Episode 1 Turn Back Time


Episode 1

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The family. It's where we love,

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laugh, shout and cry.

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Oh! Don't fall off!

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Higher!

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It makes us who we are.

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But it hasn't always been the cherished institution it is today.

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To find out how the modern family came to be,

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a group of parents and kids from across Britain are turning back time

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to face the same ordeals as millions of others over the past 100 years.

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In the northern seaside town of Morecambe, the past is coming alive.

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A row of terraced houses has been turned into time machines

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to transport our families

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through the twists and turns of the 20th century.

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From the age of masters and servants...

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A-agh!

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I felt a bit emotional cos I knew she was there

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to take the children away,

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which is quite difficult.

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..through the roaring '20s, to the Great Depression.

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Anything else of value will need to be sold.

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The fact that it was in front of the family, I felt really useless.

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From life on the home front...

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You and me, we're never separating.

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..to the Swinging '60s!

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Aren't you slightly concerned about the length of their skirts?

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We're starting a rebellion right now.

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And on to the groovy '70s.

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I couldn't give a damn

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about material things. For me, family is the most important thing.

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And the past is going to get personal,

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as they live the lives of their very own ancestors.

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Rather than just living in a museum,

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we are actually living an ancestor's life.

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She died of TB, consumption.

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I'm sorry, I feel quite emotional.

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We take so much for granted, I think.

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We're turning back time to find out

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how history made the family what it is today.

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There are dozens of Albert Roads in Britain,

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all of which have been home to generations of families.

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This one in Morecambe, Lancashire,

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is about to be the setting for something extraordinary.

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A row of terraced houses are being taken back to the early 1900s,

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when they were first built.

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For the next five weeks, the houses will become time machines,

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transporting three modern families through 100 years of history.

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Guiding the families on this incredible journey

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will be working mum and queen of the breakfast sofa Suzanna Reid.

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This is the story of three families, but it is also the story of us,

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all of us and our families.

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And understanding what our great-grandparents,

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grandparents and parents went through and how that's shaped us today.

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Social historian Juliette Gardiner will be making sure

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the families stick to the rules of the past.

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What we're trying to do here is very exciting.

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We're charting the development of British family life

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over 100 years of history.

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And completing the team is antique gadget enthusiast Joe Crowley.

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Wow!

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Look at that. You wouldn't want your finger in the way of that one.

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The adventure for our families is about to begin.

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The Taylors are from Norfolk.

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Hard-working nurse Adele and electrician Michael

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have their hands full with four children.

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We are a chaotic family.

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It is just throwing all the balls in the air, seeing where they land.

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We had four children cos we want a busy house

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but I don't want to ever be in a house that's quiet.

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I want to be in the thick of it with everybody there.

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But for the Taylors, there just aren't enough hours in the day.

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Mum wants us to do this because she wants us to, erm,

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be together a bit more

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and she wants to see what it was like in the olden days and stuff.

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What?

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Our second family are the Meadows from Royal Berkshire.

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OK. Can you bring down the horses, please?

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Self-made man Phil and his wife Suzie run a polo school

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with the help of their teenage daughters, Saskia and Genevieve.

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For the Meadows, family means being part of a team.

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As a family, we probably spend more time together than most families,

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because the nature of the business in that we all play the sport.

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The world we live in is like a little cocoon.

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We deal with some incredibly wealthy people.

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Royalty from around the world. Everyone knows everybody.

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It's very nice but it's quite limited.

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The opportunity to actually do something as a family

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that's outside of polo is quite exciting for me.

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But Phil and Suzie are aware just how privileged their girls are.

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We actually as modern-day children don't do much housework.

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Me and Genevieve are lazy when it comes to that.

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It's going to be great for Saskia and Genevieve

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to understand how tough life was in the 1900s

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and how they've got it so easy, quite frankly.

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Our third family are the Goldings from Cheshire.

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Customer-services manager Ian and part-time accountant Naomi have three kids.

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For them, family is all about equality.

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The children can see that Dad can do the washing.

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He can put them to bed and bath them just as much as I can do

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so it's a real modern, sharing, sharing family.

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Even the kids get to have their say.

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I like to have family meetings and get them to say what things they're not happy with.

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Whilst Ian and Naomi agree on most things,

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when it comes to child discipline, Ian would like to try something more old-fashioned.

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I don't necessarily think that being firm is always such a bad thing.

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I think he's going to quite like the idea of being in control.

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I think he thinks he's going to be respected a lot more than possibly he is now.

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I don't think he'll like it.

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I think he thinks he'll like it

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but I don't think he will like it that much.

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Their journey will begin in the early 1900s when,

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for the first time, the family itself was something to aspire to.

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Queen Victoria had inspired Britons

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to become lovers of hearth, home and domestic virtue,

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introducing the idea of "family values".

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But this was also an era of huge class division.

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Some families lived like kings

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but a third of the population were in grinding poverty.

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The homes on Albert Road reflect this gulf.

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Number one is the height of upper-middle-class luxury,

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down to number three, a typical, working class dwelling.

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None of the families have any idea

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which house they'll be living in but it will be determined by the status

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of their own Edwardian ancestors,

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something they know little about.

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-Which house would you like to be?

-Rich!

-The rich one.

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I know not a lot about my family history

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but I'm pretty sure there isn't some secret millionaire somewhere.

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I definitely want to be in this house.

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Welcome to the start of your adventure.

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An exciting challenge lies ahead.

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You're going to put Britain's family unit to the test

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by living through five eras of the 20th century

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and it is going to be tough.

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You are going to have to cope with whatever history throws at you.

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I am going to assist you in your challenge by bringing you some 1900s domestic technology

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which may make your lives easier or it may not.

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Now in this era, you've got to live

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according to the rules and social conventions of the time.

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All of you must live within the means available

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to people of your class.

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I know you are all dying to find out which house you're going to be in

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and all is about to be revealed.

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Taylors, please go to number one, Albert Road, the upper-class house.

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Goldings, number two, the middle-class house.

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Oh, no!

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And Meadows, please go to number three, the working-class house.

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Yes!

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It's fine. We'll have fun, we'll have fun.

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The Taylor family are stepping into a world of wealth and leisure.

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-I'm your housekeeper, Mrs McMullen.

-Hello, Mrs McMullen.

-Hello.

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May I introduce you to your staff.

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This is Mr Dowding, your chef.

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-Good day.

-And Natasha, you housemaid.

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-Hello.

-Pleased to meet you.

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-There are five of us altogether.

-And what do we do with you?

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THEY LAUGH

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May I, may I take your coat, madam?

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Guys, just don't break anything!

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No. This is going to be very stressful.

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On top of five servants, the Taylors have a vast,

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four-storey house, complete with a nursery full of toys.

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Dad Michael has his own private study where he can retreat to

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-when things get too hectic.

