:06Bleak, isn't it?
02:07Yeah.
02:09Very bleak.
02:10And Victorian living conditions.
02:12That is disgusting.
02:14Proved almost too much to bear.
02:17How many people have to live like this all their life?
02:19We're going to do the catch first.
02:21Then we'll stop working on the trousers.
02:23They joined the East End workforce.
02:24Yes, boss.
02:26And endured relentless and back-breaking labour.
02:30I've got to stand up, I'm sorry.
02:32Learning to live on credit just to make ends meet.
02:35I don't want to get into too much debt.
02:37That's what's making me a bit emotional, to be honest.
02:41For some, it was precarious but possible.
02:44Yes!
02:44Yes!
02:46Red's fine.
02:47Oh!
02:49While others struggled.
02:50We were looking for ÂŁ8.16 today.
02:53To pay their way.
02:54Now I can pay ÂŁ2?
02:56ÂŁ2.
02:57It's just really grinding me down now.
03:00I couldn't imagine living like this forever.
03:03No.
03:05It's unlivable.
03:10Grab, paper, scissors.
03:12Yes!
03:13Ah!
03:13It's mine!
03:15Kids, back up now.
03:17It's the second week and the slum dwellers have moved into a new decade, the 1870s.
03:26Ah, that's nice.
03:28That is nice.
03:31Morning, Mr. Bird.
03:33Morning.
03:33How are you today?
03:34Alright.
03:35How are you doing?
03:36Pretty good.
03:41After a week of hunger, DOS housekeeper Andy.
03:45Oh, what have we got here?
03:46Eggs.
03:47Is taking advantage of some free food.
03:50Thank you, fellas.
03:53Oh, sorry.
03:54Ladies.
03:57Breakfast.
03:58Lunch.
03:59Dinner.
04:00Which means that today's food would cost me the sum total of one slice of bread.
04:04Yeah, today's a good day.
04:08In the 1860s, Britain was still riding high on the Industrial Revolution.
04:13But by the 1870s, things were changing.
04:17Abroad, the Americans and the Germans were competing in markets we had once dominated.
04:22Like iron, steel and coal.
04:25At home, new and better enforced factory regulations meant the manufacturers were sending
04:31out more work than ever to the cheaper labour of the slums.
04:37Tailoring family, the Howas, paid for their two rooms in the 1860s by working in the rag
04:42trade, repairing and repurposing old clothes.
04:47So what do you think is going to happen next in the 1870s?
04:50There will be ever so slightly more machinery.
04:54Instead of hand-stitching and everything, you might get a little sewing machine thing.
04:58Pretty lucky.
04:59In the 1860s, it was quite liberating about make stuff and repair stuff just with the
05:04sewing skills that I've got.
05:05But by machine, we can maybe make more money, we can do more work quicker.
05:10That would speed it up, no?
05:12About five times.
05:13Five times?
05:14Yes.
05:16By the 1870s, East End tailors were moving into mass production.
05:21Alongside the small-scale recycling of the rag trade, rags were being processed on an industrial
05:27scale, mashed in machines to create a cheap material called shoddy.
05:33OK, what have we got?
05:34It was sent from factories in batches to tailors like Russell to be made into clothing for
05:39the poor.
05:41The Howis have received a typical order for a family of four workers.
05:45Twelve pairs of trousers and fifty shirt collars.
05:48So how do you do these collars?
05:50You just like sew them?
05:51The fabric would have arrived pre-cut to be stitched together and returned.
05:56If you ever cut these out, cut them with a knife and sword.
06:00People like Russell were known as sweated tailors, as they'd have to work at breakneck speed
06:05to keep up with their employer's demands.
06:09Last time we were working for ourselves, which is lovely, because you could do what you wanted
06:12to do when you wanted to do it, decide what you wanted.
06:15This time around that's not the case, but that's life, that's what you have to do, we've
06:19got some work, that's better than not having anything to do at all.
06:22The money they earn and spend is based on Victorian wages and prices, converted to their modern
06:27equivalent.
06:29Paid per completed garment, it's in their interest to finish fast.
06:33The key to our success is going as fast as we can and making as many as we can.
06:37At 77 pence each, they need to make at least 23 pairs of trousers to pay their rent.
06:42Make ten a day, we'll try and do more.
06:44We will do more.
06:48Families like the house would at least have had new technology on their side.
06:54So when you put it in...
06:55Yeah, you've got to push it that way.
06:57Push it down.
06:57Yeah.
06:58You need to go.
07:00I've used an electric machine, but I've always wanted one of these machines, so I've
07:04done a bit of research on them, so that's how I know how to use it.
07:08It feels so good to use one, finally.
07:11A domestic sewing machine would have cost the equivalent of five months' rent in the
07:16slums, so companies like Singer also offered them for higher purchase.
07:21Tailors like Russell would have paid fees equivalent to ÂŁ13 a week, almost two-thirds of what they
07:27have to pay for their rooms.
07:29It's a big expense, but worth the risk for the potential increase in productivity.
07:36How's it going, Russ?
07:38Getting there.
07:38Yeah?
07:39Getting used to this machine.
07:42That took quite a long time, made a lot of mistakes, but sort of, glad you got there
07:45in the end.
07:46First pair done.
07:48Yay!
07:50Now getting the others more involved, they can all do little jobs and hopefully we'll
07:54streamline it a little bit.
07:56We'll get quicker and quicker, hopefully.
08:00It's not just the howest moving into mass production.
08:04Hello.
08:05Hello.
08:06Good morning.
08:07Good morning.
08:08In the 1870s, factories faced increased competition and farmed out more work than ever to the cheap
08:14labour in the slums.
08:16There was more work, but also lower wages, so you had to work harder.
08:22Churning out quantity was the only way to make piecework pay.
08:25People often work together, forming mini production lines.
08:30Last week, Graham injured his back.
08:32Still unable to work, the Potters have joined forces with single mum Shazida and her children,
08:38Sadie and Saudi.
08:38The families have an order for 1,440 artificial flowers.
08:44I think we'll do it.
08:45I think it's doable.
