0:00:02 > 0:00:04The family. It's where we love,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08laugh, shout and cry.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Oh! Don't fall off!
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Higher!
0:00:11 > 0:00:14It makes us who we are.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19But it hasn't always been the cherished institution it is today.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22To find out how the modern family came to be,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26a group of parents and kids from across Britain are turning back time
0:00:26 > 0:00:32to face the same ordeals as millions of others over the past 100 years.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36In the northern seaside town of Morecambe, the past is coming alive.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42A row of terraced houses has been turned into time machines
0:00:42 > 0:00:44to transport our families
0:00:44 > 0:00:47through the twists and turns of the 20th century.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49From the age of masters and servants...
0:00:49 > 0:00:51A-agh!
0:00:51 > 0:00:53I felt a bit emotional cos I knew she was there
0:00:53 > 0:00:55to take the children away,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58which is quite difficult.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01..through the roaring '20s, to the Great Depression.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Anything else of value will need to be sold.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07The fact that it was in front of the family, I felt really useless.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11From life on the home front...
0:01:12 > 0:01:14You and me, we're never separating.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15..to the Swinging '60s!
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Aren't you slightly concerned about the length of their skirts?
0:01:18 > 0:01:22We're starting a rebellion right now.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24And on to the groovy '70s.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25I couldn't give a damn
0:01:25 > 0:01:28about material things. For me, family is the most important thing.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30And the past is going to get personal,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33as they live the lives of their very own ancestors.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Rather than just living in a museum,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38we are actually living an ancestor's life.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41She died of TB, consumption.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I'm sorry, I feel quite emotional.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46We take so much for granted, I think.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49We're turning back time to find out
0:01:49 > 0:01:53how history made the family what it is today.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07There are dozens of Albert Roads in Britain,
0:02:07 > 0:02:10all of which have been home to generations of families.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14This one in Morecambe, Lancashire,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17is about to be the setting for something extraordinary.
0:02:17 > 0:02:23A row of terraced houses are being taken back to the early 1900s,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25when they were first built.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29For the next five weeks, the houses will become time machines,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33transporting three modern families through 100 years of history.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Guiding the families on this incredible journey
0:02:36 > 0:02:40will be working mum and queen of the breakfast sofa Suzanna Reid.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44This is the story of three families, but it is also the story of us,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47all of us and our families.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49And understanding what our great-grandparents,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53grandparents and parents went through and how that's shaped us today.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Social historian Juliette Gardiner will be making sure
0:02:57 > 0:03:01the families stick to the rules of the past.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04What we're trying to do here is very exciting.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08We're charting the development of British family life
0:03:08 > 0:03:09over 100 years of history.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14And completing the team is antique gadget enthusiast Joe Crowley.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Wow!
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Look at that. You wouldn't want your finger in the way of that one.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25The adventure for our families is about to begin.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27The Taylors are from Norfolk.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Hard-working nurse Adele and electrician Michael
0:03:31 > 0:03:34have their hands full with four children.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39We are a chaotic family.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42It is just throwing all the balls in the air, seeing where they land.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We had four children cos we want a busy house
0:03:45 > 0:03:48but I don't want to ever be in a house that's quiet.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I want to be in the thick of it with everybody there.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57But for the Taylors, there just aren't enough hours in the day.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Mum wants us to do this because she wants us to, erm,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03be together a bit more
0:04:03 > 0:04:08and she wants to see what it was like in the olden days and stuff.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10What?
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Our second family are the Meadows from Royal Berkshire.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22OK. Can you bring down the horses, please?
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Self-made man Phil and his wife Suzie run a polo school
0:04:27 > 0:04:31with the help of their teenage daughters, Saskia and Genevieve.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37For the Meadows, family means being part of a team.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41As a family, we probably spend more time together than most families,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45because the nature of the business in that we all play the sport.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49The world we live in is like a little cocoon.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51We deal with some incredibly wealthy people.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Royalty from around the world. Everyone knows everybody.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56It's very nice but it's quite limited.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59The opportunity to actually do something as a family
0:04:59 > 0:05:04that's outside of polo is quite exciting for me.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09But Phil and Suzie are aware just how privileged their girls are.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13We actually as modern-day children don't do much housework.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Me and Genevieve are lazy when it comes to that.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18It's going to be great for Saskia and Genevieve
0:05:18 > 0:05:22to understand how tough life was in the 1900s
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and how they've got it so easy, quite frankly.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Our third family are the Goldings from Cheshire.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Customer-services manager Ian and part-time accountant Naomi have three kids.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42For them, family is all about equality.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47The children can see that Dad can do the washing.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50He can put them to bed and bath them just as much as I can do
0:05:50 > 0:05:53so it's a real modern, sharing, sharing family.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Even the kids get to have their say.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I like to have family meetings and get them to say what things they're not happy with.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Whilst Ian and Naomi agree on most things,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09when it comes to child discipline, Ian would like to try something more old-fashioned.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13I don't necessarily think that being firm is always such a bad thing.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18I think he's going to quite like the idea of being in control.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22I think he thinks he's going to be respected a lot more than possibly he is now.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24I don't think he'll like it.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26I think he thinks he'll like it
0:06:26 > 0:06:29but I don't think he will like it that much.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32Their journey will begin in the early 1900s when,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36for the first time, the family itself was something to aspire to.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Queen Victoria had inspired Britons
0:06:40 > 0:06:43to become lovers of hearth, home and domestic virtue,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47introducing the idea of "family values".
0:06:47 > 0:06:50But this was also an era of huge class division.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Some families lived like kings
0:06:53 > 0:06:55but a third of the population were in grinding poverty.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The homes on Albert Road reflect this gulf.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Number one is the height of upper-middle-class luxury,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09down to number three, a typical, working class dwelling.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12None of the families have any idea
0:07:12 > 0:07:16which house they'll be living in but it will be determined by the status
0:07:16 > 0:07:19of their own Edwardian ancestors,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21something they know little about.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- Which house would you like to be? - Rich!- The rich one.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30I know not a lot about my family history
0:07:30 > 0:07:33but I'm pretty sure there isn't some secret millionaire somewhere.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37I definitely want to be in this house.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Welcome to the start of your adventure.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47An exciting challenge lies ahead.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49You're going to put Britain's family unit to the test
0:07:49 > 0:07:53by living through five eras of the 20th century
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and it is going to be tough.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00You are going to have to cope with whatever history throws at you.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05I am going to assist you in your challenge by bringing you some 1900s domestic technology
0:08:05 > 0:08:10which may make your lives easier or it may not.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Now in this era, you've got to live
0:08:12 > 0:08:16according to the rules and social conventions of the time.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20All of you must live within the means available
0:08:20 > 0:08:22to people of your class.