-I think this is me! I think this is where I belong.

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I love this, I think this is brilliant.

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Their home is state of the art, with electricity

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and a boiler in the scullery, producing hot water on demand.

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BELL RINGS

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I'm just a bit shocked. We just expected we would be in the number three with the dirty windows.

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That was... Cos there's no money in our family

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so I don't quite know how we've ended up here at all.

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Juliet has come to reveal just why they have landed

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the most prestigious home on Albert Road.

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-Hello, Taylor family.

-Hello.

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I've come to tell you why you are living in this rather grand house.

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The reason is you've really got to thank one of your ancestors.

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Michael's great-great-great-grandfather,

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William Bennett, was at the heart of Britain's thriving cotton industry,

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running a mill in Derbyshire.

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That's the sort of mill he would have managed.

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-Shocked. Really shocked. Yeah.

-You didn't know anything about it?

-No.

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What I perceived as my ancestry were all very much working people.

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OK, you've landed on your feet, here.

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You've got a very comfortable lifestyle

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but you're giving to have to obey the conventions

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and the regulations that come with that lifestyle.

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So will we liaise with any of the neighbours? Would we speak to them?

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You would keep your distance, you know.

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You would be very anxious to keep your status.

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Just keep yourself separate from them.

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I think that's going to be a real difficult challenge for us,

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knowing how we like to interact with different people,

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to be actually very stand-offish will be very, very difficult.

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Things will be much tougher for the Meadows family at number three.

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Look at this!

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They'll be living in the most basic conditions,

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cooking and heating their water on an open fire.

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Where are we going to sit that's comfortable?

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THEY LAUGH

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Actually, we won't be sitting anywhere

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cos there's no TV, is there?

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Things are looking even worse in their only other room.

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-What a bedroom this is!

-This is the only bed!

-Oh, God!

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All four of them will be sleeping in this tiny space

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with the girls sharing a mattress on the floor.

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Guys, do you want me to worry you now?

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-What?

-Toilets.

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Might be a bit of a problem.

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We don't even have a pot to piss in!

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With no bathroom, the Meadows will have to use the outside privy

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or face the alternative.

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# Ta-da! #

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-I'm not peeing in that after you've peed in it.

-Ah!

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-Look!

-Oh, my word!

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-The Goldings are in the middle-class house.

-Wow!

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-I love it!

-It's a modest but respectable home with seven rooms.

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There's no electricity but plenty of options

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for an evening's entertainment.

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The Goldings will enjoy running water and the latest cooking range.

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-I'm not sure how you're going to cook on there.

-I'll manage.

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Guys, I hope you're not very hungry. So what's in this book, guys?

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Each family has been given a manual,

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explaining the rules they're expected to live by.

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"Father is the head of the house. His word is law."

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I've been waiting for that for years.

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"Children should speak only when spoken to."

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-This is music to my ears!

-THEY LAUGH

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Before the Goldings settle in,

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they must change into the appropriate clothing of the time.

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It's not really very attractive, is it?

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Ah, Jack!

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He's my little Edwardian sailor.

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Ah! You're as cute as a picture.

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Susanna has come to explain to the Goldings

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why they're living in the middle-class house.

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We have tracked down your great-great-grandfather.

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And here he is. His name was Nathan Ludsky.

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He was a tailor in Cardiff.

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Which puts you in the middle classes.

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But he didn't originally come from Cardiff.

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-Where is he from originally?

-What does it say? Russia.

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-I had no idea about any of that.

-Never heard that name.

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Like thousands of Russian Jews, Nathan Ludsky

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emigrated to Britain around the turn of the century.

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Unusually for an immigrant, he prospered from the start.

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What this means is that you are going to avoid getting your hands dirty.

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It means that you are going to have a white-collar job.

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Next door, Joe Crowley has arrived to tell the polo-playing Meadows

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why they're living in such humble circumstances.

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This is the 1901 census. West Ham in London.

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If we come down here, we see James Meadows.

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James Meadows was Phil's great-grandfather

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who worked in London's East End as a general labourer.

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That's what you're going to be doing.

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You're going to be out there doing manual jobs.

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You're going to have to find jobs day to day and just get stuck in.

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And Joe has a surprise for Saskia, too.

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You're going to be working two doors down at the big house, OK?

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You're going to be a scullery maid. Let me see your hands.

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They're quite manly.

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No, no. I think these beautiful nails might toughen up a little bit.

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Thanks.

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I'm just working out how much we need to earn. It's not going well.

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In the Edwardian era, families who couldn't pay their rent

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faced instant eviction.

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We need to earn 22 shillings and tuppence,

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a week, to pay our bills.

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As a general labourer, Phil will have to find his own work

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but at best, he'll earn two shillings a day.

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So he'll have to rely on the others to make up the difference.

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Dig deep, team. Family.

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This is all about the family, remember.

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Let's try and keep it together.

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I clearly didn't marry very well! I should have known better!

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We find ourselves impoverished

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and it's going to be really hard, I think.

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While the Taylors and the Goldings settle down

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for a comfortable night's sleep,

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the Meadows are facing a very different prospect.

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Tomorrow, the hard work begins.

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It's 6:00am and the working-class Meadows

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are in for a rude awakening.

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-KNOCKING

-WAKE UP!

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In Edwardian times, a knocker-upper was the alarm clock for the masses.

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Morning. You all right?

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-You have a good day, now.

-Lovely.

-See ya.

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-CLAPPING

-Up!

-It's really inconvenient.

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There's no room for anything so all, erm, I mean,

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there's nowhere to put your clothes.

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We sleep under anything that'll keep you warm at night

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because it's freezing, there's no heating.

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And then everyone's on top of each other, like this, all the time.

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So it's incredibly inconvenient.

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For the working classes, living in poverty meant life was a slog from the moment they got up.

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Everything takes so long to do.

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Everything is a major palaver.

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And all you do is think about food and tea and warm.

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Food, tea, warmth. That's all you care about.

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For the Meadows to keep their heads above water,

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17-year-old Saskia is forced to take up a role as a scullery maid.

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Seeing as my dad's not got any work and my mum hasn't got any work,

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I've got to go and spend my entire day scrubbing and cleaning.

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A reluctant Saskia heads off to work for the Taylors

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under the watchful eye of housekeeper Mrs McMullen.

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I probably come across as a bit of a scary lady.

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With the little glasses, and I'm short. I have very high standards.

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I am very, very intimidating to work for.

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-KNOCKING

-Hello, I'm Saskia.

-Hello, Saskia.

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Now, normally you would not come in through the front entrance.

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-This is not the servants' entrance.

-OK.

-But you can come in today.

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In 1901, 40% of the adult female population

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were employed as domestic servants.

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Some as young as 13, they often worked a 16-hour day.

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-As a scullery maid, you are the lowest of the low.

-Yes.

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-You girls are ten-a-penny.