08:46Yeah.
08:46It's all about teamwork.
08:48They'll have to split the ÂŁ23 they'll earn between them.
08:52It won't be enough to cover their weekly costs.
08:57What are you thinking, Shazida?
08:59Are you thinking of making one up and seeing what it looks like?
09:01Yeah, but this glue apparently needs heating up.
09:04We need glue, actually.
09:05Yeah, the tools have to be heated up to use as well.
09:08We can't do anything until we've got a fire.
09:12In the 1870s, artificial flowers were a common fashion accessory.
09:18Like today, where much clothing is produced using cheap labour abroad,
09:23the Victorian ladies who wore flowers on their hats and dresses
09:26most likely had no idea where or how they were made.
09:34We're making something that is pretty, which we haven't got in our room,
09:38so it just brightens up the room.
09:41And that's amazing.
09:48Is that good?
09:50Yeah, that's good enough.
09:51It'll pass quality control, hopefully.
09:54It's really nice working as a team,
09:56and it's nice to be able to talk to other people
09:58and encourage each other, motivate each other,
10:02rather than sitting in a room on my own with the children.
10:06It's nice, isn't it? Look.
10:07I think they're beautiful. Yeah, I do. I think they're lovely.
10:12If I had to make flowers, if I was in the Victorian times,
10:16I'd do different things every day,
10:18so, like, one day I'd do the petals
10:20and then the other day I'd probably make it,
10:22cos just dampening the petals all day is really boring.
10:28Children like Olivia and Heather Potter
10:30would have been an integral part of the East End workforce.
10:35The idea that childhood is a time when you should be cherished
10:38and indulged is a relatively modern one.
10:41If you were a Victorian child living in a slum,
10:44then your money was badly needed.
10:47By the 1870s, there were regulations to protect children
10:51from the harsh conditions and beatings
10:53often meted out by overseers in factories.
10:57They were banned from employing anyone under eight,
11:00and older children could only work half days.
11:03But the rules didn't apply to work done at home.
11:07Parents often had no choice but to put their children to work
11:10for up to 80 hours a week.
11:13It's a big adjustment for 21st-century kids like Heather.
11:18If I was at home,
11:20I'd probably sat down watching YouTube on my TV,
11:23on my big, massive TV in the front room.
11:26But we don't have that.
11:29Usually it's Mum that makes the tea,
11:32it's Mum that gets us drinks,
11:35it's Mum that looks after us.
11:37So it's just like from doing absolutely nothing
11:42to doing absolutely everything.
11:45Children are struggling
11:47because in our times, children don't work.
11:52Children don't work.
11:53So we set our children a task to do
11:56that a Victorian child would sit from 8am in the morning
11:59till 8pm at night.
12:02Our children, they're bored after half an hour.
12:05And then they're getting under your feet.
12:07So, to be fair, you know,
12:09we've not really got the help of the children
12:11for much of the time.
12:13So, it's a tall order.
12:23I'm ready to get this all done.
12:25A little bit early,
12:26so I can get some more work as well.
12:28Another order.
12:35Really hard work, candlelight.
12:41What do you need, Jeff?
12:42You can't see it.
12:43You can't see it.
12:43It's too dark now.
12:46It's late.
12:48While Shazida leaves to put her children to bed,
12:52the potters are keeping up production.
12:57We want to succeed.
12:59We don't want to fail
12:59because we can't make enough flowers.
13:02You know, and it means working,
13:04it means working hard,
13:05and we're prepared to do that.
13:06We've always worked hard throughout our lives,
13:08and this is no exception.
13:24It's almost hot. Almost.
13:29The house are up early and already hard at work.
13:32It is relentless.
13:34Very, very hot.
13:35Very, very sweaty.
13:36So, the word sweatshop is now coming to fruition.
13:39I now get it.
13:41But we have to get it done.
13:42So, you get one of those.
13:44So, too are the potters.
13:46We've got 400 roses to make today,
13:48so we need to get on with it, really.
13:52To complete their bulk flower order,
13:54they need all hands on deck.
13:57But Shazida and the twins have yet to appear.
14:01Here you go, Saudi.
14:02Get off.
14:02Yay, breakfast.
14:05Come on, get off.
14:05Woo hoo.
14:06This is all we eat.
14:08Bread.
14:09Just bread.
14:12You know, seriously, a single mum in the slum
14:15would have had to work hard.
14:17Harder than us.
14:18Yeah.
14:18Because she's the only one earning the money.
14:19Yeah.
14:19You know, the kids would have to work harder.
14:22That's the only way they're going to get money, isn't it,
14:23to work.
14:24Yeah.
14:24There's no other way that we can get money.
14:26Yeah.
14:26So, it makes no difference whether you're a single mum
14:28or five people.
14:31You've got to work.
14:33That's what you've got to do.
14:36Me?
14:36Oh, I can't find my shawl.
14:38Dad, you're sitting on the bloody thing.
14:42How's it going?
14:43Yeah, all right.
14:46These have come on nicely, haven't they?
14:48Yeah.
14:49Where are the kids at the minute?
14:50Are the kids...?
14:51Oh, they're in the room.
14:52Oh, right.
14:57Although the economy had been slowing for some time,
15:00in 1873 there was a global financial crisis.
15:04Foreign investment dried up,
15:06growth halved, and unemployment soared.
15:09The effects of what would come to be known as the Long Depression
15:12would be felt for more than 20 years.
15:15This truly was the end of Britain's industrial golden age.
15:21In the East End, this economic downturn
15:24would have had a direct impact on shopkeepers like the birds.
15:27Morning.
15:29Essentially, we're in a period of recession, depression, deflation.
15:33Your customers are now poorer.
15:34Wages are coming down.
15:35People can no longer afford what they did before.
15:38So, as they become poorer, you become poorer.
15:41And at the same time, what's happening is
15:43the cost of imported goods also coming down,
15:45which means your price is going to have to come down by about 30%.
15:48And the rents?
15:49The rent is going to stay pretty much the same.
15:51Landlords are not generous in this age.
15:53So, if they can maintain it, they will maintain it.