0:08:22 > 0:08:27I know you are all dying to find out which house you're going to be in
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and all is about to be revealed.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37Taylors, please go to number one, Albert Road, the upper-class house.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Goldings, number two, the middle-class house.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Oh, no!
0:08:47 > 0:08:51And Meadows, please go to number three, the working-class house.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Yes!
0:08:54 > 0:08:56It's fine. We'll have fun, we'll have fun.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09The Taylor family are stepping into a world of wealth and leisure.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13- I'm your housekeeper, Mrs McMullen. - Hello, Mrs McMullen.- Hello.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16May I introduce you to your staff.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18This is Mr Dowding, your chef.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- Good day.- And Natasha, you housemaid.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23- Hello.- Pleased to meet you.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27- There are five of us altogether. - And what do we do with you?
0:09:27 > 0:09:29THEY LAUGH
0:09:29 > 0:09:31May I, may I take your coat, madam?
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Guys, just don't break anything!
0:09:36 > 0:09:40No. This is going to be very stressful.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43On top of five servants, the Taylors have a vast,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47four-storey house, complete with a nursery full of toys.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Dad Michael has his own private study where he can retreat to
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- when things get too hectic. - I think this is me! I think this is where I belong.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57I love this, I think this is brilliant.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Their home is state of the art, with electricity
0:10:01 > 0:10:04and a boiler in the scullery, producing hot water on demand.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07BELL RINGS
0:10:07 > 0:10:12I'm just a bit shocked. We just expected we would be in the number three with the dirty windows.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15That was... Cos there's no money in our family
0:10:15 > 0:10:18so I don't quite know how we've ended up here at all.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Juliet has come to reveal just why they have landed
0:10:20 > 0:10:23the most prestigious home on Albert Road.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- Hello, Taylor family.- Hello.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31I've come to tell you why you are living in this rather grand house.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The reason is you've really got to thank one of your ancestors.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Michael's great-great-great-grandfather,
0:10:36 > 0:10:41William Bennett, was at the heart of Britain's thriving cotton industry,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44running a mill in Derbyshire.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47That's the sort of mill he would have managed.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50- Shocked. Really shocked. Yeah.- You didn't know anything about it?- No.
0:10:50 > 0:10:56What I perceived as my ancestry were all very much working people.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58OK, you've landed on your feet, here.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00You've got a very comfortable lifestyle
0:11:00 > 0:11:03but you're giving to have to obey the conventions
0:11:03 > 0:11:06and the regulations that come with that lifestyle.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09So will we liaise with any of the neighbours? Would we speak to them?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12You would keep your distance, you know.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15You would be very anxious to keep your status.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Just keep yourself separate from them.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22I think that's going to be a real difficult challenge for us,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25knowing how we like to interact with different people,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29to be actually very stand-offish will be very, very difficult.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Things will be much tougher for the Meadows family at number three.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Look at this!
0:11:38 > 0:11:41They'll be living in the most basic conditions,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45cooking and heating their water on an open fire.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Where are we going to sit that's comfortable?
0:11:47 > 0:11:49THEY LAUGH
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Actually, we won't be sitting anywhere
0:11:51 > 0:11:54cos there's no TV, is there?
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Things are looking even worse in their only other room.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- What a bedroom this is! - This is the only bed!- Oh, God!
0:12:04 > 0:12:07All four of them will be sleeping in this tiny space
0:12:07 > 0:12:10with the girls sharing a mattress on the floor.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Guys, do you want me to worry you now?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14- What?- Toilets.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17Might be a bit of a problem.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20We don't even have a pot to piss in!
0:12:20 > 0:12:23With no bathroom, the Meadows will have to use the outside privy
0:12:23 > 0:12:25or face the alternative.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29# Ta-da! #
0:12:29 > 0:12:33- I'm not peeing in that after you've peed in it.- Ah!
0:12:40 > 0:12:42- Look!- Oh, my word!
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- The Goldings are in the middle-class house.- Wow!
0:12:46 > 0:12:52- I love it!- It's a modest but respectable home with seven rooms.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55There's no electricity but plenty of options
0:12:55 > 0:12:57for an evening's entertainment.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04The Goldings will enjoy running water and the latest cooking range.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07- I'm not sure how you're going to cook on there.- I'll manage.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Guys, I hope you're not very hungry. So what's in this book, guys?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Each family has been given a manual,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17explaining the rules they're expected to live by.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21"Father is the head of the house. His word is law."
0:13:21 > 0:13:24I've been waiting for that for years.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29"Children should speak only when spoken to."
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- This is music to my ears! - THEY LAUGH
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Before the Goldings settle in,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40they must change into the appropriate clothing of the time.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43It's not really very attractive, is it?
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Ah, Jack!
0:13:46 > 0:13:49He's my little Edwardian sailor.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Ah! You're as cute as a picture.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Susanna has come to explain to the Goldings
0:13:55 > 0:13:59why they're living in the middle-class house.