-Yes.

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You will be chopping, filleting, gutting,

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plucking and a lot of scrubbing.

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Lovely.

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What she won't be doing is ever fraternising with her

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new employers, the Taylors, who are waking up

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to the extravagance of upper-middle-class life.

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-Thank you.

-Thank you.

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-Pleasant morning.

-This is quite nice.

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Might hire servants when we get home. THEY LAUGH

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The upper classes had staff for even the most personal of chores.

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The corsets feel really strange

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because you can't actually breathe properly in them.

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The richest families could have as many as five servants

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for each family member.

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In some respects, it feels like I've regressed back into childhood

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where you have your mother

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to dress you in the morning and tie your shoelaces.

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Everything Michael and Adele are used to doing for themselves

0:20:250:20:28

is now done by someone else.

0:20:280:20:30

-Please come in.

-Thank you.

-Even looking after their kids.

0:20:300:20:35

-Nanny Hutchinson, sir, madam.

-Good morning, madam.

-Good morning.

0:20:370:20:41

Good morning, sir. Good morning, miss.

0:20:410:20:44

I shall endeavour to instruct the children academically,

0:20:440:20:48

morally and spiritually.

0:20:480:20:51

-Are they all in good health at the moment?

-They are.

-Excellent.

0:20:540:20:58

-Morning.

-How are you, Joseph?

-Very good, thank you.

-Good.

0:20:580:21:02

You're looking very smart today.

0:21:020:21:05

-I am Nanny Hutchinson.

-How do you do?

0:21:050:21:08

-And good morning, Miss Lily.

-Morning.

-Good morning, Nanny.

0:21:080:21:12

-Good morning, Nanny.

-And good morning, Miss Alice.

0:21:120:21:16

(Good morning, Nanny.)

0:21:160:21:18

Come along then, children.

0:21:180:21:20

Give Mummy a kiss before you go with Nanny.

0:21:200:21:23

I'm redundant.

0:21:310:21:34

Ciara and Caitie, will you sit down, please?

0:21:390:21:41

-I'm getting confused, I'm sorry.

-Ciara, will you not speak to me?

0:21:410:21:45

Next door, Ian Golding is relishing the opportunity

0:21:450:21:48

to get stuck in to his role as the family's authority figure.

0:21:480:21:52

Would you like to take your elbows off the table, please. Thank you.

0:21:520:21:57

Why are you crying, Jack?

0:21:570:22:00

Do you not like Daddy talking to you like this? No.

0:22:030:22:07

Always attempting to better themselves, the middle classes were

0:22:070:22:11

determined to keep up appearances, even behind closed doors.

0:22:110:22:16

Wash your hands, please.

0:22:160:22:18

I would like to think that they will appreciate

0:22:200:22:23

how important it was to behave properly 100 years ago

0:22:230:22:27

and that sometimes we don't really behave as politely

0:22:270:22:32

and as nicely as children used to.

0:22:320:22:34

Dad's being a meany.

0:22:340:22:37

Having some of the manners of their predecessors

0:22:370:22:40

actually is not such a bad thing.

0:22:400:22:43

Can I see if you've washed your hands properly?

0:22:430:22:46

They're wet, Ciara.

0:22:460:22:48

Can you dry them, please? Thank you.

0:22:480:22:50

Strict discipline was a cornerstone of Edwardian child-rearing.

0:22:500:22:54

But it's a foreign concept to the Golding children.

0:22:540:22:57

Edwardian dads used to be strict.

0:22:570:23:01

And horrible.

0:23:020:23:05

And we can put our elbows on the table at home.

0:23:070:23:11

Wealthy Edwardians were obsessed with formality...

0:23:150:23:19

..even at breakfast time.

0:23:200:23:22

This one's sausage, bacon... Oh, no, kidneys, bacon.

0:23:220:23:25

What's that?

0:23:250:23:27

This one's lobster.

0:23:270:23:29

I was expecting toast and jam.

0:23:300:23:33

Cornflakes?

0:23:330:23:35

Of the Taylor clan, the only child allowed to eat with the adults is 15-year-old Megan.

0:23:350:23:41

The other Taylor children must eat their meals in the nursery,

0:23:410:23:45

a very different routine from home.

0:23:450:23:47

We normally eat together.

0:23:470:23:49

Now we're not allowed to eat together,

0:23:510:23:56

which is quite weird.

0:23:560:23:59

Do it quite firmly.

0:24:000:24:02

Work your way down the toilet bowl.

0:24:020:24:05

It's just four hours into Saskia's day as a scullery maid.

0:24:050:24:11

What you're doing is taking off all the urine from inside the lavatory.

0:24:110:24:16

I wasn't expecting it to be such hard work.

0:24:260:24:29

I hate washing up, it smells of food.

0:24:300:24:33

I want to go home.

0:24:330:24:35

It may not be glamorous, but if she sticks at it,

0:24:350:24:37

she'll take home five shillings a week, nearly a quarter of what her family needs to stay afloat.

0:24:370:24:43

I want to find out what year they invented the dishwasher.

0:24:430:24:47

This sucks.

0:24:480:24:49

Edwardian toil may have come as a shock to Saskia,

0:24:490:24:53

but upstairs the Taylor children are also finding it hard to adjust.

0:24:530:24:58

Remember that children should be seen and not heard.

0:24:580:25:02

You do not disturb Mama and Papa downstairs.

0:25:020:25:06

At home, they're used to doing pretty much as they please.

0:25:060:25:09

But now adults are the unquestionable authority.

0:25:090:25:13

You're with your brother and your sister

0:25:130:25:17

who will also help to look after you and we really do not want any silly tears.

0:25:170:25:22

They're wobbling at the minute. Lily is anyway.

0:25:220:25:24

She's struggling with this.

0:25:240:25:27

She wants stories and play and fun. I've not heard them laugh at all this morning.

0:25:270:25:32

Don't concern yourself, madam, the children are fine.

0:25:320:25:36

I think when Nanny arrived, I felt a bit emotional

0:25:390:25:42

because I knew she was there to take the children away.

0:25:420:25:45

Which...is quite difficult.

0:25:470:25:49

As long as they go out and have a bit of fun, that'll be fine.

0:25:520:25:56

100 years ago, childhood was a different world

0:25:560:25:59

and no more so than for working-class kids.

0:25:590:26:03

With rent to pay, some children as young as ten were forced to miss school and work full-time.

0:26:030:26:09

15-year-old Genevieve is doing her first day of child labour.

0:26:140:26:19

She's working with mum, Suzie, who like many working-class women

0:26:190:26:23

has turned their family home into a laundry business.

0:26:230:26:27

-It's not washed.

-Yes, it is.

0:26:270:26:29

-It's got stains on it.

-Where? I washed it.

0:26:290:26:32

They're taking in washing from their neighbours.