15:56So, essentially, you're going to be living in straightened times.
15:5930% reduction in prices is a big bombshell.
16:03In the 1860s, they only just managed to pay their rent.
16:06Now they'll need to sell a third more stock to earn the same amount.
16:11Bread.
16:12That's now 97p.
16:14Mmm.
16:15I was thinking, well, 1870s, let's see what that brings.
16:18You have an idea in your head that as time moves on, things improve.
16:21And that's clearly not the case.
16:24Margarine?
16:26It was 272.
16:27It's now 209.
16:29I think what's harder is that we won't have the luxury of extending tick,
16:33at least as much as we have been.
16:35You know, we do need to look after ourselves now.
16:38I don't know how we can do this.
16:39Not good, is it?
16:41As bad as things were, the economic crisis didn't deter people
16:45from flooding into Britain's cities.
16:47During the 1870s, the population of London grew by over 800,000.
16:56The largest group of immigrants arriving into British cities were the Irish.
17:01Common lodging house.
17:03Here we go.
17:05Siblings John and Maria Barker are from rural Cork.
17:09Excuse me.
17:09We're just looking for a place to stay to spend the night.
17:12Ah, right.
17:13You'll need to speak to Andy.
17:15If you just want to wait here, I'll see if I can find him for you.
17:18Yeah, thank you.
17:19Thanks, Emil.
17:27At home in Ireland, 23-year-old John works in a cafe.
17:31My ancestors went to London.
17:34They had nothing.
17:35They started with nothing.
17:36They experienced the slum conditions.
17:39And it's something that I want to go back and see
17:41and find out how difficult it was for them.
17:45His sister, 21-year-old Maria, works in a clothes shop.
17:50I want to know what the Irish people went through,
17:52how they survived, what was their motivation.
17:55You know, get them through their days all the time.
17:57What did they live off?
17:59How did they live?
18:01It's the difficulties and the hardships that make you who you are.
18:05And the slum is going to be that challenge.
18:10In the mid-19th century,
18:12a succession of potato famines decimated the Irish rural economy
18:15and failed harvests continued into the 1870s.
18:21People fled to Liverpool, Manchester, London.
18:26Cities with established Irish communities in search of work.
18:30By the 1870s, the Irish were Britain's largest immigrant population,
18:35with 91,000 in London alone.
18:38But like many immigrants today, they faced hardship and hostility.
18:42They were accused of taking jobs, treated appallingly
18:46and even depicted as the missing link between humans and chimpanzees.
18:52In you come.
18:53Most of them didn't find the better life they were hoping for.
18:57A little bit of a shock for you?
18:59Just a little bit.
19:01Their first port of call would have been a common lodging house.
19:05OK, well, there's two options in here.
19:07These are called coffin beds.
19:09OK.
19:10They cost you four old pence for one night each.
19:14Yeah.
19:15Or you have what's called the hangover bench.
19:20And if you're very clever, you would sleep.
19:24You're having a laugh.
19:25This isn't right, is it?
19:26No, this is the common boarding house.
19:28I presume you've come over and you've got some money at the moment.
19:32No, we have no money.
19:34You have nothing.
19:35So you don't even have the money to be able to afford to sleep in the DOS house.
19:39We have nothing.
19:52No.
19:54No.
19:56No.
19:57Graham Potter's bad back means he's been unable to do manual labour for over a week.
20:03I feel like a bright idiot making flowers.
20:07It's women's work.
20:08I should be out working, earning a decent money to be able to put food on the table.
20:14It's embarrassing and degrading.
20:21Graham is like the hunter provider and always has been looked after me and the children
20:29and gets very frustrated and very angry at himself if he can't do that.
20:35All right?
20:36Right.
20:36I'll see what I can get.
20:38I need to get out and start earning what we're doing at the moment, making the flowers.
20:43He's not going to bring in enough money to pay the rent or go anywhere near it.
20:47See you later then.
20:49See you later, Dad.
20:50So, yeah, I'm really forcing my body really to be doing something that in my normal life I wouldn't be
20:57doing.
20:58As the depression deepened, the industry on which the East End workforce depended suffered.
21:04Across the country, by the middle of the decade, a million people were out of work.
21:10Which means increased competition for the few jobs there were.
21:14John and Graham are trying their luck at the building in timber yards of the East End.
21:19Have you got any work today?
21:21Not that we haven't at the moment, no.
21:22Do anything, do you not?
21:23No, we haven't got no labour work.
21:24Nothing at all?
21:25Nothing at all.
21:25OK, thanks.
21:26Thanks very much.
21:27Thanks for your help.
21:28Wood was ubiquitous in Victorian times, used for everything from furniture to paving,
21:33and timber yards were a good bet for casual work.
21:37This one's been in business in Bethnal Green for generations.
21:42Hey there.
21:43Hiya.
21:44Have you got any work today?
21:45It's very hard work.
21:46Is it?
21:46Very heavy work.
21:48Yeah?
21:48I could do it.
21:48I don't know if you'll be up to it.
21:49A young fellow, I can take him.
21:51It's too heavy for you, pal.
21:52OK.
21:53Right?
21:53OK.
21:54Sorry pal.
21:54Thanks.
21:57I think even in the 21st century, it's exactly the same.
22:02People are looked over for a job because of their age.
22:04It's wrong.
22:05There's laws in place now to stop it, but it's still done.
22:09Because somebody's of their age, they'll be looked over for a younger person.
22:14It feels absolutely horrific that they could do it just because of that.
22:17Terrible.
22:19Toe, sorry.
22:20Is that right?
22:22Every day, thousands of men like Graham were forced to walk the streets in search of work, known as tramping.
22:30During the Long Depression, the number of tramps tripled, and the issue was raised in Parliament.
22:37But the prevailing Victorian attitude was these men were essentially beggars and nothing was done to help.
22:43They were described by one MP as a race who has the very genius of not working in its bones.
22:51It's terrible news for me because there's just nothing for me to do.
22:56I'll be tramping in the streets just looking to see if somebody will give me a couple of hours' work.