0:13:59 > 0:14:05We have tracked down your great-great-grandfather.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And here he is. His name was Nathan Ludsky.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12He was a tailor in Cardiff.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Which puts you in the middle classes.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18But he didn't originally come from Cardiff.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24- Where is he from originally? - What does it say? Russia.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- I had no idea about any of that. - Never heard that name.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Like thousands of Russian Jews, Nathan Ludsky
0:14:30 > 0:14:33emigrated to Britain around the turn of the century.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Unusually for an immigrant, he prospered from the start.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42What this means is that you are going to avoid getting your hands dirty.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46It means that you are going to have a white-collar job.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Next door, Joe Crowley has arrived to tell the polo-playing Meadows
0:14:53 > 0:14:56why they're living in such humble circumstances.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01This is the 1901 census. West Ham in London.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06If we come down here, we see James Meadows.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10James Meadows was Phil's great-grandfather
0:15:10 > 0:15:13who worked in London's East End as a general labourer.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15That's what you're going to be doing.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18You're going to be out there doing manual jobs.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22You're going to have to find jobs day to day and just get stuck in.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And Joe has a surprise for Saskia, too.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28You're going to be working two doors down at the big house, OK?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31You're going to be a scullery maid. Let me see your hands.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33They're quite manly.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36No, no. I think these beautiful nails might toughen up a little bit.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Thanks.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45I'm just working out how much we need to earn. It's not going well.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48In the Edwardian era, families who couldn't pay their rent
0:15:48 > 0:15:51faced instant eviction.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53We need to earn 22 shillings and tuppence,
0:15:53 > 0:15:56a week, to pay our bills.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00As a general labourer, Phil will have to find his own work
0:16:00 > 0:16:04but at best, he'll earn two shillings a day.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08So he'll have to rely on the others to make up the difference.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Dig deep, team. Family.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13This is all about the family, remember.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Let's try and keep it together.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20I clearly didn't marry very well! I should have known better!
0:16:20 > 0:16:22We find ourselves impoverished
0:16:22 > 0:16:25and it's going to be really hard, I think.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35While the Taylors and the Goldings settle down
0:16:35 > 0:16:37for a comfortable night's sleep,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41the Meadows are facing a very different prospect.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Tomorrow, the hard work begins.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11It's 6:00am and the working-class Meadows
0:17:11 > 0:17:13are in for a rude awakening.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15- KNOCKING - WAKE UP!
0:17:17 > 0:17:22In Edwardian times, a knocker-upper was the alarm clock for the masses.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24Morning. You all right?
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- You have a good day, now. - Lovely.- See ya.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- CLAPPING - Up!- It's really inconvenient.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34There's no room for anything so all, erm, I mean,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36there's nowhere to put your clothes.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39We sleep under anything that'll keep you warm at night
0:17:39 > 0:17:42because it's freezing, there's no heating.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46And then everyone's on top of each other, like this, all the time.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48So it's incredibly inconvenient.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56For the working classes, living in poverty meant life was a slog from the moment they got up.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Everything takes so long to do.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Everything is a major palaver.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07And all you do is think about food and tea and warm.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Food, tea, warmth. That's all you care about.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14For the Meadows to keep their heads above water,
0:18:14 > 0:18:1917-year-old Saskia is forced to take up a role as a scullery maid.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Seeing as my dad's not got any work and my mum hasn't got any work,
0:18:22 > 0:18:28I've got to go and spend my entire day scrubbing and cleaning.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37A reluctant Saskia heads off to work for the Taylors
0:18:37 > 0:18:41under the watchful eye of housekeeper Mrs McMullen.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I probably come across as a bit of a scary lady.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49With the little glasses, and I'm short. I have very high standards.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54I am very, very intimidating to work for.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- KNOCKING - Hello, I'm Saskia.- Hello, Saskia.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Now, normally you would not come in through the front entrance.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05- This is not the servants' entrance. - OK.- But you can come in today.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11In 1901, 40% of the adult female population
0:19:11 > 0:19:14were employed as domestic servants.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19Some as young as 13, they often worked a 16-hour day.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- As a scullery maid, you are the lowest of the low.- Yes.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- You girls are ten-a-penny.- Yes.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29You will be chopping, filleting, gutting,
0:19:29 > 0:19:32plucking and a lot of scrubbing.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Lovely.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39What she won't be doing is ever fraternising with her
0:19:39 > 0:19:43new employers, the Taylors, who are waking up
0:19:43 > 0:19:47to the extravagance of upper-middle-class life.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54- Pleasant morning. - This is quite nice.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Might hire servants when we get home. THEY LAUGH
0:20:00 > 0:20:05The upper classes had staff for even the most personal of chores.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07The corsets feel really strange
0:20:07 > 0:20:11because you can't actually breathe properly in them.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14The richest families could have as many as five servants
0:20:14 > 0:20:17for each family member.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20In some respects, it feels like I've regressed back into childhood
0:20:20 > 0:20:22where you have your mother
0:20:22 > 0:20:25to dress you in the morning and tie your shoelaces.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Everything Michael and Adele are used to doing for themselves
0:20:28 > 0:20:30is now done by someone else.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35- Please come in.- Thank you. - Even looking after their kids.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41- Nanny Hutchinson, sir, madam. - Good morning, madam.- Good morning.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Good morning, sir. Good morning, miss.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48I shall endeavour to instruct the children academically,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51morally and spiritually.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58- Are they all in good health at the moment?- They are.- Excellent.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02- Morning.- How are you, Joseph? - Very good, thank you.- Good.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05You're looking very smart today.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- I am Nanny Hutchinson. - How do you do?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12- And good morning, Miss Lily. - Morning.- Good morning, Nanny.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- Good morning, Nanny. - And good morning, Miss Alice.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18(Good morning, Nanny.)
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Come along then, children.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Give Mummy a kiss before you go with Nanny.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I'm redundant.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Ciara and Caitie, will you sit down, please?
0:21:41 > 0:21:45- I'm getting confused, I'm sorry. - Ciara, will you not speak to me?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Next door, Ian Golding is relishing the opportunity
0:21:48 > 0:21:52to get stuck in to his role as the family's authority figure.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57Would you like to take your elbows off the table, please. Thank you.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Why are you crying, Jack?
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Do you not like Daddy talking to you like this? No.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Always attempting to better themselves, the middle classes were
0:22:11 > 0:22:16determined to keep up appearances, even behind closed doors.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18Wash your hands, please.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I would like to think that they will appreciate
0:22:23 > 0:22:27how important it was to behave properly 100 years ago
0:22:27 > 0:22:32and that sometimes we don't really behave as politely
0:22:32 > 0:22:34and as nicely as children used to.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Dad's being a meany.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Having some of the manners of their predecessors
0:22:40 > 0:22:43actually is not such a bad thing.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Can I see if you've washed your hands properly?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48They're wet, Ciara.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Can you dry them, please? Thank you.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Strict discipline was a cornerstone of Edwardian child-rearing.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57But it's a foreign concept to the Golding children.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Edwardian dads used to be strict.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05And horrible.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11And we can put our elbows on the table at home.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Wealthy Edwardians were obsessed with formality...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22..even at breakfast time.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25This one's sausage, bacon... Oh, no, kidneys, bacon.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27What's that?