0:26:320:26:35

A washerwoman could earn up to ten shillings a week,

0:26:360:26:40

almost half what the Meadows family need to survive.

0:26:400:26:44

But doing washing in this era is a laborious process.

0:26:440:26:47

Boiling the water...

0:26:470:26:49

I hope this hasn't got a leak in the bottom.

0:26:490:26:51

Hand scrubbing...

0:26:510:26:53

Oh, you're kidding me.

0:26:530:26:54

Using the cumbersome mangle to wring out laundry.

0:26:560:27:00

-It works.

-It does work.

0:27:000:27:02

Making starch from potatoes.

0:27:040:27:07

You dip them in the starch.

0:27:090:27:11

And, finally, using the flat iron.

0:27:130:27:16

I do figure that this was an absolute labour of anything but love.

0:27:160:27:23

This was a necessity to just earn money.

0:27:240:27:27

They hurt. They're all wrinkly and horrible because of the water.

0:27:300:27:34

It's disgusting. My nails have chipped off.

0:27:340:27:37

But Suzie's fighting a losing battle.

0:27:400:27:43

-Mum?

-What?

-You need to wash this again.

0:27:430:27:45

-Let me see.

-I just touched it with that.

0:27:450:27:48

Oh, for God's sake!

0:27:480:27:51

So you've got your white laundry being cleaned by the coal scuttle.

0:27:510:27:56

That isn't very sensible, thank you. Is it?

0:27:580:28:01

Ian Golding is heading to his job at the local council office.

0:28:030:28:06

Morning.

0:28:060:28:07

-Morning.

-Morning,

0:28:070:28:09

Morning.

0:28:090:28:10

Before the age of computers and printers,

0:28:100:28:13

Edwardian businesses relied on a small army of clerks.

0:28:130:28:17

Today, Ian will be working as an envelope addresser

0:28:180:28:22

and he'll be doing nothing else for the next eight hours.

0:28:220:28:26

This is the kind of job that a very junior person

0:28:260:28:30

in an office might do in terms of stuffing envelopes.

0:28:300:28:35

For what I would imagine a middle-class office worker today,

0:28:350:28:39

this is not really the kind of job they would be used to doing.

0:28:390:28:43

It might be menial, but the job earns him a secured income

0:28:430:28:46

of 57 shillings a week,

0:28:460:28:49

something Phil Meadows can only dream of.

0:28:490:28:51

He's out looking for casual work,

0:28:510:28:53

walking in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, James Meadows.

0:28:530:28:58

Do you need anything with a man with a wheelbarrow? Moving rubble around?

0:28:580:29:01

Anything like that, you know where I live.

0:29:010:29:04

In Edwardian Britain, general labourers made up a great swathe of the workforce.

0:29:040:29:09

They could spend hours waiting at building sites,

0:29:090:29:12

docks or factories in the hope of being taken on.

0:29:120:29:15

If no work was to be had, their families would go hungry.

0:29:150:29:20

So you're all full up, you don't need any labourers?

0:29:200:29:23

A skilled man, tough hands.

0:29:230:29:25

Go and roll that Tarmac.

0:29:250:29:27

God, this thing's heavy!

0:29:360:29:38

I've a new respect for guys that do that now.

0:29:390:29:43

I tell you what, that's tough work.

0:29:430:29:45

4 pm....

0:29:510:29:53

After seven hours of hard graft,

0:29:530:29:55

Suzie is ready to return her first load of washing.

0:29:550:29:58

-How are you today?

-Very well, thank you.

0:29:580:30:02

-I owe you?

-Five pennies there.

0:30:020:30:05

That's per item.

0:30:050:30:06

No, we said the whole price was five.

0:30:060:30:10

I think we said per item.

0:30:100:30:11

No, it's five pennies for the whole job.

0:30:110:30:14

-For the whole job?

-Yes, it was.

-OK.

0:30:140:30:16

Three, four, five.

0:30:160:30:18

Suzie is coming to terms with just how cheap her labour is in Edwardian Britain.

0:30:180:30:24

A sheet for two pence is absolutely ridiculous.

0:30:250:30:30

I'm mean, soul-destroying.

0:30:300:30:34

Completely soul-destroying.

0:30:340:30:36

It's nearly five o'clock.

0:30:390:30:41

The end of the day for office workers.

0:30:430:30:45

Boring, bored, boring.

0:30:470:30:49

The only words that come into my mind.

0:30:490:30:51

So far, I think, me doing this job absolutely sums up middle-class Edwardian life.

0:30:510:30:59

A little bit stuffy, a little bit boring.

0:30:590:31:02

Good afternoon.

0:31:040:31:07

I am now absolutely in Edwardian middle-class man mode.

0:31:090:31:15

I absolutely expect my dinner on the table

0:31:150:31:17

with a roaring fire in the kitchen and a cup of tea.

0:31:170:31:20

-Hello, how are you?

-What are you doing in here?

0:31:220:31:24

You're not allowed to be in the kitchen, can you leave, please.

0:31:240:31:27

You do not come in this kitchen.

0:31:270:31:30

Leave the kitchen.

0:31:300:31:33

SHE CRIES

0:31:330:31:35

Mother, why are you letting them come in the kitchen?

0:31:370:31:40

-I thought they were OK in the kitchen.

-No, they're not supposed to be in the kitchen.

0:31:400:31:44

-Why are the stairs still covered in dust?

-I haven't had time to do that.

0:31:440:31:48

-What have you been doing?

-I've been cooking your dinner and cleaning everywhere else.

0:31:480:31:52

-Please don't speak back to me.

-I'm sorry, I thought you asked me a question.

0:31:520:31:55

Yeah, he wants to see you when you come home from work.

0:31:570:32:00

-He needs to understand that this is the way it was.

-I know.

0:32:000:32:03

So, erm...

0:32:030:32:05

CHILD CRIES

0:32:050:32:07

I'm not meant to go and comfort them if they're crying.

0:32:070:32:09

There will be no emotional caring at all.

0:32:090:32:12

I don't know how... I'm trying to work out how Edwardian children comforted themselves,

0:32:120:32:16

I guess they just comforted each other.

0:32:160:32:18

They must have been a lot tougher than children today.

0:32:180:32:23

Caitie, would you mind getting Jack a tissue, please, for his nose. Something to wipe his nose, please.

0:32:230:32:28

'The reality of being an Edwardian family'

0:32:280:32:31

is actually not a lot of fun for the majority of the time.

0:32:310:32:36

All I seem to have done is made the children cry

0:32:360:32:40

because I just have to be very strict all the time.

0:32:400:32:42

Not a lot of fun at all.

0:32:420:32:44

I'm looking forward to actually being able to talk to my children whenever I fancy talking to my children.

0:32:440:32:49

Holding them whenever I want to hold them.