23:00No food, nothing to eat.
23:02It's frightening to think they used to live like that.
23:05It's terrible.
23:09Hello, Grandad.
23:11Hi.
23:11You all right?
23:12Yeah.
23:13How was work?
23:14I haven't been to work.
23:15There wasn't any work.
23:16Wasn't there?
23:17None for an old man like me, they said.
23:20My dad's feeling demoralised, humiliated because he was turned away for work.
23:27I think he's feeling as though he's let the family down.
23:31OK.
23:32Never mind.
23:33Well...
23:34How are you doing?
23:34Are you doing all right?
23:35You can join in with the production line.
23:38Heather's forebears were unskilled workers who lived in the East End during the Long Depression.
23:43I wanted to come here because I wanted to experience what my ancestors went through.
23:50I'm certainly starting to get a picture of how hard their struggle must have been.
23:57They must have had enormous strength, enormous strength to be able to survive through this.
24:04Yeah.
24:08Heather's great-grandparents are buried a few miles away in Manor Park Cemetery.
24:15She and Alison are with historian Carl Chin to find out more about their family history.
24:22So we have James, your great-grandfather, Doc Labra.
24:25Yeah.
24:25And his wife, your great-granny, who was the matchbox maker.
24:29We obviously know they were the parents of your granddad.
24:31Do you know much more about how many children they had?
24:33I think it might have been about seven.
24:36It's actually... Would you hold that, please, Ali?
24:38Here it is, we found them.
24:40She had eight.
24:41James, your granddad, was the oldest.
24:43Yeah.
24:44Then there was a Walter.
24:45Yeah.
24:46A Sophia, a William, an Aunt Caroline, a John, a Sarah and a Rose.
24:50But why these two are in bold is because, sadly, both of them died very, very young.
24:58Look, Sophia, 21 months old, pneumonia.
25:02pneumonia.
25:03A disease of the poor.
25:05Bad housing.
25:06Damp.
25:07Yeah.
25:08Cold.
25:09Sophia died on the 12th of March.
25:12Her little brother, William, he dies on the 28th of March.
25:18She loses two of her kids, her precious children, in the same month, in the same year.
25:25And how old was William?
25:26William was seven months.
25:28Is it seven months?
25:29Yes.
25:30How much do you have cold?
25:33And that would be awful, wouldn't it?
25:34Imagine losing two of your babies in the same month and then have to get up the next day
25:39and work.
25:40Yeah.
25:42In the 1870s, the average life expectancy was 43.
25:46In the worst districts of the poorer cities, it was as low as 28.
25:53But in some slums, people were lucky to reach adulthood at all.
25:58Heather's ancestors lived on the worst streets of Bethnal Green, where fathers struggled to find work, mothers and children slaved
26:06for a pitiful wage, and one in every four children died.
26:12Rich or poor, Victorians placed great importance on respectable burials.
26:18Funerals became increasingly elaborate for those who could afford them.
26:23Even destitute parents put away a penny a week for burial insurance, in case they lost a child.
26:31For those who couldn't pay for even a basic internment, the only choice was a pauper's funeral.
26:37The ultimate source of shame for a poor Victorian.
26:45Sophia and William, very sadly, they're buried over there, somewhere by those trees, in a public grave, as a pauper's
26:56burial.
26:59I don't think I'd quite understood poor until my experience of the last few days.
27:05I hadn't even considered having to save for your burial.
27:11For my great-grandmother, to have not been able to bury her children with dignity, must have been just terrible.
27:22Absolutely terrible.
27:32Somewhere in this graveyard lie the remains of infants Sophia and William, Heather's great-aunt and uncle.
27:42Here, Lord, have a blue one for Sophia, and a blue one for William.
27:49Sophia, God bless you.
27:53Here you go.
27:55And William, God bless you.
27:58You poor little things.
28:01God bless you.
28:05I needed to be here.
28:07I needed to come here.
28:08I need to find these people.
28:10I need to know them.
28:13I need to walk beside them.
28:19Oh, they look lovely, don't they?
28:21Shall we go back?
28:22Yeah.
28:30In the slums, everyone's fortunes were tied together.
28:34I want to pay ÂŁ2 off our tick, please.
28:37OK.
28:38That's all right.
28:39Let me find you.
28:40Here you go.
28:40You're at 404 at the moment.
28:42OK, so can I almost heart it?
28:44Yes, absolutely.
28:45ÂŁ2.
28:45With many surviving on credit or tick till payday, shopkeepers were part grocer, part moneylender.
28:52I've come for some food.
28:53Have you got any tea going?
28:54A difficult balance to strike.
28:57What's your income potential looking like this next couple of days?
29:00Well, we're working with the potters, making artificial flowers, and we've got an order of 1,400 flowers to do.
29:09But it's very slow.
29:10So you're guaranteed a salary from it?
29:12If we complete the order, then yeah.
29:15We have people who have paid off consistently and still have money on tick.
29:21And we have people who haven't paid consistently and also have tick.
29:25So those obviously are more risky.
29:27Shaz has ÂŁ4.77 still on tick, so her situation is the most precarious.
29:32She depends the most on the flower production to be completed and get paid.
29:38In desperate times, shopkeepers like the birds found inventive ways to squeeze profit from cheap food.
29:46Take half a pound of butter from here and half a pint of milk and mix it in gradually.
29:52And we should stretch the butter quite a long way.
29:54We're actually saving 38 pence a pound by doing this.
29:57But some adulteration was less palatable.
30:00Milk diluted with chalk and water, sugar mixed with sand, and tea leaves bulked out with wax and ash.
30:07Much of what the East End poor ate would have been tampered with.
30:12We're getting there. We have nearly doubled the amount of butter we've got.
30:16So, but, I mean, it's two hours' labour of my time.
30:21And I'm still thinking we should just give them less butter on their bread.
30:27Hiya. Hiya. How you doing?
30:29Good. How are you?
30:30Alright, thank you. Welcome.
30:31Thank you. How is it?
30:33It's alright, it's alright.
30:34What are you working on? What are you doing?
30:35We're tailoring now. Oh, nice.