0:23:27 > 0:23:29This one's lobster.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33I was expecting toast and jam.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Cornflakes?
0:23:35 > 0:23:41Of the Taylor clan, the only child allowed to eat with the adults is 15-year-old Megan.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45The other Taylor children must eat their meals in the nursery,
0:23:45 > 0:23:47a very different routine from home.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49We normally eat together.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56Now we're not allowed to eat together,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59which is quite weird.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Do it quite firmly.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Work your way down the toilet bowl.
0:24:05 > 0:24:11It's just four hours into Saskia's day as a scullery maid.
0:24:11 > 0:24:16What you're doing is taking off all the urine from inside the lavatory.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29I wasn't expecting it to be such hard work.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33I hate washing up, it smells of food.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35I want to go home.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37It may not be glamorous, but if she sticks at it,
0:24:37 > 0:24:43she'll take home five shillings a week, nearly a quarter of what her family needs to stay afloat.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47I want to find out what year they invented the dishwasher.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49This sucks.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Edwardian toil may have come as a shock to Saskia,
0:24:53 > 0:24:58but upstairs the Taylor children are also finding it hard to adjust.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Remember that children should be seen and not heard.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06You do not disturb Mama and Papa downstairs.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09At home, they're used to doing pretty much as they please.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13But now adults are the unquestionable authority.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17You're with your brother and your sister
0:25:17 > 0:25:22who will also help to look after you and we really do not want any silly tears.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24They're wobbling at the minute. Lily is anyway.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27She's struggling with this.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32She wants stories and play and fun. I've not heard them laugh at all this morning.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Don't concern yourself, madam, the children are fine.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I think when Nanny arrived, I felt a bit emotional
0:25:42 > 0:25:45because I knew she was there to take the children away.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Which...is quite difficult.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56As long as they go out and have a bit of fun, that'll be fine.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59100 years ago, childhood was a different world
0:25:59 > 0:26:03and no more so than for working-class kids.
0:26:03 > 0:26:09With rent to pay, some children as young as ten were forced to miss school and work full-time.
0:26:14 > 0:26:1915-year-old Genevieve is doing her first day of child labour.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23She's working with mum, Suzie, who like many working-class women
0:26:23 > 0:26:27has turned their family home into a laundry business.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29- It's not washed.- Yes, it is.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- It's got stains on it.- Where? I washed it.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35They're taking in washing from their neighbours.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40A washerwoman could earn up to ten shillings a week,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44almost half what the Meadows family need to survive.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47But doing washing in this era is a laborious process.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Boiling the water...
0:26:49 > 0:26:51I hope this hasn't got a leak in the bottom.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Hand scrubbing...
0:26:53 > 0:26:54Oh, you're kidding me.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Using the cumbersome mangle to wring out laundry.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02- It works.- It does work.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Making starch from potatoes.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11You dip them in the starch.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16And, finally, using the flat iron.
0:27:16 > 0:27:23I do figure that this was an absolute labour of anything but love.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27This was a necessity to just earn money.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34They hurt. They're all wrinkly and horrible because of the water.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37It's disgusting. My nails have chipped off.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43But Suzie's fighting a losing battle.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45- Mum?- What? - You need to wash this again.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48- Let me see.- I just touched it with that.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Oh, for God's sake!
0:27:51 > 0:27:56So you've got your white laundry being cleaned by the coal scuttle.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01That isn't very sensible, thank you. Is it?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Ian Golding is heading to his job at the local council office.
0:28:06 > 0:28:07Morning.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09- Morning.- Morning,
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Morning.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Before the age of computers and printers,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17Edwardian businesses relied on a small army of clerks.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Today, Ian will be working as an envelope addresser
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and he'll be doing nothing else for the next eight hours.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30This is the kind of job that a very junior person
0:28:30 > 0:28:35in an office might do in terms of stuffing envelopes.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39For what I would imagine a middle-class office worker today,
0:28:39 > 0:28:43this is not really the kind of job they would be used to doing.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46It might be menial, but the job earns him a secured income
0:28:46 > 0:28:49of 57 shillings a week,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51something Phil Meadows can only dream of.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53He's out looking for casual work,
0:28:53 > 0:28:58walking in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, James Meadows.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Do you need anything with a man with a wheelbarrow? Moving rubble around?
0:29:01 > 0:29:04Anything like that, you know where I live.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09In Edwardian Britain, general labourers made up a great swathe of the workforce.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12They could spend hours waiting at building sites,
0:29:12 > 0:29:15docks or factories in the hope of being taken on.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20If no work was to be had, their families would go hungry.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23So you're all full up, you don't need any labourers?
0:29:23 > 0:29:25A skilled man, tough hands.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Go and roll that Tarmac.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38God, this thing's heavy!
0:29:39 > 0:29:43I've a new respect for guys that do that now.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45I tell you what, that's tough work.
0:29:51 > 0:29:534 pm....
0:29:53 > 0:29:55After seven hours of hard graft,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Suzie is ready to return her first load of washing.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02- How are you today? - Very well, thank you.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05- I owe you?- Five pennies there.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06That's per item.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10No, we said the whole price was five.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11I think we said per item.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14No, it's five pennies for the whole job.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16- For the whole job?- Yes, it was.- OK.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Three, four, five.
0:30:18 > 0:30:24Suzie is coming to terms with just how cheap her labour is in Edwardian Britain.
0:30:25 > 0:30:30A sheet for two pence is absolutely ridiculous.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I'm mean, soul-destroying.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Completely soul-destroying.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41It's nearly five o'clock.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45The end of the day for office workers.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Boring, bored, boring.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51The only words that come into my mind.
0:30:51 > 0:30:59So far, I think, me doing this job absolutely sums up middle-class Edwardian life.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02A little bit stuffy, a little bit boring.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07Good afternoon.
0:31:09 > 0:31:15I am now absolutely in Edwardian middle-class man mode.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17I absolutely expect my dinner on the table
0:31:17 > 0:31:20with a roaring fire in the kitchen and a cup of tea.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24- Hello, how are you? - What are you doing in here?