0:32:490:32:52

Cuddling them when they're sad

0:32:520:32:54

and just having a conversation, would be nice,

0:32:540:32:57

because we're not even allowed to do that!

0:32:570:32:59

Phil has been working on the streets all day,

0:33:020:33:04

for a wage of two shillings.

0:33:040:33:06

He'll need to do this every day to stand a chance of keeping a roof over his family.

0:33:060:33:11

I'm exhausted.

0:33:130:33:15

I mean, you need to just dig in, dig deep and get on with it

0:33:150:33:20

and the only way you can do that is by switching off.

0:33:200:33:22

Meanwhile, daughter Saskia is coming to the end of her first day as the Taylors' scullery maid.

0:33:240:33:30

I thought when we were on camera, we'd have to do the chores.

0:33:300:33:34

Then when it was like "cut", I thought we'd be able to go out,

0:33:340:33:39

get some food, have a chat amongst everyone.

0:33:390:33:42

I didn't realise we actually had to live like families did in the 1910s.

0:33:420:33:47

So it was a bit of a shocker.

0:33:470:33:49

After 12 hours of hard graft, Saskia's finally been allowed back home.

0:33:550:34:00

Hello, darling.

0:34:000:34:03

OK, listen to this, I need to sit down by the fire.

0:34:030:34:06

So you walk in and it's all heated and they've got chandeliers,

0:34:060:34:11

drawing rooms, pianos, nursery.

0:34:110:34:13

They've got a chef,

0:34:130:34:16

a housekeeper, a maid, another maid...

0:34:160:34:20

We're very proud of you out working, Sas.

0:34:200:34:24

-We are.

-You're going to bring home five shillings.

0:34:240:34:27

It must have been really hard to think that they're only in this life

0:34:270:34:33

to earn money for their mum and dad.

0:34:330:34:36

You have kids to supplement your family income,

0:34:380:34:41

you don't really necessarily have kids to want to love and cherish like we do.

0:34:410:34:47

I'm so tired.

0:34:520:34:54

There's one big role and that is to put food on the table.

0:34:560:34:59

It's really tough to do that.

0:35:000:35:02

I've spent the whole day worrying that I can't provide food for them.

0:35:020:35:05

I was a useless parent, I can't look after my daughters.

0:35:050:35:09

They are all going to be really unhappy.

0:35:090:35:10

The pressure is hard. It's survival.

0:35:100:35:13

ENGINE STARTS

0:35:210:35:22

MUSIC: "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin

0:35:220:35:26

As an upper middle-class man with an income almost 40 times greater than the Meadows',

0:35:280:35:33

and plenty of leisure time to spend, Michael's taking son Joseph

0:35:330:35:38

clay pigeon shooting at Leighton Hall,

0:35:380:35:41

a local stately home owned by Mrs Suzie Reynolds.

0:35:410:35:46

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

-Welcome.

0:35:460:35:49

Also on the grounds is Phil Meadows.

0:35:490:35:52

Unlike Michael, he's not here to enjoy himself.

0:35:520:35:56

He's been given a day's work shovelling manure.

0:35:560:36:00

Meadows...

0:36:000:36:02

I didn't like being called by my surname.

0:36:050:36:07

For some reason, I didn't want to raise my eyes to them.

0:36:070:36:10

I didn't want to look them in the eye. I definitely felt that.

0:36:100:36:12

Which is weird, I wasn't expecting it.

0:36:120:36:16

Fantastic.

0:36:160:36:17

It may well have been that you basically was so frightened of doing something wrong,

0:36:170:36:21

and getting the sack, that you did the minimum possible and just kept working.

0:36:210:36:27

Etiquette dictates that Michael could bring only his son with him to shoot,

0:36:270:36:32

leaving the rest of the family behind.

0:36:320:36:35

The advantage of this era for the gentleman

0:36:350:36:38

is that he does get to go out and do the things that are really exciting

0:36:380:36:41

but to the detriment of the relationship between myself and the family.

0:36:410:36:46

Also enjoying the great outdoors with their nanny

0:36:480:36:52

are the two youngest Taylor children, Lily and Alice.

0:36:520:36:56

Of course working with them so much you do get attached to them.

0:36:570:37:02

They are very delightful children.

0:37:020:37:03

And very well-behaved.

0:37:030:37:06

On the whole.

0:37:080:37:09

But for the remaining members of the Taylors,

0:37:170:37:19

Adele and eldest daughter Megan, there is little to fill their day.

0:37:190:37:23

I feel a bit resentful of Michael who's gone out living the life of Riley,

0:37:230:37:28

can't even be bothered to tell me where he's going or when he'll be back.

0:37:280:37:32

I feel like a prisoner in this house.

0:37:320:37:36

There's this illusion of this powerful woman with the status

0:37:360:37:40

and this fancy house and actually it's all lies.

0:37:400:37:43

Adele might feel she has things tough...

0:37:430:37:46

..but two doors down the grind of working-class life is getting to Suzie Meadows.

0:37:480:37:53

One shilling and eight pence.

0:37:550:37:59

The women of the 1900s must have been absolutely rock-like.

0:38:000:38:06

They would have eaten after the rest of their family,

0:38:060:38:11

especially their children.

0:38:110:38:13

They had to be up earlier than anyone else, go to bed later than everyone else.

0:38:130:38:17

It makes me quite emotional, actually. Oh, dear.

0:38:170:38:20

While the drudgery of life hits home for her mum, daughter Saskia

0:38:270:38:32

is starting to embrace hard work.

0:38:320:38:34

You've done very well so far, Saskia.

0:38:340:38:37

-I'll come and see you again shortly.

-Thank you.

0:38:370:38:40

I just know that I have to get on with it now.

0:38:420:38:45

I might as well do it in a nice fashion

0:38:450:38:49

or I'm not going to get on with Mrs McMullen.

0:38:490:38:52

Tea?

0:38:560:38:58

Upstairs, it's the first time Adele has seen Michael all day.

0:38:580:39:02

And she's still waiting to see the children.

0:39:030:39:07

Good afternoon, Madam, Sir, may I present the children to you?

0:39:100:39:13

-Give that to Mama.

-Wow!

0:39:130:39:15

Look at that, I like the feathers. Did you pluck the animal yourself?

0:39:150:39:19

-What have you been doing upstairs?

-Had a game of chess.

0:39:190:39:23

-We've been for a walk.

-Wow!

0:39:230:39:25

Was it nice?

0:39:250:39:28

You have been very busy.

0:39:280:39:30

Wealthy Edwardian women often spent little more than an hour with their children

0:39:300:39:35

before they were whisked back to the nursery by Nanny.

0:39:350:39:38

In Edwardian times, perhaps the women didn't know any better.

0:39:390:39:44

They had no expectations that spending time

0:39:440:39:47

with their children would perhaps be a nice thing.

0:39:470:39:50

It wasn't expected of them so they didn't think to ask.