30:37And I've got a massive deadline, though, we have, so it's pretty busy.
30:40So the kids are in there doing it as well.
30:43In desperate need of money, new arrival Maria has been given a task by the birds.
30:50This is vile.
30:53Adrian and Vibka have offered me to pluck two chickens.
30:56That doesn't get me money, but it gives me feathers to try and sell.
31:00So that's what I'm going to try and do.
31:01I've never plucked a chicken before, and I hope I'll never have to really do that again.
31:07Oh my God, I just saw the other end of it. Sick.
31:10But I'm going to have to do it, because I have no money.
31:15Despite the economic downturn, there was still some work to be found in the slums,
31:20especially before the London season, between Easter and July.
31:25While the upper classes attended social events like Ascot, Henley regatta and private balls,
31:31the women of the slums worked 18 hours and more a day, making feathers and flowers to adorn their hats.
31:38Because it's so strong, the fumes from the powder they use to dye them,
31:42it does give you a little bit of a headache and stuff doing it.
31:45These dyes are safe, but in a time before health and safety regulations,
31:50they often contained arsenic or aniline, now known to be carcinogenic.
31:54You get used to it. You're getting used to it already.
32:01Johnny's back after his first day of work.
32:05Maria's not going to believe that I was lifting timber on her site.
32:09And then to be able to let her know that she's, you know, safe, which she has,
32:14she can sleep in the coffin bed and not have to take the hangover bench.
32:19Look, there's ÂŁ4.34.
32:22I was thinking that if you take a bed and I take the bench...
32:27Why? Well, we have enough money to take two beds.
32:29Yeah, but we need money for food.
32:33And then I only got work in that place today,
32:36so I don't know if I'll work tomorrow.
32:39And if I don't get work tomorrow, then I'll have nothing.
32:43I'm back to square one.
32:45Evening, evening. How are we?
32:47Good. How are we doing?
32:48Not too bad. Did you get some work today?
32:51We did.
32:52Well, one did. One didn't.
32:54You didn't today, but... No.
32:55You did? Yes.
32:56OK, so we got some money.
32:58Thank you very much.
32:59Running the DOS house is Andy's only source of income.
33:03Paying customers means he can settle his tick at the shop.
33:07So that means I am 100% debt-free, clean, clear.
33:13Yeah, yeah, it's a good day.
33:19I found this order by the main entrance.
33:23Oh, my word. Thank you, Henry.
33:25Sweated slum tailors working for a factory
33:28could expect orders any time, day or night.
33:3122 pairs of trousers.
33:34When did you? Oh, my God.
33:35I think we're working late tonight. Oh, my God.
33:38There'd be no way we'd be able to complete that many trousers
33:40in the space of two days.
33:42We've been able to do 12 in two, fine, no problem,
33:45and 36 collars, like, we're well on our way,
33:48but 22, it's just ridiculous.
33:50Oh, my God, how are we going to do this?
33:53The house need more hands,
33:55and in the slums that meant taking on people
33:57prepared to work for little pay.
34:00Hello.
34:03I've come because we're really, really busy,
34:06and we've got loads of work.
34:07Right. So I wondered if you would be willing
34:11to let me have one of your daughters for a couple of hours.
34:17We're willing to pay her a penny in old money,
34:20which is 60p in new money.
34:22Yeah, there's no reason why not.
34:24And I don't know if you wanted to...
34:26I'm happy for Sadie as well if you wanted to come.
34:28They'll lose some flower-making manpower,
34:32but they can't turn down the chance
34:33of slightly better paid work.
34:35We can't pay you until we get paid,
34:37and our delivery's due on Monday,
34:39then we'll absolutely pay you if that's all right.
34:43But I need to take them now.
34:44Give us a kiss. Work hard.
34:46Love you. Bye-bye.
34:49Hello. Hello.
34:51I brought help. I brought help.
34:53Sadie and Olivia.
34:55So it sounds really simple, but it's a really important job.
34:59I think my mum will be pleased,
35:02cos I can pay...
35:04..that'll help pay the rent,
35:06so that we're not short.
35:09I've learnt sewing, and I really, really like it.
35:11I'm actually quite good at it as well, so...
35:14Child labour doesn't sit right for me.
35:16I don't believe children should be working.
35:19But the most astounding thing to me out of all of this
35:23was that they were so grateful,
35:26genuinely grateful for a few pennies.
35:29They worked as well as the parents.
35:32So, obviously, there was no chance of them going to school,
35:34there was no chance of an education.
35:35They were stuck.
35:36They're stuck in the environment they were born in.
35:39And that's tragic.
35:41It's really, really tragic.
35:42And to see the two little girls that are my neighbours at the moment,
35:46you know, sitting on my floor,
35:48working and happily working for pittance,
35:50cos they know that it's going to help
35:52towards their families paying rent this week,
35:55is heartbreaking.
36:02Last one.
36:09In the Doss house,
36:12John and Maria are settling in for the night.
36:16Well, the first day is down.
36:18I know.
36:19Thank God.
36:21A nice sleep in the bed.
36:23I just don't know what to expect in these kind of beds, John,
36:26cos they're all hay and straw and whatnot.
36:31Um...
36:32Yeah.
36:33We'll see how it goes.
36:35It's scary.
36:37It's frightening.
36:38You feel alone.
36:39You're missing home.
36:41And all those home comforts.
36:43And you've got nothing.
36:45You came with nothing and you still have nothing.
36:48Only that you've survived another day.
36:49And when you have to take survival as, you know, something that you are grateful for.
36:55Yeah, that's really upsetting to think that, you know,
36:58suddenly their dreams of making a lot of money became dreams of making enough money to see them through another
37:03day.
37:08During the Victorian era, they wouldn't have had the place to themselves.
37:13London had almost 5,000 Doss houses.
37:16Some crammed with dozens of beds, rented out in eight-hour shifts.
37:22It's exciting to be here in a new world, new town, new city.
37:27For my first night's sleep, I'm dreading it.
37:44Despite an uncomfortable night's sleep,
37:49Maria and John are up early and working.