0:31:24 > 0:31:27You're not allowed to be in the kitchen, can you leave, please.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30You do not come in this kitchen.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Leave the kitchen.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35SHE CRIES
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Mother, why are you letting them come in the kitchen?
0:31:40 > 0:31:44- I thought they were OK in the kitchen.- No, they're not supposed to be in the kitchen.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48- Why are the stairs still covered in dust?- I haven't had time to do that.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52- What have you been doing? - I've been cooking your dinner and cleaning everywhere else.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55- Please don't speak back to me. - I'm sorry, I thought you asked me a question.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Yeah, he wants to see you when you come home from work.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03- He needs to understand that this is the way it was.- I know.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05So, erm...
0:32:05 > 0:32:07CHILD CRIES
0:32:07 > 0:32:09I'm not meant to go and comfort them if they're crying.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12There will be no emotional caring at all.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16I don't know how... I'm trying to work out how Edwardian children comforted themselves,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18I guess they just comforted each other.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23They must have been a lot tougher than children today.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28Caitie, would you mind getting Jack a tissue, please, for his nose. Something to wipe his nose, please.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31'The reality of being an Edwardian family'
0:32:31 > 0:32:36is actually not a lot of fun for the majority of the time.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40All I seem to have done is made the children cry
0:32:40 > 0:32:42because I just have to be very strict all the time.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Not a lot of fun at all.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49I'm looking forward to actually being able to talk to my children whenever I fancy talking to my children.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Holding them whenever I want to hold them.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Cuddling them when they're sad
0:32:54 > 0:32:57and just having a conversation, would be nice,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59because we're not even allowed to do that!
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Phil has been working on the streets all day,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06for a wage of two shillings.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11He'll need to do this every day to stand a chance of keeping a roof over his family.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15I'm exhausted.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20I mean, you need to just dig in, dig deep and get on with it
0:33:20 > 0:33:22and the only way you can do that is by switching off.
0:33:24 > 0:33:30Meanwhile, daughter Saskia is coming to the end of her first day as the Taylors' scullery maid.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34I thought when we were on camera, we'd have to do the chores.
0:33:34 > 0:33:39Then when it was like "cut", I thought we'd be able to go out,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42get some food, have a chat amongst everyone.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47I didn't realise we actually had to live like families did in the 1910s.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49So it was a bit of a shocker.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00After 12 hours of hard graft, Saskia's finally been allowed back home.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03Hello, darling.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06OK, listen to this, I need to sit down by the fire.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11So you walk in and it's all heated and they've got chandeliers,
0:34:11 > 0:34:13drawing rooms, pianos, nursery.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16They've got a chef,
0:34:16 > 0:34:20a housekeeper, a maid, another maid...
0:34:20 > 0:34:24We're very proud of you out working, Sas.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- We are.- You're going to bring home five shillings.
0:34:27 > 0:34:33It must have been really hard to think that they're only in this life
0:34:33 > 0:34:36to earn money for their mum and dad.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41You have kids to supplement your family income,
0:34:41 > 0:34:47you don't really necessarily have kids to want to love and cherish like we do.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54I'm so tired.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59There's one big role and that is to put food on the table.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It's really tough to do that.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05I've spent the whole day worrying that I can't provide food for them.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09I was a useless parent, I can't look after my daughters.
0:35:09 > 0:35:10They are all going to be really unhappy.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13The pressure is hard. It's survival.
0:35:21 > 0:35:22ENGINE STARTS
0:35:22 > 0:35:26MUSIC: "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin
0:35:28 > 0:35:33As an upper middle-class man with an income almost 40 times greater than the Meadows',
0:35:33 > 0:35:38and plenty of leisure time to spend, Michael's taking son Joseph
0:35:38 > 0:35:41clay pigeon shooting at Leighton Hall,
0:35:41 > 0:35:46a local stately home owned by Mrs Suzie Reynolds.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49- Welcome.- Thank you.- Welcome.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52Also on the grounds is Phil Meadows.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Unlike Michael, he's not here to enjoy himself.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00He's been given a day's work shovelling manure.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Meadows...
0:36:05 > 0:36:07I didn't like being called by my surname.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10For some reason, I didn't want to raise my eyes to them.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12I didn't want to look them in the eye. I definitely felt that.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Which is weird, I wasn't expecting it.
0:36:16 > 0:36:17Fantastic.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21It may well have been that you basically was so frightened of doing something wrong,
0:36:21 > 0:36:27and getting the sack, that you did the minimum possible and just kept working.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32Etiquette dictates that Michael could bring only his son with him to shoot,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35leaving the rest of the family behind.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38The advantage of this era for the gentleman
0:36:38 > 0:36:41is that he does get to go out and do the things that are really exciting
0:36:41 > 0:36:46but to the detriment of the relationship between myself and the family.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52Also enjoying the great outdoors with their nanny
0:36:52 > 0:36:56are the two youngest Taylor children, Lily and Alice.
0:36:57 > 0:37:02Of course working with them so much you do get attached to them.
0:37:02 > 0:37:03They are very delightful children.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06And very well-behaved.
0:37:08 > 0:37:09On the whole.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19But for the remaining members of the Taylors,
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Adele and eldest daughter Megan, there is little to fill their day.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28I feel a bit resentful of Michael who's gone out living the life of Riley,
0:37:28 > 0:37:32can't even be bothered to tell me where he's going or when he'll be back.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36I feel like a prisoner in this house.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40There's this illusion of this powerful woman with the status
0:37:40 > 0:37:43and this fancy house and actually it's all lies.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Adele might feel she has things tough...
0:37:48 > 0:37:53..but two doors down the grind of working-class life is getting to Suzie Meadows.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59One shilling and eight pence.
0:38:00 > 0:38:06The women of the 1900s must have been absolutely rock-like.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11They would have eaten after the rest of their family,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13especially their children.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17They had to be up earlier than anyone else, go to bed later than everyone else.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20It makes me quite emotional, actually. Oh, dear.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32While the drudgery of life hits home for her mum, daughter Saskia
0:38:32 > 0:38:34is starting to embrace hard work.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37You've done very well so far, Saskia.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40- I'll come and see you again shortly. - Thank you.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45I just know that I have to get on with it now.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49I might as well do it in a nice fashion
0:38:49 > 0:38:52or I'm not going to get on with Mrs McMullen.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Tea?