0:39:500:39:54

Whereas that's the norm for me.

0:39:540:39:56

Initially when we was told we were coming into house number one

0:39:570:40:01

and you turned around to see the grandeur of it, I thought,

0:40:010:40:05

"Great, this is going to be a really good experience."

0:40:050:40:07

Then, the reality kicked in, that in fact, actually you wouldn't know your family.

0:40:070:40:12

You wouldn't know your kids because you never see them.

0:40:120:40:15

KNOCK AT DOOR

0:40:150:40:17

Evening.

0:40:180:40:19

Michael is leaving the family again for another social engagement.

0:40:190:40:24

Mr Taylor is attending the local music hall, where he'll have his own private box.

0:40:280:40:34

But he won't be the only resident of Albert Road there

0:40:350:40:38

as the Meadows have scraped up a few pennies for four tickets in the stalls.

0:40:380:40:42

We start our evening with Sarah Hicks!

0:40:440:40:48

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

0:40:480:40:49

There was me and my old man, shoving things inside a van,

0:40:530:40:56

which we often done before, let me remark!

0:40:560:41:02

# My old man

0:41:020:41:04

# Said follow the van... #

0:41:040:41:06

They may be in the cheap seats but at least the Meadows get to spend the evening together as a family.

0:41:060:41:11

# The boy I love

0:41:110:41:13

# Is up in the gallery

0:41:130:41:15

# The boy I love... #

0:41:150:41:18

I'm here on my own, which is a horrible feeling,

0:41:180:41:21

knowing that Adele and the children are at home and they would love this show.

0:41:210:41:25

After seeing the Meadows downstairs,

0:41:250:41:28

all singing and clapping and enjoying themselves,

0:41:280:41:32

I just felt really lonely up there on my own.

0:41:320:41:34

# ..is up there in the gallery... #

0:41:340:41:37

I miss the kids and I miss being around the wife and stuff like that.

0:41:370:41:40

Sorry...

0:41:400:41:43

# ..As merry as a robin

0:41:430:41:45

# That sings...

0:41:450:41:47

# In the tree! #

0:41:470:41:50

It's horrid.

0:41:500:41:52

Just horrid.

0:41:540:41:56

Meanwhile Adele, home alone, is expected to be more concerned

0:42:060:42:11

with improving the family's social standing.

0:42:110:42:14

Right Honourable Bertram Catteral Maddocks.

0:42:140:42:19

So Juliet has tasked her with holding a lavish dinner party for some illustrious guests.

0:42:190:42:25

I don't think I'm posh enough to associate with people

0:42:260:42:31

with a law degree from Cambridge University.

0:42:310:42:35

I'd rather invite the working-class people from down the road

0:42:350:42:39

and we can have a jolly old knees-up in here. I don't think that's going to happen.

0:42:390:42:43

"Make-believe was so real to him... you could see him getting rounder!"

0:42:470:42:52

It's nearing the end of the week in the Edwardian era

0:42:520:42:55

and the Taylor children are becoming accustomed to the new family dynamic away from their parents.

0:42:550:43:01

I think it's fun being in the nursery because there's lots of toys

0:43:010:43:06

and things to do and downstairs there's sitting down...

0:43:060:43:10

and books.

0:43:100:43:14

I think they're missing us more than we're missing them, actually.

0:43:160:43:21

We're having quite a lot of fun

0:43:210:43:24

but Mum says it's a bit boring just sitting there doing sewing.

0:43:240:43:28

Yeah, I think they're missing us more.

0:43:300:43:32

After spending most of the week cooped up inside,

0:43:350:43:37

Adele has discovered one way for her and Megan to escape.

0:43:370:43:41

How do you get out?

0:43:410:43:43

Are we locked in?

0:43:450:43:46

Oh, you're kidding.

0:43:470:43:50

Bikes!

0:43:500:43:52

The safety bicycle had only recently become available.

0:43:530:43:57

With a hefty price tag, bikes were only for the wealthy

0:43:570:44:00

but they offered a new independence for women who had always been driven and chauffeured.

0:44:000:44:05

They now had the freedom to travel alone.

0:44:090:44:11

This bit of Edwardian life, I like.

0:44:150:44:18

It's strange after being locked in a house, you feel like you've got this

0:44:180:44:23

bit of freedom and want to run around the park going "Yeah, I'm free!"

0:44:230:44:27

And, er, I'm kind of not wanting to go back home.

0:44:270:44:30

-Did you eat anything last night?

-No, we couldn't eat it.

0:44:370:44:40

Back on Albert Road, Ian Golding is comparing lifestyles with his lowly neighbour.

0:44:400:44:45

-So you've had bread this morning?

-No, because there's nothing...

0:44:450:44:48

Unless you want to eat dry bread, there's nothing to put on it.

0:44:480:44:51

-What did you eat?

-We haven't eaten.

0:44:510:44:52

We had a very nice pigeon pie last night

0:44:520:44:55

as we want to aspire to be like the poshies at the end, you see.

0:44:550:44:59

Historian Juliet has some news for the social-climbing Ian

0:44:590:45:03

that might bring him down to earth.

0:45:030:45:05

-You can aspire to join them, or you can join my revolution.

-Ah...

0:45:050:45:10

It's entirely up to you. It depends if you want to live or not.

0:45:100:45:13

I have to tell you, actually, the divide between you

0:45:140:45:17

and the Meadows is much less than you think.

0:45:170:45:21

Ian is living the life of his great-great-grandfather, Nathan Ludsky.

0:45:220:45:27

But on the other branch of his family tree is another ancestor,

0:45:270:45:30

Abraham Weinstein,

0:45:300:45:32

whose life in Britain was very different to Nathan's.

0:45:320:45:36

They would have come over at the time of the pogroms, after the assassination of the Tsar.

0:45:360:45:40

Violent anti-Jewish attacks, dubbed "pogroms", were rife

0:45:410:45:45

in late 19th-century Russia.

0:45:450:45:47

Destroying 20,000 Jewish homes

0:45:480:45:50

and forcing thousands to flee the country,

0:45:500:45:54

many ended up in London's East End.

0:45:540:45:56

At one point, about 91% of the residents of Spitalfields

0:45:560:46:01

-in the East End of London were Jewish.

-Is that right? Wow.

0:46:010:46:04

Now, your own family, the two parents and the four children - the six people,

0:46:040:46:08

were all living in two rooms.

0:46:080:46:10

Makes me feel very humble, because I think I...

0:46:100:46:13

I've ignored my family history completely and I don't know why.

0:46:130:46:18

It's just... It's never something I've shown any interest in.

0:46:180:46:21

Life was hard for the Weinsteins, and within ten years of arriving,

0:46:210:46:25

Abraham's wife Kate died at the age of only 39.

0:46:250:46:30

-She died in December...

-At the same age as us.

0:46:300:46:34

She died of TB - consumption.