37:53And one more time and then we're done.
37:55John's persuaded the birds to let him do some odd jobs for a few pence.
38:01I've got the utmost respect for John for sleeping on that hangover bench.
38:05And even though it's my Doss house, I wouldn't sleep on that bench.
38:08I did actually look at the coffin beds this morning and there was only one that had any depression in
38:14it.
38:14So he, he didn't, he spent the whole night on that bench.
38:21Coming over as siblings and being the older sibling gives you this real sense of responsibility that I feel that
38:28I could endure,
38:29you know, the two-play hangover.
38:32But I don't want to see my sister going through that.
38:35And I was cold, I was shivering, I was uncomfortable, I was moving all night.
38:41I had to get up and walk around because it was so uncomfortable several times during the night.
38:46And I don't want her to have to do that.
38:47And all the time I could see that she was at least kind of still and peaceful, whether she was
38:53asleep or not, I don't know.
38:55Maria's doing what many women in the slums did, decorating cheap hats with feathers to sell on for a small
39:01profit.
39:02Well, well, well.
39:05Oh, wow.
39:07What do you think it is?
39:08They look absolutely cracking.
39:10Don't they?
39:10Good job, yeah.
39:11Is that a twirl?
39:12It's nice.
39:13Twirl?
39:13Yeah.
39:17With no dependents to take care of, young, healthy people like the Barkers could get by in the slums.
39:25Come on, it's hard to get up, please.
39:27Time to make the red.
39:29But someone like Shazida, with children to look after, would have had far less earning potential.
39:35I don't have a penny to my name.
39:37I feel it under immense pressure.
39:40The rent is ÂŁ8.16.
39:42We also have a food bill of ÂŁ4.70.
39:45It's just constantly thinking about whether I'm going to have a roof over our head, where my next meal is
39:50going to come from.
39:51It's just really stressful, and it makes me really anxious as well.
39:56It's making me anxious.
40:02I think we ought to re-look at how we're going to split the money for this project again, because
40:11I don't think dividing it by eight is particularly fair anymore, because I feel that we've done a lot more
40:20work than you have, Shaz.
40:25Last week, Shazida failed to pay the ÂŁ8 for her room.
40:31This week, rent collector Andy is keeping a closer eye on her finances.
40:37I think that Shaz has been quite protected from what would have actually happened, because we used our modern mind
40:47to go, well, I can't put a single lady and two children into the Doss house.
40:55Hi, have you seen...ah, there you are, Shaz.
40:58Hello, Andy.
40:59Good morning, morning.
41:01How are we all?
41:02Well, thanks. You?
41:03Good.
41:04How are we doing?
41:05Have we got the rent or are we near the rent?
41:08One of the children went out to work for the Howarths and they owe me 60p, but we don't know
41:15yet how much I'll get for my contribution towards making the flowers.
41:21In total, I've got 23 pence.
41:2523 pence?
41:26Yeah.
41:27OK.
41:29I'll come and see you tomorrow.
41:30Mm-hm.
41:31See what the scenario is then.
41:33Cheerio, Potters.
41:35Good to see you.
41:35See you later, Andy.
41:37Bye.
41:38I'm feeling anxious.
41:39I want to pay the rent.
41:41You know, I want to be on top of everything.
41:43But I'm in a bit of a financial crisis at the moment.
41:50I feel as if they're blaming me because I'm not working hard enough and that's why I'm poor.
41:56You know, being the only breadwinner, I've got to work twice as hard to earn money and then still, I
42:02have nothing.
42:03Nothing.
42:05And I'm running out of options.
42:11I mean?
42:12Have you got the money for the work that Sadie did?
42:15I don't have all the money because we haven't been paid ourselves yet.
42:19Right, OK.
42:20It's just that I'm in a bit of a predicament.
42:22I could give you like five pence or ten pence, but that would be it.
42:26Right, OK.
42:26There's no more than that that I could give you.
42:28All right, I'll take that then, whatever you've got.
42:30Five pence?
42:31Yeah.
42:31OK, let me get the money.
42:38OK, great stuff.
42:40OK, thank you.
42:41All right, then.
42:41Thanks a lot.
42:43Bye.
42:45I mean, I would give her maybe half.
42:47No, I wasn't going to give her.
42:48We can't afford half, Russell.
42:49I'm not taking the food out of their mouths to feed her children.
42:52No.
42:52My children come first.
42:53No, I understand totally.
42:58When money was tight, many in the slums resorted to pawning their possessions.
43:05For some, it was part of a weekly routine to try and raise cash for rent or food.
43:10I don't want to give their clothes away because, obviously, I don't want them to go cold.
43:15I don't want them to lose their shoes because I don't want them walking barefoot.
43:20As for pawning, I suppose probably that teapot because we don't need to use it.
43:27Pornbrokers had to be licensed.
43:30But slum shops, like the one run by the birds, would often offer an illicit under-the-counter service.
43:35How much do you want?
43:37A pound.
43:3975.
43:4190 pence.
43:44I think, as a shopkeeper, you probably have to make unpopular choices.
43:47But needs must.
43:49You know, you want to be as nice to the customers as you can.
43:52But when push comes to shove, we've got to pay our rent as well.
43:55So, we've got to call in our debts.
43:57You've got ÂŁ4.10 now on your ticket.
43:59Right, OK.
44:00All right.
44:01And when is payday for you guys? When are you done?
44:03I think it's tomorrow.
44:04Tomorrow.
44:05So, we'll put that on Chess's page then, and then I'll offset some of your tickets.
44:09Mm-hm.
44:11Pawning her possessions has reduced Shazida's food debt.
44:14But she's still no closer to having her rent.
44:18I feel as if I've hit rock bottom.
44:20There's no light at the end of the tunnel, and I can't see a way out.
44:25It's like I can't escape this cycle of poverty that I'm in.
44:29You know, it's either rent or food bill or food bill or rent.
44:32It's just one thing or another. It's just relentless.
44:37When all else failed, the very poorest could appeal to their local board of guardians for assistance.