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Upstairs, it's the first time Adele has seen Michael all day.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07And she's still waiting to see the children.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Good afternoon, Madam, Sir, may I present the children to you?
0:39:13 > 0:39:15- Give that to Mama.- Wow!
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Look at that, I like the feathers. Did you pluck the animal yourself?
0:39:19 > 0:39:23- What have you been doing upstairs? - Had a game of chess.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25- We've been for a walk.- Wow!
0:39:25 > 0:39:28Was it nice?
0:39:28 > 0:39:30You have been very busy.
0:39:30 > 0:39:35Wealthy Edwardian women often spent little more than an hour with their children
0:39:35 > 0:39:38before they were whisked back to the nursery by Nanny.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44In Edwardian times, perhaps the women didn't know any better.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47They had no expectations that spending time
0:39:47 > 0:39:50with their children would perhaps be a nice thing.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54It wasn't expected of them so they didn't think to ask.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Whereas that's the norm for me.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Initially when we was told we were coming into house number one
0:40:01 > 0:40:05and you turned around to see the grandeur of it, I thought,
0:40:05 > 0:40:07"Great, this is going to be a really good experience."
0:40:07 > 0:40:12Then, the reality kicked in, that in fact, actually you wouldn't know your family.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15You wouldn't know your kids because you never see them.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17KNOCK AT DOOR
0:40:18 > 0:40:19Evening.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24Michael is leaving the family again for another social engagement.
0:40:28 > 0:40:34Mr Taylor is attending the local music hall, where he'll have his own private box.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38But he won't be the only resident of Albert Road there
0:40:38 > 0:40:42as the Meadows have scraped up a few pennies for four tickets in the stalls.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48We start our evening with Sarah Hicks!
0:40:48 > 0:40:49CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:40:53 > 0:40:56There was me and my old man, shoving things inside a van,
0:40:56 > 0:41:02which we often done before, let me remark!
0:41:02 > 0:41:04# My old man
0:41:04 > 0:41:06# Said follow the van... #
0:41:06 > 0:41:11They may be in the cheap seats but at least the Meadows get to spend the evening together as a family.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13# The boy I love
0:41:13 > 0:41:15# Is up in the gallery
0:41:15 > 0:41:18# The boy I love... #
0:41:18 > 0:41:21I'm here on my own, which is a horrible feeling,
0:41:21 > 0:41:25knowing that Adele and the children are at home and they would love this show.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28After seeing the Meadows downstairs,
0:41:28 > 0:41:32all singing and clapping and enjoying themselves,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34I just felt really lonely up there on my own.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37# ..is up there in the gallery... #
0:41:37 > 0:41:40I miss the kids and I miss being around the wife and stuff like that.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Sorry...
0:41:43 > 0:41:45# ..As merry as a robin
0:41:45 > 0:41:47# That sings...
0:41:47 > 0:41:50# In the tree! #
0:41:50 > 0:41:52It's horrid.
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Just horrid.
0:42:06 > 0:42:11Meanwhile Adele, home alone, is expected to be more concerned
0:42:11 > 0:42:14with improving the family's social standing.
0:42:14 > 0:42:19Right Honourable Bertram Catteral Maddocks.
0:42:19 > 0:42:25So Juliet has tasked her with holding a lavish dinner party for some illustrious guests.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31I don't think I'm posh enough to associate with people
0:42:31 > 0:42:35with a law degree from Cambridge University.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39I'd rather invite the working-class people from down the road
0:42:39 > 0:42:43and we can have a jolly old knees-up in here. I don't think that's going to happen.
0:42:47 > 0:42:52"Make-believe was so real to him... you could see him getting rounder!"
0:42:52 > 0:42:55It's nearing the end of the week in the Edwardian era
0:42:55 > 0:43:01and the Taylor children are becoming accustomed to the new family dynamic away from their parents.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06I think it's fun being in the nursery because there's lots of toys
0:43:06 > 0:43:10and things to do and downstairs there's sitting down...
0:43:10 > 0:43:14and books.
0:43:16 > 0:43:21I think they're missing us more than we're missing them, actually.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24We're having quite a lot of fun
0:43:24 > 0:43:28but Mum says it's a bit boring just sitting there doing sewing.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Yeah, I think they're missing us more.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37After spending most of the week cooped up inside,
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Adele has discovered one way for her and Megan to escape.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43How do you get out?
0:43:45 > 0:43:46Are we locked in?
0:43:47 > 0:43:50Oh, you're kidding.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52Bikes!
0:43:53 > 0:43:57The safety bicycle had only recently become available.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00With a hefty price tag, bikes were only for the wealthy
0:44:00 > 0:44:05but they offered a new independence for women who had always been driven and chauffeured.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11They now had the freedom to travel alone.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18This bit of Edwardian life, I like.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23It's strange after being locked in a house, you feel like you've got this
0:44:23 > 0:44:27bit of freedom and want to run around the park going "Yeah, I'm free!"
0:44:27 > 0:44:30And, er, I'm kind of not wanting to go back home.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40- Did you eat anything last night? - No, we couldn't eat it.
0:44:40 > 0:44:45Back on Albert Road, Ian Golding is comparing lifestyles with his lowly neighbour.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48- So you've had bread this morning? - No, because there's nothing...
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Unless you want to eat dry bread, there's nothing to put on it.
0:44:51 > 0:44:52- What did you eat?- We haven't eaten.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55We had a very nice pigeon pie last night
0:44:55 > 0:44:59as we want to aspire to be like the poshies at the end, you see.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Historian Juliet has some news for the social-climbing Ian
0:45:03 > 0:45:05that might bring him down to earth.
0:45:05 > 0:45:10- You can aspire to join them, or you can join my revolution.- Ah...
0:45:10 > 0:45:13It's entirely up to you. It depends if you want to live or not.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17I have to tell you, actually, the divide between you
0:45:17 > 0:45:21and the Meadows is much less than you think.
0:45:22 > 0:45:27Ian is living the life of his great-great-grandfather, Nathan Ludsky.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30But on the other branch of his family tree is another ancestor,
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Abraham Weinstein,
0:45:32 > 0:45:36whose life in Britain was very different to Nathan's.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40They would have come over at the time of the pogroms, after the assassination of the Tsar.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Violent anti-Jewish attacks, dubbed "pogroms", were rife
0:45:45 > 0:45:47in late 19th-century Russia.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50Destroying 20,000 Jewish homes
0:45:50 > 0:45:54and forcing thousands to flee the country,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56many ended up in London's East End.