0:46:340:46:36

-I... I feel quite emotional.

-Oh...

0:46:360:46:39

Mm.

0:46:420:46:44

Aww!

0:46:440:46:46

We're very spoilt. We take so much for granted, I think.

0:46:470:46:52

You wouldn't have been able to do that...100 years ago.

0:46:520:46:55

-You couldn't take anything for granted, really.

-No.

0:46:550:46:57

We're bloody lucky.

0:46:570:46:59

Bloody lucky to be here

0:46:590:47:01

and we're lucky to be how we are

0:47:010:47:05

and we could be like the Meadows next door.

0:47:050:47:08

Next door at number one, the house is a hive of activity

0:47:110:47:15

preparing for tonight's grand dinner party.

0:47:150:47:19

Go right down, yes.

0:47:190:47:20

Mrs McMullen needs extra hands to make sure the evening

0:47:200:47:23

runs smoothly, so she's promoted Saskia to housemaid.

0:47:230:47:27

Transfer your weight, down, down, down, down, down, down, down.

0:47:270:47:32

Now, welcome to the scullery, Genevieve.

0:47:340:47:36

Downstairs, Genevieve has been taken on as Saskia's replacement in the scullery.

0:47:360:47:42

I am very pleased with the way that your sister has worked,

0:47:420:47:46

so you've got something to live up to.

0:47:460:47:48

With only one day left for the Meadows to make the 22 shillings

0:47:480:47:51

they need to avoid eviction,

0:47:510:47:53

Saskia and Genevieve are earning vital money for the family.

0:47:530:47:56

I don't even know if I'm doing this right.

0:47:560:47:58

Oh, my God... What the...?

0:48:010:48:02

Mrs McMullen said you must pluck this pigeon, please.

0:48:020:48:06

-How do you pluck it?

-She said she'll be down soon, but...here.

0:48:080:48:12

-I don't know how to do it.

-Just start plucking the feathers off, Gen.

0:48:120:48:16

Grab a feather, pluck it off.

0:48:160:48:18

Ergh!

0:48:200:48:22

Don't get any diseases, Gen!

0:48:230:48:26

Eurgh...

0:48:260:48:27

To make sure the Taylors's dinner party has the wow factor,

0:48:280:48:32

technology expert Joe has arrived to introduce Michael

0:48:320:48:36

to the very latest in home entertainment.

0:48:360:48:39

-Right, Michael - I have something to show you.

-Fabulous.

0:48:390:48:41

-Do you know what this is?

-It looks like a camera.

-That's pretty good.

0:48:410:48:44

-It's a Magic Lantern.

-Oh, right.

0:48:440:48:46

I want you to entertain your dinner party guests

0:48:460:48:50

with a Magic Lantern show.

0:48:500:48:51

OK, I'd love to.

0:48:510:48:53

This is it for entertainment - you don't have a TV -

0:48:530:48:55

-this is your Edwardian home cinema system.

-Brilliant!

0:48:550:48:58

I wouldn't let too many of these slip into the collection(!)

0:48:580:49:01

Look at that!

0:49:010:49:03

THEY LAUGH

0:49:030:49:05

The Taylor ladies get dressed in their finery.

0:49:060:49:09

-Good evening.

-Good evening.

0:49:130:49:14

Downstairs, the guests are starting to arrive.

0:49:140:49:17

Mrs Susan Reynolds.

0:49:170:49:19

-Hello, Mrs Reynolds.

-How lovely to see you again!

0:49:190:49:21

Juliet Gardiner is here to see if the Taylors can entertain

0:49:210:49:24

like true Edwardians and do their wealthy ancestors proud.

0:49:240:49:29

How are you?

0:49:290:49:30

The right honourable Bertram Catteral Maddocks.

0:49:310:49:34

Good evening. It's very kind of you to ask me.

0:49:340:49:37

How would be best to address you?

0:49:370:49:40

-Oh, Bertie.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Please take a seat.

0:49:400:49:44

Right, are you ready? No, you're not. You haven't got this prepared.

0:49:440:49:49

Newly-promoted Saskia is doing her best to keep service on track.

0:49:490:49:54

Once you've washed them, on here, once it's all washed, dry.

0:49:540:49:57

I know. I know how to do it.

0:49:570:49:59

Don't drop anything, but we've got to do it quick time, cos we need it all again.

0:49:590:50:02

These slides are quite special.

0:50:040:50:07

Upstairs, the guests are enjoying the Magic Lantern show.

0:50:080:50:12

Oh, that's good.

0:50:170:50:19

Even the reluctant Adele is getting into the spirit of things.

0:50:190:50:22

Oh, golly!

0:50:220:50:24

Oh!

0:50:240:50:27

LAUGHTER

0:50:270:50:28

Sorry, my mistake!

0:50:280:50:30

Very, very good.

0:50:330:50:35

# Land of Hope and Glory... #

0:50:350:50:39

Next door, the middle-class Goldings are entertaining themselves.

0:50:390:50:43

You are singing brilliantly.

0:50:430:50:45

Ian has decided to abandon strict Edwardian discipline.

0:50:450:50:49

To be able to hold Jack... It's the first time I think I've held him,

0:50:510:50:55

it was lovely, really lovely.

0:50:550:50:57

It makes me feel more like a dad.

0:50:570:51:00

I'm a dad, not a father,

0:51:000:51:02

so to have the opportunity to hold him was lovely.

0:51:020:51:06

# ..Who are born of thee... #

0:51:060:51:09

-This is a very pretty centrepiece, isn't it?

-Yes, we like it.

0:51:130:51:16

Very pretty.

0:51:160:51:18

We either need to be taller, I think, or our decorations smaller.

0:51:180:51:22

An evening like this one

0:51:230:51:26

could cost more than a poor family had to live on for two years.

0:51:260:51:29

-There she is, there she is!

-Oh, there she is!

0:51:340:51:38

If there are no calamities, I will be absolutely amazed,

0:51:380:51:42

cos she's notoriously clumsy!

0:51:420:51:45

CROCKERY SMASHES

0:51:450:51:47

But it's not Saskia who's slipped up.

0:51:470:51:49

What?! Are you kidding?

0:51:520:51:55

-Genevieve, that's not funny, at all.

-I didn't mean to do it, Saskia.

0:51:570:52:00

This is taken out of our wages.

0:52:000:52:02

On a serious note,

0:52:020:52:03

because that's the first thing Mrs McMullen said to me.

0:52:030:52:06

At nine pence, a bone china cup costs almost a day's pay.

0:52:060:52:11

(I'm very annoyed at my sister.)

0:52:110:52:14

(We're probably going to be back to nearly zero,

0:52:140:52:17

(so I'm not very happy, and my parents are going to be livid.)

0:52:170:52:20

I want to be honest, but I'm scared of Miss McMul...mulugh.