44:44The help offered by Victorian authorities was known as poor relief, and it came in two forms.
44:49There was outdoor relief, which was the temporary handouts of food and clothing.
44:55And then there was indoor relief, admission to the workhouse.
45:01No one was sent to the workhouse.
45:03Instead, they had to plead their case in front of a group of middle-class men.
45:08The board of guardians asked probing questions about moral character as they divided the poor into the deserving and the
45:16undeserving.
45:16They would not have looked favourably on a single mother with two children.
45:22Though many Victorians felt a Christian duty to aid those in need, it was believed the poor needed incentives to
45:29help themselves.
45:30The workhouse was designed as a deterrent.
45:34Unmarried women were separated from their children and sometimes forced to wear a yellow dress as a mark of shame.
45:43Hundreds of charitable donations were centralised in the 1870s under the Charity Organisations Society or COS to ensure donations only
45:53went to the deserving poor.
45:56The belief that the poor have only themselves to blame was so strongly and widely held that during the 1870s
46:03a campaign was mounted to cut poor relief.
46:05Led by the COS, the campaign was so successful that in some areas of the East End, out relief was
46:12discontinued altogether.
46:15Just at a time when they needed it most, the help available to the poor was being dramatically reduced.
46:29Even if I do get paid for making these artificial flowers, I've got to share the wage with the potters.
46:37I won't actually have enough to even cover the rent. I don't think I would.
46:47Situations like this were all too common in the slums, where most were so poor they weren't able to help
46:53desperate neighbours.
46:55It's not like nowadays where you get evicted or something happens, you've got housing associations, you've got councils, you've got
47:02emergency housing.
47:03And we moaned so much about now. I mean, this puts it into perspective.
47:08I thought I'd be able to, you know, yeah, struggle, face hardship, but I thought I'd be able to survive,
47:15you know.
47:16I never anticipated that I'd be in debt. And that's one thing that I don't like, being in debt.
47:21In the position that Shaz is in, being a single parent, um...
47:28Frowned upon?
47:29Mm.
47:30Very much frowned upon, and she would have been told to go into the workhouse, that that was the only
47:35thing available for her.
47:40Obviously, I've got the children to consider, and I wouldn't want them in the workhouse.
47:43And I haven't got a plan B.
47:47I'm in a bit of a predicament here.
47:50With rent day round the corner, Andy faces the fact he may have to evict Shazida and the twins from
47:56their room.
47:57That actually makes me feel shocking that I could put them into a position like that, where the long and
48:02short of it is they would be split up.
48:04What if they didn't get into the workhouse, which sounds horrific, but what if they didn't get in?
48:08What's after that?
48:09They'd go on the streets.
48:10Back in?
48:11On the streets, yeah.
48:13Alternative.
48:13I mean, almost anything is better than that.
48:17Someone in Shazida's situation would have had one more option.
48:21Shh.
48:22We are packing.
48:23We're going to put these in between so they don't make a racket.
48:26We're going to have to leave here.
48:28We haven't paid.
48:29I know, that's what we're...
48:30Because we're struggling to pay the rent, and it's coming tomorrow.
48:32A moonlit flit meant moving to another poor area of the city where no-one would have known you.
48:38Keep me down.
48:39Escaping unpaid debts only to begin the cycle of tick and rent day again.
48:44I don't know how these people did it. I mean, hats off to them.
48:48If I was a Victorian woman, I would rather take my chances elsewhere and start afresh, find alternative accommodation rather
48:56than going to the workhouse.
49:12Cheers.
49:14Cheers.
49:15Cheers.
49:17Cheers.
49:37Unbelievable.
49:45Well, to me, it looks like she's just gone.
49:47To me, it looks like she's done a flip.
49:50I mean, it does feel like she's escaped,
49:53because she's not also run out on me,
49:54but she's also run out on who I consider my friends now,
49:57which is the shopkeepers, the birds.
49:59So, yeah, I mean, I think that just shows the worst
50:03of our slum society, to be honest.
50:06And I thought she was made of stronger stuff.
50:09I really did. Disappointing.
50:13Andy's lost potential Doss House customers,
50:15and now it's his responsibility to re-let Shazida's room.
50:20Shaz is meant to be helping us out.
50:22Shaz and the children are supposed to be here.
50:24With flowers still to finish,
50:26the Potter family have another early start.
50:30Because if we've got another pair of hands,
50:33you know, if each can make 50 in a day,
50:35if Shaz is here, that's 200.
50:40Shaz?
50:43Shaz?
50:47Shaz?
50:47Oh.
50:49She's gone.
50:50What do you mean, she's gone?
50:52The room's empty.
50:53No, at the end of the day, it's not our problem, is it?
50:56We've just got to work faster.
50:58It means we're under more pressure now
51:00to get this done on our own.
51:01Well, it does mean, of course,
51:02there's all the money that we do make on the...
51:04It will be ours.
51:05Yeah.
51:06So...
51:07Yeah.
51:07Guess.
51:08What?
51:09Who's gone?
51:11Not just gone, but done a runner.
51:14I've got a rough idea who's done a runner.
51:17But done a runner, they think, in the middle of the night.
51:20Yeah.
51:21Right?
51:21Didn't pay any of her rent.
51:23No?
51:23No.
51:25And didn't pay the birds.
51:27Really?
51:29How bad is that?
51:30Ah, terrible.
51:34Shazida's departure is having a knock-on effect
51:36on the other residents of the slum.
51:39Shaz is at ÂŁ4.10, so we're going to have to swallow that.
51:43Already having to cope with falling prices,
51:46the birds will have to write off Shazida's debt.
51:49Balancing their books will be even more difficult.
51:52It's really brought home to me that interconnectedness.
51:56You know, you come in and you think,
51:57oh, we're at the top of the heap.
51:58You know, things must be somewhat easier for us
52:01than for other people,
52:03because we have more in our room and that sort of thing.
52:06But actually, every single penny counts
52:10even from the poorest of the poor.
52:12I mean, I think we're getting it right,
52:14but anything could happen.
52:17Our biggest worry was Shazida's being able to pay off her tick.
52:20If she had paid it off, we would be fine.
52:22We wouldn't have to worry about it.
52:24That would have covered the rest that we needed to pay the rent.
52:27She hasn't, so going forward, yeah, it's a learning experience.
52:32If we do come across someone who we don't know
52:35who's asking for credit, we are going to be more cautious.
52:45The house have almost completed their second order.
52:50Don't get a tea break, do we, Russ?
52:53No.
52:54Any pay's you done?
52:56Three.
52:57How long do you, four?
53:01He treats us like employees, not family when we're working.
53:05Just about pass.
53:07What do you mean, just about?
53:09Not level.
53:10My hands are all calloused and everything, like,
53:13oh, what's that called?
53:15Yeah, I know.
53:18It's just really tiring.
53:19And it's like, you can't even think straight.
53:21What do you think?
53:22I forgot what the question was.
53:24Oh, but you're so tired.
53:26He's so tired.
53:28While Shazida's departure has caused problems for some,
53:32for others, it presents an opportunity.
53:35John!
53:35Martin, how are you doing?
53:37John is taking Sadie's job.
53:39Not bad.
53:40Right.
53:40What stitches do you know?
53:41Hand stitches?
53:43Oof.
53:44It's basic.
53:46Backstitch?
53:46It is basic.
53:46I can do a backstitch.
53:47You can do a backstitch, yes?
53:48The most important one.
53:49Yes.
53:49Excellent.
53:51But I can learn anything.
53:52I can learn anything and fast, so.
53:54Push it with your thimble through and pull out that.
53:57That's it.
53:58Always, the needle's always in the hand.
53:59You go and you pull out, yeah?
54:01And then just in behind that again?
54:03That's it.
54:03Just in behind it.
54:04A little bit out in front.
54:07Things are looking up for the Barkers.
54:10Well, the news in the salome is that a room has become available.
54:15It's something that we have to kind of consider seriously.
54:17It means that one of us, myself or Maria, will have to get regular work.
54:22But it would be lovely to get out of the Das house and to get into our own little place.
54:28Right.
54:29All right in, guys.
54:32Lovely.
54:33This will be your room.
54:34Thanks, Willie and Andy.
54:36All right.
54:36Take care.
54:37Work hard.
54:37And I'll see you in a few days.
54:39Home sweet home.
54:40Cheerio.
54:41See you later.
54:41See you later.
54:42Ta-ra.
54:45I'm just going to, like, fall straight to the bed.
54:48Oh, God.
54:50You actually have a bed.
54:52Finally.
54:52We're winning.
54:53It's great.
54:54The Irish are moving up.
54:57So we've got 202 roses, 432 violets, 600 forget-me-nots.
55:08The potters have had to complete the order without the help of their neighbours, but they've finished all 1,440
55:16flowers.
55:16I think there's been more lows than highs, but I am just so pleased.
55:22Such a relief that we have made some money out of the flowers after working so hard.
55:30Such a relief.
55:31And now they don't need to share the pay in more than covers their week's costs.
55:3719 pound 23 pence.
55:41Yes.
55:42Yes.
55:43Oh, well done.
55:44Well done.
55:45Well done.
55:46Well done.
55:46Oh, well done.
55:47We have food.
55:52The 1870s have brought new levels of hardship to the slums.
55:55In five years, the number of people in the workhouse rose by 30%.
55:59Yet somehow the urban poor were still clinging on,
56:03and Victorian Britain would soon have to start paying attention to their plight.
56:10How are you doing?
56:12Good day?
56:12Yeah, it was all right.
56:13Good.
56:14I thought, you know, the 1860s were bad enough, but the 1870s got a lot worse.
56:22You're so close to not just poverty, but abject poverty.
56:26It's not even funny.
56:28It's so close, you can taste the workhouse.
56:32I'm going to come up and see you tomorrow because I've got Olivia's money.
56:34Oh, lovely.
56:35Oh, wonderful.
56:36It's all right, so I've been up in the morning for you.
56:37We've got the order done as well, all the flowers, all there.
56:41I'm very relieved.
56:43I'm very relieved that we've made the money that we have, and we can pay our tick off and hopefully
56:48put some money towards the rent.
56:50Can you go, ladies?
56:52All right, great.
56:52The situation with Charles, she felt the need to have to leave the slum with her children.
56:58And part of me can't blame her for that decision, to be honest.
57:02We're really living in luxury now tonight.
57:04Yeah.
57:05For us in the slum to finally be in our own room is a massive deal, and in spite of
57:11everything
57:12that was against them, it gives us hope that, you know, the Irish, they could rise up.
57:17It's been a great day, I think.
57:18He's thrilled with our news.
57:20And we're your best customers.
57:22And you are.
57:22And most up-to-date as well.
57:24Exactly.
57:25Of course you are.
57:26Get out of the way and we'll be able to be up-to-date.
57:27Come on.
57:29There's no let-up to this whilst I'm feeling happily tired right now.
57:33I know when my eyes open tomorrow, it's going to start all over again.
57:37But I'm actually, this time, going to allow myself to enjoy the little bit of happiness
57:41and a little bit of quietness that I've got tonight, because I know, come tomorrow, it's
57:47going to start all over again.
57:48And so it goes on, and it goes on, and it goes on.
57:57Next time...
57:58Look at the newspaper!
57:59The 1880s see tensions rise.
58:02They've got to work quickly.
58:04They need to make us money.
58:05They're not my friends.
58:06My mum, I've never seen her like that before.
58:08Good morning, chums.
58:09The slum dwellers endure humiliation.
58:11Maybe we should get a photo here.
58:13Er, excuse me.
58:14No.
58:15And political struggle.
58:17I strike.
58:19As they find their voice.
58:20They have no right to take our living away from us.
58:24And fight their corner.
58:25The poor will not be trodden on.
58:28Power to the people.
58:34It was the era when Britain appeared to be having it all.
58:37Join Jeremy Paxman as we stay with the Victorians over on BBC Four.
58:42Here on BBC Two next, comedy with your favourite star celebrities in Morgana Robinson's The Agency.