0:45:56 > 0:46:01At one point, about 91% of the residents of Spitalfields
0:46:01 > 0:46:04- in the East End of London were Jewish.- Is that right? Wow.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08Now, your own family, the two parents and the four children - the six people,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10were all living in two rooms.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13Makes me feel very humble, because I think I...
0:46:13 > 0:46:18I've ignored my family history completely and I don't know why.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21It's just... It's never something I've shown any interest in.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25Life was hard for the Weinsteins, and within ten years of arriving,
0:46:25 > 0:46:30Abraham's wife Kate died at the age of only 39.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34- She died in December... - At the same age as us.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36She died of TB - consumption.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39- I... I feel quite emotional.- Oh...
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Mm.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46Aww!
0:46:47 > 0:46:52We're very spoilt. We take so much for granted, I think.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55You wouldn't have been able to do that...100 years ago.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57- You couldn't take anything for granted, really.- No.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59We're bloody lucky.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01Bloody lucky to be here
0:47:01 > 0:47:05and we're lucky to be how we are
0:47:05 > 0:47:08and we could be like the Meadows next door.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15Next door at number one, the house is a hive of activity
0:47:15 > 0:47:19preparing for tonight's grand dinner party.
0:47:19 > 0:47:20Go right down, yes.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Mrs McMullen needs extra hands to make sure the evening
0:47:23 > 0:47:27runs smoothly, so she's promoted Saskia to housemaid.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Transfer your weight, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Now, welcome to the scullery, Genevieve.
0:47:36 > 0:47:42Downstairs, Genevieve has been taken on as Saskia's replacement in the scullery.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46I am very pleased with the way that your sister has worked,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48so you've got something to live up to.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51With only one day left for the Meadows to make the 22 shillings
0:47:51 > 0:47:53they need to avoid eviction,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Saskia and Genevieve are earning vital money for the family.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58I don't even know if I'm doing this right.
0:48:01 > 0:48:02Oh, my God... What the...?
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Mrs McMullen said you must pluck this pigeon, please.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12- How do you pluck it?- She said she'll be down soon, but...here.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16- I don't know how to do it.- Just start plucking the feathers off, Gen.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Grab a feather, pluck it off.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22Ergh!
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Don't get any diseases, Gen!
0:48:26 > 0:48:27Eurgh...
0:48:28 > 0:48:32To make sure the Taylors's dinner party has the wow factor,
0:48:32 > 0:48:36technology expert Joe has arrived to introduce Michael
0:48:36 > 0:48:39to the very latest in home entertainment.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41- Right, Michael - I have something to show you.- Fabulous.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- Do you know what this is?- It looks like a camera.- That's pretty good.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- It's a Magic Lantern.- Oh, right.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50I want you to entertain your dinner party guests
0:48:50 > 0:48:51with a Magic Lantern show.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53OK, I'd love to.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55This is it for entertainment - you don't have a TV -
0:48:55 > 0:48:58- this is your Edwardian home cinema system.- Brilliant!
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I wouldn't let too many of these slip into the collection(!)
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Look at that!
0:49:03 > 0:49:05THEY LAUGH
0:49:06 > 0:49:09The Taylor ladies get dressed in their finery.
0:49:13 > 0:49:14- Good evening.- Good evening.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Downstairs, the guests are starting to arrive.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19Mrs Susan Reynolds.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21- Hello, Mrs Reynolds. - How lovely to see you again!
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Juliet Gardiner is here to see if the Taylors can entertain
0:49:24 > 0:49:29like true Edwardians and do their wealthy ancestors proud.
0:49:29 > 0:49:30How are you?
0:49:31 > 0:49:34The right honourable Bertram Catteral Maddocks.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Good evening. It's very kind of you to ask me.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40How would be best to address you?
0:49:40 > 0:49:44- Oh, Bertie.- Thank you.- Thank you. - Please take a seat.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49Right, are you ready? No, you're not. You haven't got this prepared.
0:49:49 > 0:49:54Newly-promoted Saskia is doing her best to keep service on track.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Once you've washed them, on here, once it's all washed, dry.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59I know. I know how to do it.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02Don't drop anything, but we've got to do it quick time, cos we need it all again.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07These slides are quite special.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12Upstairs, the guests are enjoying the Magic Lantern show.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19Oh, that's good.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22Even the reluctant Adele is getting into the spirit of things.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Oh, golly!
0:50:24 > 0:50:27Oh!
0:50:27 > 0:50:28LAUGHTER
0:50:28 > 0:50:30Sorry, my mistake!
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Very, very good.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39# Land of Hope and Glory... #
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Next door, the middle-class Goldings are entertaining themselves.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45You are singing brilliantly.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Ian has decided to abandon strict Edwardian discipline.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55To be able to hold Jack... It's the first time I think I've held him,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57it was lovely, really lovely.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00It makes me feel more like a dad.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02I'm a dad, not a father,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06so to have the opportunity to hold him was lovely.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09# ..Who are born of thee... #
0:51:13 > 0:51:16- This is a very pretty centrepiece, isn't it?- Yes, we like it.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18Very pretty.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22We either need to be taller, I think, or our decorations smaller.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26An evening like this one
0:51:26 > 0:51:29could cost more than a poor family had to live on for two years.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38- There she is, there she is! - Oh, there she is!
0:51:38 > 0:51:42If there are no calamities, I will be absolutely amazed,
0:51:42 > 0:51:45cos she's notoriously clumsy!
0:51:45 > 0:51:47CROCKERY SMASHES
0:51:47 > 0:51:49But it's not Saskia who's slipped up.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55What?! Are you kidding?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00- Genevieve, that's not funny, at all. - I didn't mean to do it, Saskia.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02This is taken out of our wages.
0:52:02 > 0:52:03On a serious note,
0:52:03 > 0:52:06because that's the first thing Mrs McMullen said to me.
0:52:06 > 0:52:11At nine pence, a bone china cup costs almost a day's pay.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14(I'm very annoyed at my sister.)