0:52:200:52:23

Something like that. I don't know her name!

0:52:230:52:26

Genevieve needs to pluck up the courage to confess to a busy Mrs McMullen.

0:52:260:52:31

Um...

0:52:310:52:33

-While I was washing up...

-Right - open up the lid.

0:52:330:52:36

-Um...

-No, they're not set.

0:52:390:52:42

Um... Miss McMullen...

0:52:440:52:45

While I was washing up, I bent to dry a cup and it fell off the table.

0:52:450:52:51

-Right.

-And it smashed.

-What colour was it?

-It was one of the white ones.

0:52:510:52:55

All right.

0:52:550:52:57

-It happens.

-I'm sorry.

0:52:570:52:59

Luckily, Mrs McMullen has her hands full and Genevieve's off the hook.

0:53:000:53:05

Dinner parties were all about excess and tonight,

0:53:080:53:11

Adele will have to see her way through eight sumptuous courses.

0:53:110:53:16

If the lady of the house actually knew how many courses there were,

0:53:160:53:19

maybe she adjusted her corset... appropriately!

0:53:190:53:24

First come the hors d'oeuvres.

0:53:250:53:28

No, thank you, thanks very much.

0:53:280:53:29

Followed by asparagus...

0:53:310:53:34

-You weren't in the Navy, Bertie...

-Quite!

0:53:340:53:36

Two fish dishes...

0:53:380:53:39

One meat dish...

0:53:390:53:41

Genevieve's pigeons...

0:53:420:53:44

And vegetables - presented with typical Edwardian flamboyance.

0:53:460:53:51

But however grand the meal, for Adele, the evening

0:53:530:53:57

is meaningless without her family.

0:53:570:53:59

We've had the most wonderful food -

0:53:590:54:02

foods I've never tasted in my life before.

0:54:020:54:06

Like being in the fanciest restaurant I've ever been

0:54:060:54:10

and I haven't been able to enjoy it, because the family haven't been...

0:54:100:54:14

They haven't been... They haven't been with us while we ate it.

0:54:140:54:19

It's... Sorry.

0:54:190:54:20

The residents of Albert Road are preparing to leave

0:54:300:54:34

the lives of their Edwardian ancestors behind.

0:54:340:54:37

After living their life, I feel more detached from my ancestors.

0:54:380:54:43

It's nice to do all the great things,

0:54:430:54:46

but I don't want to do things on my own.

0:54:460:54:49

I really don't, I want to do things with my family.

0:54:490:54:52

My ancestors, I don't know how they must've lived like this.

0:54:520:54:55

My family's found it difficult when there's four of us

0:54:550:54:59

in this house and we're only here for five days.

0:54:590:55:02

For them to live like this for the rest of their life, must be very difficult

0:55:020:55:05

and it's quite...heartbreaking.

0:55:050:55:07

Susanna and Juliet are back to catch up with the families.

0:55:110:55:14

It's time to find out how the family unit has survived the Edwardian experience.

0:55:160:55:21

Have our families lived like true Edwardians,

0:55:210:55:24

within the rigid class structure?

0:55:240:55:27

How has it been for you, living in the posh house?

0:55:300:55:33

It's been horrible. Absolutely awful.

0:55:330:55:37

I didn't see the children, I didn't see my husband,

0:55:370:55:41

me and Megan were locked in this room 90% of the time,

0:55:410:55:45

with nothing to do - there's no purpose.

0:55:450:55:47

As a busy working mum, every minute of the day is looking forward

0:55:470:55:51

to family time, trying to catch that time with the children

0:55:510:55:56

and just having nothing to do - no purpose, nobody needs you.

0:55:560:56:00

You've got no say in anything as a woman in this era.

0:56:000:56:05

I could walk out this door

0:56:050:56:06

and nobody would notice that I wasn't here, probably for days.

0:56:060:56:11

What you think is most distinctive about the Edwardian family unit?

0:56:110:56:16

It seemed like a bunch of single people living in a big house.

0:56:160:56:20

I don't think there's any such word as the Edwardian "family".

0:56:200:56:23

Next door, the middle-class Goldings

0:56:270:56:30

are less disparaging of the early 1900s.

0:56:300:56:33

Evenings, you know, the way the family behaved

0:56:330:56:35

in the evenings - it is so easy just to turn on the TV.

0:56:350:56:40

I think it would be nice not to do that all the time.

0:56:400:56:44

Meanwhile, Ian, you've had to take on the role of the strict Edwardian father.

0:56:440:56:48

Your role sounded like the one that you might enjoy.

0:56:480:56:52

Strictness for an Edwardian father seems to be

0:56:520:56:55

just for the sake of being strict.

0:56:550:56:57

The Edwardian father needs to understand that it's not such

0:56:570:57:00

a bad thing sometimes to show a bit of emotion.

0:57:000:57:03

But trapped in the cycle of survival,

0:57:090:57:11

the working-class family had it hardest.

0:57:110:57:14

We really lived this and it was bloody awful. It really was.

0:57:140:57:19

The first few days, until we got our act together, was just awful.

0:57:190:57:23

Then we kicked in. We made it work.

0:57:230:57:26

But we could have easily gone the other way - well, just gone home, actually!

0:57:260:57:29

Well, Juliet - how have they done, financially?

0:57:310:57:36

I've got the budget here.

0:57:360:57:38

So, your total outgoings in your week

0:57:380:57:41

-were 21 shillings and tenpence. OK.

-We haven't made it!

0:57:410:57:45

So now let's look at your income.

0:57:450:57:47

As a family, you have earned 28 shillings, 4½ pence.

0:57:470:57:53

So well done - pretty good.

0:57:530:57:56

You've lived within your budget and some. Well done.

0:57:560:57:59

I think it pushed us to the max.

0:57:590:58:01

As a family, I think we did really well.

0:58:020:58:05

The children's reaction to this has actually amazed me.

0:58:070:58:11

I cannot believe...

0:58:110:58:12

The girls have really had to change, because if anything,

0:58:120:58:15

they're probably a little bit more spoilt at home.

0:58:150:58:19

But I've been so proud of both of them.

0:58:190:58:21

For the families, it's the end of the Edwardian era.

0:58:210:58:24

Next time on Albert Road,

0:58:260:58:28

it's the Roaring Twenties.

0:58:280:58:31

Cheers!

0:58:310:58:32

-Might be a little bit bumpy here, madam.

-That's OK!

0:58:320:58:36

But the Great Depression is just around the corner.

0:58:360:58:40

I'll leave you with four chairs,

0:58:400:58:42

but anything else of value will need to be sold.

0:58:420:58:44

-Who will ride the storm?

-No, we haven't had to sell that yet!

0:58:440:58:48

We'll sell the kids first!

0:58:480:58:50

And who will see their fortunes slip away?

0:58:500:58:53

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0:59:200:59:23

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