0:52:14 > 0:52:17(We're probably going to be back to nearly zero,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20(so I'm not very happy, and my parents are going to be livid.)
0:52:20 > 0:52:23I want to be honest, but I'm scared of Miss McMul...mulugh.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Something like that. I don't know her name!
0:52:26 > 0:52:31Genevieve needs to pluck up the courage to confess to a busy Mrs McMullen.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Um...
0:52:33 > 0:52:36- While I was washing up... - Right - open up the lid.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42- Um...- No, they're not set.
0:52:44 > 0:52:45Um... Miss McMullen...
0:52:45 > 0:52:51While I was washing up, I bent to dry a cup and it fell off the table.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55- Right.- And it smashed. - What colour was it? - It was one of the white ones.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57All right.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59- It happens.- I'm sorry.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Luckily, Mrs McMullen has her hands full and Genevieve's off the hook.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11Dinner parties were all about excess and tonight,
0:53:11 > 0:53:16Adele will have to see her way through eight sumptuous courses.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19If the lady of the house actually knew how many courses there were,
0:53:19 > 0:53:24maybe she adjusted her corset... appropriately!
0:53:25 > 0:53:28First come the hors d'oeuvres.
0:53:28 > 0:53:29No, thank you, thanks very much.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Followed by asparagus...
0:53:34 > 0:53:36- You weren't in the Navy, Bertie... - Quite!
0:53:38 > 0:53:39Two fish dishes...
0:53:39 > 0:53:41One meat dish...
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Genevieve's pigeons...
0:53:46 > 0:53:51And vegetables - presented with typical Edwardian flamboyance.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57But however grand the meal, for Adele, the evening
0:53:57 > 0:53:59is meaningless without her family.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02We've had the most wonderful food -
0:54:02 > 0:54:06foods I've never tasted in my life before.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Like being in the fanciest restaurant I've ever been
0:54:10 > 0:54:14and I haven't been able to enjoy it, because the family haven't been...
0:54:14 > 0:54:19They haven't been... They haven't been with us while we ate it.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20It's... Sorry.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34The residents of Albert Road are preparing to leave
0:54:34 > 0:54:37the lives of their Edwardian ancestors behind.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43After living their life, I feel more detached from my ancestors.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46It's nice to do all the great things,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49but I don't want to do things on my own.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52I really don't, I want to do things with my family.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55My ancestors, I don't know how they must've lived like this.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59My family's found it difficult when there's four of us
0:54:59 > 0:55:02in this house and we're only here for five days.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05For them to live like this for the rest of their life, must be very difficult
0:55:05 > 0:55:07and it's quite...heartbreaking.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14Susanna and Juliet are back to catch up with the families.
0:55:16 > 0:55:21It's time to find out how the family unit has survived the Edwardian experience.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Have our families lived like true Edwardians,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27within the rigid class structure?
0:55:30 > 0:55:33How has it been for you, living in the posh house?
0:55:33 > 0:55:37It's been horrible. Absolutely awful.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41I didn't see the children, I didn't see my husband,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45me and Megan were locked in this room 90% of the time,
0:55:45 > 0:55:47with nothing to do - there's no purpose.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51As a busy working mum, every minute of the day is looking forward
0:55:51 > 0:55:56to family time, trying to catch that time with the children
0:55:56 > 0:56:00and just having nothing to do - no purpose, nobody needs you.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05You've got no say in anything as a woman in this era.
0:56:05 > 0:56:06I could walk out this door
0:56:06 > 0:56:11and nobody would notice that I wasn't here, probably for days.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16What you think is most distinctive about the Edwardian family unit?
0:56:16 > 0:56:20It seemed like a bunch of single people living in a big house.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23I don't think there's any such word as the Edwardian "family".
0:56:27 > 0:56:30Next door, the middle-class Goldings
0:56:30 > 0:56:33are less disparaging of the early 1900s.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35Evenings, you know, the way the family behaved
0:56:35 > 0:56:40in the evenings - it is so easy just to turn on the TV.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44I think it would be nice not to do that all the time.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Meanwhile, Ian, you've had to take on the role of the strict Edwardian father.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52Your role sounded like the one that you might enjoy.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Strictness for an Edwardian father seems to be
0:56:55 > 0:56:57just for the sake of being strict.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00The Edwardian father needs to understand that it's not such
0:57:00 > 0:57:03a bad thing sometimes to show a bit of emotion.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11But trapped in the cycle of survival,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14the working-class family had it hardest.
0:57:14 > 0:57:19We really lived this and it was bloody awful. It really was.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23The first few days, until we got our act together, was just awful.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26Then we kicked in. We made it work.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29But we could have easily gone the other way - well, just gone home, actually!
0:57:31 > 0:57:36Well, Juliet - how have they done, financially?
0:57:36 > 0:57:38I've got the budget here.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41So, your total outgoings in your week
0:57:41 > 0:57:45- were 21 shillings and tenpence. OK.- We haven't made it!
0:57:45 > 0:57:47So now let's look at your income.
0:57:47 > 0:57:53As a family, you have earned 28 shillings, 4½ pence.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56So well done - pretty good.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59You've lived within your budget and some. Well done.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01I think it pushed us to the max.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05As a family, I think we did really well.
0:58:07 > 0:58:11The children's reaction to this has actually amazed me.
0:58:11 > 0:58:12I cannot believe...
0:58:12 > 0:58:15The girls have really had to change, because if anything,
0:58:15 > 0:58:19they're probably a little bit more spoilt at home.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21But I've been so proud of both of them.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24For the families, it's the end of the Edwardian era.
0:58:26 > 0:58:28Next time on Albert Road,
0:58:28 > 0:58:31it's the Roaring Twenties.
0:58:31 > 0:58:32Cheers!
0:58:32 > 0:58:36- Might be a little bit bumpy here, madam.- That's OK!
0:58:36 > 0:58:40But the Great Depression is just around the corner.
0:58:40 > 0:58:42I'll leave you with four chairs,
0:58:42 > 0:58:44but anything else of value will need to be sold.
0:58:44 > 0:58:48- Who will ride the storm? - No, we haven't had to sell that yet!
0:58:48 > 0:58:50We'll sell the kids first!
0:58:50 > 0:58:53And who will see their fortunes slip away?
0:59:20 > 0:59:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd