0:00:06 > 0:00:10Mary Berry is one of Britain's best loved TV cooks.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12So what's this going to be, Mary?
0:00:12 > 0:00:14This is going to be a Victoria sandwich.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17She has worked as a food writer since the 1960s.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Now, at the age of 79, her role as judge
0:00:22 > 0:00:27on The Great British Bake Off has catapulted her to national stardom.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Mm, the flavours are lovely.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32I am lucky.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35You know, when I get up in the morning, I can't wait to get going.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37And I love what I do and I want to do it well.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42She pushes herself, probably much more than other people of her age.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Paul and Mary have been married for almost 50 years.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Was that about right?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Lovely.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53They had three children,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56but their lives have also been marked by sadness.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01William, when he was 19, died in a motor accident.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And that was a huge tragedy in our family.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12But he was a terrific chap and we were very lucky to have him.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19Now, Mary wants to know about her background.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I know very little about my family,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25but I think strongly that
0:01:25 > 0:01:31genes come through and I think I've got qualities from Dad.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Dad had enormous energy.
0:01:36 > 0:01:42I've no idea where Daddy got his drive.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46I really want to find out further back.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51I think they would have been a respectable family.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55They would have gone into the traditional jobs and
0:01:55 > 0:01:57the girls would be groomed for marriage.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01I don't know. I can't wait.
0:02:01 > 0:02:02I mean, it's really exciting.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Mary believes she inherits her drive and energy from her father,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and wants to find out more about his side of the family.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49She has come to Bath, where she grew up,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51to visit her older brother Roger.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54- Hello. What a surprise.- Wow!
0:02:54 > 0:02:56- You're back from your holidays?- Yes, we are.
0:02:56 > 0:02:57Hello, Will.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59William, her younger brother, is there too.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Nice to see you.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Oh, terrific. You had a good journey?
0:03:02 > 0:03:04I have. I haven't brought the weather, have I?
0:03:04 > 0:03:06No, you certainly haven't.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08- Is Margaret and...- We're all here. - It's just started to rain.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10Oh, good. Shall we go and find them?
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Yeah, do.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I am close to my brothers. We've never lost touch.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18And we ring each other, even if I'm not going to see them.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Roger's home overlooks the house they lived in as children.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31Looking down at Chalcombe Farm, it looks very much the same.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33I mean, it was very happy there.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42My overriding memories of my parents are of always being together
0:03:42 > 0:03:45and always putting the family first.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48- Mother was the calming side of the family.- Oh, yeah.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And father was the one that had the short fuse that would
0:03:51 > 0:03:56blow up with great ease at the slightest opportunity.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Mary's brothers have the family photos
0:04:00 > 0:04:02and have been doing some digging.
0:04:04 > 0:04:10Mary, I've been looking and, in amongst all of father's old bits and
0:04:10 > 0:04:18pieces, I don't know what you think, but I found these two photographs,
0:04:18 > 0:04:23and I think they could be of father with his mother on a donkey.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Well, wait a minute, let's have a look.
0:04:27 > 0:04:28I've never seen these.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32I think it's been taken in a studio in Skegness, as you do,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and then I think the other one is his mother and, um...
0:04:36 > 0:04:37That's grandpa.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39..and grandpa.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40That's so interesting.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Do you know, I have never seen a picture of my grandmother.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49All I knew was that she was delicate, she was beautiful.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Mary's grandmother died soon after this
0:04:53 > 0:04:59photograph was taken, at the age of 36, when Mary's father was just two.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05She was never, ever talked about by grandpa, really.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10And I think he was so overawed or upset when she passed away,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14that he wanted to let her go up into heaven and forget all about her.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19Mary's grandparents both came from Norwich.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Mary knows almost nothing about their backgrounds.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30Mary, I was looking in the suitcase and I found this
0:05:30 > 0:05:36card, which has got a name on it which might mean something to you.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45"In Affectionate Remembrance of Eliza Amelia,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49"the beloved wife of William English Suffolk."
0:05:49 > 0:05:55How lovely, English Suffolk. "Died aged 50 years, 1885."
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Grandmother was Annie Suffolk.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02Looking at that card, I think
0:06:02 > 0:06:10that Eliza Amelia was mother to our grandmother, Annie Suffolk.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- Could be, couldn't it?- Yes.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14We know that she was a Suffolk
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and we know that they're buried in Norwich.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21- Yes.- And I think we should go from there.- Mm.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34Mary is heading to Norwich to find out more about her
0:06:34 > 0:06:36grandmother's side of the family.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Gill, I'm hoping that you're going to be able to tell me a little
0:06:49 > 0:06:55more of Eliza Amelia Suffolk, who I believe is my great-grandmother.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Yes, she is, or was, I should say.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59- Is she?- Yes, she was.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01That's so exciting, to have it confirmed.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03She was not born Suffolk, of course,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06she was married to William English Suffolk.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10She was born in 1834, but the person I think you might be really
0:07:10 > 0:07:13interested in is her father, Robert Houghton.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Let me get all prepared. Robert...?
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Houghton, who is your great-great-grandfather.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25So it's H-o-u-g-h-t-o-n,
0:07:25 > 0:07:31and he was born in Norwich in 1798 and he was a local businessman.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34And because he was in trade, that means he appears in trade
0:07:34 > 0:07:39directories which are often referred to as an early type of Yellow Pages.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44This is one for Norwich in 1856.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49They list people in trade and they list them alphabetically.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50So you need your glasses, too.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Yes, I do need my glasses, I'm afraid.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56So you should be able to find Houghton and Robert.
0:07:56 > 0:08:03Ah, I'm nearly there. H-o-u-g-h-t-o-n.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06Robert.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- So he was a baker.- Yes.
0:08:10 > 0:08:11- A baker!- Yes.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Well, that's pretty appropriate, isn't it?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17I can really say that there's baking in my family.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20I'm going to add that to my CV. Gosh!
0:08:21 > 0:08:24What's very interesting about Robert is that he
0:08:24 > 0:08:28appears in the trade directories from 1830 right through
0:08:28 > 0:08:33to 1868, on Ber Street, and we've got a later directory here
0:08:33 > 0:08:39from 1864 where you can have another look and see how he's listed then.
0:08:39 > 0:08:40Houghton.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Yeah.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Wait a minute!
0:08:44 > 0:08:49- Robert is not only a baker now, he's a builder as well.- I know.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I don't think those two things go together at all.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Well, he obviously diversified
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and it was very common for people to have more than one hat.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03He was part of this Victorian entrepreneurial class.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06But there's no doubts that he was on Ber Street throughout that
0:09:06 > 0:09:07whole nearly 40 years.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- And what size street was Ber Street. Was it a little street?- Well, I...
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Right in the middle?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15I think you will need to go and have a look at that
0:09:15 > 0:09:16and find out a bit more.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I bet it's not a baker's now. We shall see.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30I had no idea that I would find that I am truly related to a baker.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33And I can't wait to find out more.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35I can't wait to get to Ber Street.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47In Ber Street, Mary is meeting local historian Neil Storey.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- Welcome.- Thank you.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Now, I've got something to show you.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53Have a little look at this.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58This is taken around about 1905, but it's as the street would have
0:09:58 > 0:10:02looked very much from the time of the 19th century.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07A lot of the streets, features and houses are now gone because of
0:10:07 > 0:10:11the Blitz and because there was clearance after the war as well.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17Today, Ber Street retains almost none of its 19th century features.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Instead, Neil takes Mary to a nearby street,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26unchanged since Robert's day.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30- Just in here.- Oh, yes, OK.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Come on in. Here we are.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36So this is a court, just like Robert Houghton would have
0:10:36 > 0:10:37known on Ber Street.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44Ber Street, in the mid-19th Century, was the worst street in Norwich.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49It's reputation had been down at heel for centuries,
0:10:49 > 0:10:55since it had bear pits, it had cock fighting, it had prostitution,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58it had Molly houses for the male prostitutes,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00it was known as Blood and Guts Alley
0:11:00 > 0:11:04You could have your throat cut, you could be mugged there.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08But, just a moment, Robert was in this street selling
0:11:08 > 0:11:11- all his bread and his cakes and whatever.- Yes.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Would they have been quite simple breads and cakes
0:11:14 > 0:11:18because they wouldn't have had much money, if this was a very poor area?
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Well, I think you need to look at some documents to learn a lot
0:11:22 > 0:11:23more about Robert.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- I'd like to. - Come this way.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29Thank you.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Have a look at this.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38This is the relevant page from the 1861 Census.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45Robert Houghton, he's the head of the family, that's right, isn't it?
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Baker, employing three hands. That's three people.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50Three staff.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55And then there's a servant here and she's Louisa Lawson.
0:11:55 > 0:12:01Well, it seems to me, that this is a small family business,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05and obviously doing well because they employ three.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07They're looking respectable, aren't they?
0:12:07 > 0:12:10You have to remember that even on the hardest streets of London
0:12:10 > 0:12:15or Norwich or any of the great cities, you can find examples of
0:12:15 > 0:12:20those that are wealthy, living cheek by jowl with those who are poor.
0:12:22 > 0:12:23Have a look at this document.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Now, where are we here?
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Well, this relates to the workhouse in Norwich.
0:12:32 > 0:12:38So... Right. So this is supplying bread to the workhouse.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39Ah, here we are.
0:12:39 > 0:12:46"Robert Houghton, 681 score loaves of bread."
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Now, that's 20 to a score.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49That's right.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Gracious, that's a huge quantity of bread.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56What he's getting for that is £161.14.9d.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Now, that is a large amount of money.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04The modern equivalent would be roughly £7,000.
0:13:04 > 0:13:09And when you think that the bread was made just by those small
0:13:09 > 0:13:10number of people.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12They must have worked so hard.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19By winning the contract to supply bread to the workhouse, Robert
0:13:19 > 0:13:23was tapping into a growing market - the poor of Norwich.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Traditionally dependent on small scale hand weaving,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Norwich was unable to compete with the new, mechanised industrial
0:13:33 > 0:13:35towns of the North.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39The mid-19th Century was a period of increasing poverty in the city.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44The Norwich workhouse had space for only a few hundred -
0:13:44 > 0:13:48thousands more received help outside its walls.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Neil has also discovered contracts Robert won to feed these
0:13:55 > 0:13:57outdoor paupers.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01This is the list of people supplying the paupers,
0:14:01 > 0:14:02the outside paupers.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04This is the outdoor relief.
0:14:04 > 0:14:11And here we've got Robert Houghton and he's been paid for that...
0:14:11 > 0:14:13£691?!
0:14:13 > 0:14:19Yes. In the modern equivalent that's about £30,000.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22He's doing a bit of all right, isn't he?
0:14:24 > 0:14:25I think he's a very savvy chappy.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35When I first heard he was a baker, I thought
0:14:35 > 0:14:38he was a little baker making a few loaves.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42But, as the day has progressed, I realise that he was
0:14:42 > 0:14:43a bit of an entrepreneur.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48They must have been baking bread morning, noon and night.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I want to know exactly how his day went.
0:15:06 > 0:15:12He was making an enormous amount of bread, with three helpers.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And I want to know how he achieved that.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18I wonder if I could possibly do that.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20I don't think I could.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Mary has come to the School of Artisan Food, near Mansfield.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27This is rather splendid, isn't it? Wow!
0:15:29 > 0:15:34She is meeting master baker Colin Lomax.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35- Hello, good morning. - Good morning.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37How are you? Nice to meet you.
0:15:37 > 0:15:38Very nice to see you.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Right, Mary, can we come and show you these Victorian ovens.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46These were the kind of ovens that your great-great-grandfather
0:15:46 > 0:15:48- would have been using.- Right.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52And this oven bakes about 70 loaves in one go,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57and your great-great-grandfather was baking up to 700, 800 loaves a day.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04The lives of 19th century bakers like Robert were notoriously tough.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08The heat and flour dust caused lung and skin conditions.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12And the work was physically exhausting.
0:16:15 > 0:16:16Here we go.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21Flour came in 280lb bags, in hessian bags, so that
0:16:21 > 0:16:25alone for the bakers, carrying that flour around the bakery.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27- It would be blooming heavy. - It was a hell of a job.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31And there are many, many reports of bakers having a permanent stoop,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35and of course, from the health point of view, it was really hard work
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and back-breaking.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42And they certainly were working 18 hours a day and sometimes 21
0:16:42 > 0:16:45hours a day, and at the weekend when they had the biggest demand,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48they literally didn't go to bed for two or three days.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Like Robert, Mary is using the plainest flour and yeast.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And like him, she has three helpers.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02We get that lovely smell, it's fantastic, isn't it?
0:17:02 > 0:17:07And here, we've only got probably about a quarter of the size of dough
0:17:07 > 0:17:11that your great-great-grandfather would have used.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12And the important thing of course,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16he's got to get the right yield out of it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Although Robert was earning large amounts of money, his costs were
0:17:19 > 0:17:25high and he had to make sure every loaf weighed precisely one pound.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29It's amazing. Just by overscaling every loaf by about that, he could
0:17:29 > 0:17:33lose about 20 loaves on his day's production.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35And again, that was profit.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37- So he would keep a beady eye on you lot...- Yes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40..to see that everything was quite accurate.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43- Right, I'd better have a go now. - Yes, certainly.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47And it's supposed to be pounds.
0:17:47 > 0:17:48And it even sticks to the table for me.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51No, it's going to be too much. Oh, gosh.
0:17:51 > 0:17:52That's spot on.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Well, not quite. That's it.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58There we are.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Mass-producing bread for the paupers of Norwich, Robert had to work fast.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Richard's doing it with two hands, well done, Richard.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08That takes a bit of a skill.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18I'm holding you up already. That's it.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20Now, you want me to mould, don't you?
0:18:20 > 0:18:21I do.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Getting there slowly. But I don't think I would be employed.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28I wouldn't be able to do enough per hour.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30For bakers like Robert,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34the harsh working conditions took a toll on their health.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35They didn't live very long.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40But there were a study done in 1853 of 111 bakers.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44That's just about the time when my great-great-grandfather was baking.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46That's correct, yes.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50And they only found 13 of the bakers that
0:18:50 > 0:18:52could have been classed as healthy.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58It's a bit like fishing.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59I'll pick them off for you.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01I can tip them. OK
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I want to do the job properly. Cor blimey, it's heavy.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Can you free the back of the peel?
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Am I hitting anything?
0:19:10 > 0:19:13No, you're all right.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- Here you are.- Thank you.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22We've probably done about a seventh of what your great-great-grandfather
0:19:22 > 0:19:26did every day, day in, day out, possibly seven days a week.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Do you think you could have done the job?
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Couldn't even start.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34And I would think Robert and his three assistants would be exhausted.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- Yes.- You know, there's one thing that I want to do,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39and I want to taste that bread.
0:19:39 > 0:19:40Right. Good.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41Shall we take one through?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Yes, certainly.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51This was going to poor people in the workhouse and so forth.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- They wouldn't have butter and jam on that, would they?- No. No.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03That, even without butter, or without anything,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05it's very enjoyable.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Having said that, I would just like to show you something, if I may.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14It's from the Norfolk News, Saturday, February 10th in 1855.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23"On Wednesday at the Guildhall, the Mayor stated that he had received
0:20:23 > 0:20:30"the following memorial signed by a large number of outdoor paupers...
0:20:30 > 0:20:36"'We the undersigned, paupers of the city of Norwich, beg to lay before
0:20:36 > 0:20:41"you our complaint of the bread with which we have been supplied.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48"It is so bad that we do not know how to eat it.'"
0:20:48 > 0:20:52Gosh! It's not like what we've been doing.
0:20:52 > 0:20:58"'Mr Inspector Peck said he had procured some of the bread
0:20:58 > 0:21:01"given out by Mr Houghton on the previous day.'"
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Must have been some left.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07"'On inspection, the bread was found to be very good.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10"The matter was therefore dropped.'"
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Now, why do you think that all happened?
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Do you think that somebody was trying to stir the pot?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18Or perhaps somebody had been sacked by Mr Houghton or, you know?
0:21:18 > 0:21:19I'm not sure.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21It's a judgment we've got to make.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26You know, it was said that bakers found it very difficult not
0:21:26 > 0:21:28to adulterate the bread.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Because the margins were so fine.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35And there are lots of stories of people adding bone
0:21:35 > 0:21:37dust to flour, to cheapen it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38What's bone dust?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Well, it's ground up bones.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44They go to the knackers yard and get bones and grind them up.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But I don't think Robert Houghton did, because
0:21:48 > 0:21:53they brought bread that they were complaining about from the
0:21:53 > 0:21:57previous day, so it doesn't sound... I'm standing up for my relation.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I don't blame you. We don't know that.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04At the same time, for the paupers to complain about it, it must have put
0:22:04 > 0:22:08them under a lot of pressure because they were grateful for free bread.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10So it just put a bit of a question as to
0:22:10 > 0:22:14whether or not he was adulterating his bread.
0:22:14 > 0:22:15I hope he wasn't.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18Can I show you one more thing.
0:22:18 > 0:22:19I never know what's coming next.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Well, I guess this is quite sad here, really, because it is the end.
0:22:23 > 0:22:31"Saturday, March 21st, 1868. Death. Houghton.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35"On the 12 instant suddenly, to the
0:22:35 > 0:22:42"great grief of an afflicted wife and family, Mr Robert Houghton,
0:22:42 > 0:22:48"baker and builder, for 34 years, a clerk of the Parish."
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So how sad. We don't know how he died, but he died.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53No. He was 69.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- It's sad to see but he had a good innings for...- He did.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59And unusually lived to - for a baker -
0:22:59 > 0:23:01to a good old age in those days.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03But I find it quite interesting that he'd
0:23:03 > 0:23:08been on the clerk of the council, the Parish, for 34 years and would
0:23:08 > 0:23:14not suggest that that influenced him achieving those wonderful contracts.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16You know, you're a bit shrewd, aren't you?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18But it would help, wouldn't it?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20It definitely would. And we've said before...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- He'd got friends in the right places.- He had.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I'm full of admiration for him,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35but there's a little tinge of something that I don't know.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41I was sad to read the last entry in the newspaper,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45when the paupers complained about the bread.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Of course, he was on the Parish council and
0:23:49 > 0:23:52he could get contracts.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I was a little bit wondering about that
0:23:55 > 0:23:58but I like to think that he was a good man
0:23:58 > 0:24:02and that he worked very hard and it was a lovely family business.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Mary now wants to find out about the family of her paternal
0:24:18 > 0:24:23grandfather, who in later life was a canon in the Church of England.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29My grandfather, Edward Berry, was very severe
0:24:29 > 0:24:34and his sermons were very boring and very traditional.
0:24:35 > 0:24:41I'm intrigued to know what grandfather's family were like,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45and I think he would have come from really quite a Victorian,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47stilted family.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48I don't know.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Mary has come to the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58She is meeting with genealogist Joanne Penn.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- Nice to meet you, I'm Joanne. - Joanne? Is that right?
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Yes. Hello. Hello, Mary.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Mary's brought a private autobiography written by her father.
0:25:08 > 0:25:14Dad wrote his memoir and they're sort of brief, to the
0:25:14 > 0:25:17point and factual, not romantic at all.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23So I'll tell you what he said and that's really just about all I know.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31He starts off with origins.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36"Grandfather and Grandmother Berry were almost myths to me.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39"I only went to their home once.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42"Grandfather had, I believe, been a journeyman printer
0:25:42 > 0:25:46"and ended up by being either a foreman or an owner."
0:25:46 > 0:25:48And that's about all I know
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and that's all Dad has written in this book.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55I think that we can find out a few more things.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Joanne has found the birth certificate of Mary's
0:25:58 > 0:26:01great-grandfather, who was also called Edward.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09This is the date, yes, the 10th June, 1845, Edward...
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- Edward, and it's a boy, we know that.- Yeah.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Surname and name of mother, Mary Berry!
0:26:16 > 0:26:20That's the only other Mary Berry I've come across.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26It's Golden Dog Lane which is, it's not the nicest part of Norwich.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30It's over the water, as we say here, it was a pretty poor area.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Lots of the people who lived there lived in very poor housing
0:26:34 > 0:26:36tenements and yards, slums really.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39So, it's not the best address in Norwich.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42And there's something a little bit unusual here,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46because, if you notice the father's name, it's not here.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Do you know, I didn't spot that.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Maybe the father is dead.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55It's possible.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57He wouldn't be illegitimate, would he?
0:26:57 > 0:27:02Well, I haven't been able to find a marriage certificate for her,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04but they only began marriage certificates,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07civil registration only began in 1837,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11so we need to go to the parish registers and look in those.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13And for that we'll need to go into the strong rooms
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and see what we can find there.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Right. Here we go.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Joanne digs out the Norwich Parish Registers for the 1830s.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I have searched very carefully
0:27:31 > 0:27:35and I can find no sign that your great-great-grandmother,
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Mary Berry, married anybody in that period before 1837 either.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42But I have found some
0:27:42 > 0:27:44entries that I think you'll be interested in.
0:27:44 > 0:27:51It turns out that Edward, born in 1845, was not Mary's first child.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Baptisms.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55So if you have a look here...
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Gosh, right at the top there's a Mary Berry.
0:27:58 > 0:28:001832, July the 15th.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01Yeah.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Henry Augustus.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09No sign of any mention of a husband.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13- No.- There's nothing.- No.
0:28:13 > 0:28:14Gosh.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16But the story doesn't end here.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21This is another Norwich parish.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26- Baptisms.- Yeah. This is the parish of St Stephens.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Berry. Here we are again.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31This time there's a Mary Ann Berry.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Yes, she seems to have been sometimes known as Mary Ann
0:28:34 > 0:28:35and sometimes as Mary.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40And this time she has a daughter, Emma.
0:28:40 > 0:28:41Yep.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Is that illegitimate?
0:28:42 > 0:28:43It is, yeah. Yeah.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46That's the first time we've seen the word illegitimate.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47That's the first time.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49What a sadness, isn't it?
0:28:49 > 0:28:50It is, yeah. But it's not over yet.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52To make a mistake twice.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Don't tell me there's going to be a third one.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02- Have a look.- I think she's a bit troublesome.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Here we go again, and this time a son.
0:29:08 > 0:29:09George Frederick.
0:29:11 > 0:29:17So that's the third one between 1832 and 1836.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Do you know, I think she might have been a prostitute or
0:29:19 > 0:29:21something, which would be awful.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25I mean, to have three children in such a short time without a husband.
0:29:25 > 0:29:31Mm. Well, I have a theory about what may have been going on here.
0:29:31 > 0:29:35Normally, what would be very common would be to have one
0:29:35 > 0:29:38illegitimate child and then to marry the father soon after or
0:29:38 > 0:29:40somebody else within a year or two.
0:29:40 > 0:29:41And she doesn't marry
0:29:41 > 0:29:44and she has these three very evenly spaced children.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47So my suspicion is that there was a man involved, that he
0:29:47 > 0:29:50wasn't free to marry her.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Yeah, I think you've been working quickly.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56So that means the fellow that she was, er, fond of
0:29:56 > 0:29:59or was having these children by, was married to somebody else.
0:29:59 > 0:30:00That's my suspicion.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06No record survives of who the father of Mary's four children might
0:30:06 > 0:30:08have been.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10I've got another register to look at here.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14And this one is different to the others we looked at.
0:30:14 > 0:30:15- Burials?- Yes.
0:30:19 > 0:30:20Henry Berry.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Yes. He was baptised as Henry Augustus.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27He was the first child that she had.
0:30:27 > 0:30:28- The first child?- Yes.
0:30:28 > 0:30:29And he was only how old?
0:30:29 > 0:30:31He was only about three months old when he died,
0:30:31 > 0:30:33so he really didn't live long.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Infant.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38And then, if we look a little bit further on.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42Not another...?
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Oh, there. That's Emma, her daughter.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53- Yeah.- And she dies at two.- Yes.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56I mean, to lose one child...
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- ..it's sad, isn't it? - It is, very sad. Very sad.
0:31:09 > 0:31:10What a poor woman.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14We don't know what background she had, whether she was alone or...
0:31:14 > 0:31:18It might be interesting perhaps to try and find out a little bit
0:31:18 > 0:31:22more about Mary's family, about who her parents were.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24- Right.- Whether they were around.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27If they're around, she could be living with her mother
0:31:27 > 0:31:29or father if they were alive.
0:31:29 > 0:31:30- Mm.- I don't know.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32And we've got something else to look at here.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34It's a bottomless pit.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42This, if we open it up on this page here.
0:31:42 > 0:31:441808. Gosh.
0:31:45 > 0:31:46These are the baptisms.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48- Baptisms.- Yeah.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50Now, that's interesting.
0:31:50 > 0:31:57"Berry, Mary, daughter of Christopher Berry and Mary his wife."
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Well, at least she was born in wedlock.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04And what's interesting about this is this name, her father's name,
0:32:04 > 0:32:06Christopher Berry.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09And this is... I think you've seen some of these already, haven't you?
0:32:09 > 0:32:12This is a trade directory.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Right. Where are we?
0:32:16 > 0:32:17Now, I think if you look...
0:32:22 > 0:32:26"Berry. Christopher. Book-seller and Printer.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28"Dove Lane."
0:32:29 > 0:32:32There's something else interesting at the front of this book.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37If we look on this page here.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39"Printed by C. Berry."
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- Now, C. Berry is Christopher Berry.- It is.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44"Of Dove Lane. 1810."
0:32:44 > 0:32:47And he's living in a nice part of Norwich.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50So what happened to her, to Mary, then?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- Well, that's, that's the mystery, isn't it?- Yes.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56I think there's a story to be found there, isn't there?
0:32:56 > 0:32:57I hope so.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05It certainly wasn't what I was expecting to find.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09It's a very sad story and I hate to think of her being hungry
0:33:09 > 0:33:12and not enough food to feed those children.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13I mean, it is immensely sad.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38What I want to find out next is Christopher, her father.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39He was a printer.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42Was she thrown out because she was pregnant?
0:33:42 > 0:33:44Did she run away from home?
0:33:46 > 0:33:48I want to know more about Christopher
0:33:48 > 0:33:52and why he was not looking after his daughter.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58- Hello. I'm David.- Well, hello.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- Welcome to Jarrold Print Museum. - Well, thank you.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04David Stoker is a book trade historian.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06- Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11David, I've got here Berry's Norwich Directory, 1810.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18And Christopher Berry was my great-great-great-grandfather
0:34:18 > 0:34:20- and I want to know more.- OK.
0:34:20 > 0:34:25Well, the Berrys were a very notable family of book-sellers
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and local publishers in Norwich during the second
0:34:28 > 0:34:32half of the 18th century and into the early 19th century.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36They would have had a very considerable book shop in Dove Lane.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39They were a well-to-do family and successful.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41In, fact there were three generations of them,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44so they were quite a book-selling dynasty.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49Now, Christopher had a daughter, Mary, and I found out
0:34:49 > 0:34:55that Mary eventually had four illegitimate children.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Why was Christopher not looking after her? Do you know?
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Well, I have an idea.
0:35:01 > 0:35:07Let me just show you an announcement from the Norfolk Chronicle
0:35:07 > 0:35:10for Saturday November the 16th, 1811.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12If you'd like to read that.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16"Whereas a commission of a bankrupt is awarded
0:35:16 > 0:35:21"and issued forth against Christopher Berry, the younger..."
0:35:22 > 0:35:24He's gone bankrupt.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28- Indeed.- After all the success,
0:35:28 > 0:35:31and we've just seen that book and how well he's done.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34- And now...- Why would he go bankrupt?
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Less than a year later, he's bankrupt.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42I think perhaps the answer lies with this directory.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Why is that?
0:35:44 > 0:35:49This was the third trade directory to appear only for Norwich
0:35:49 > 0:35:55and shows actually he's beginning to operate on a fairly ambitious scale.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59This directory would have been quite expensive to produce,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01even the cost of collecting the names
0:36:01 > 0:36:05- and addresses would have been considerable.- Mm.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09Have a look at the editor's address to the public.
0:36:11 > 0:36:15He's writing in the third person, as was typical at this stage,
0:36:15 > 0:36:19but I think it's actually the voice of Christopher Berry.
0:36:19 > 0:36:24"He was not aware of the difficulty of obtaining the address of so
0:36:24 > 0:36:30"large a population or he would have been deterred from the undertaking."
0:36:30 > 0:36:35So even when he wrote this, he was aware how difficult it would be?
0:36:35 > 0:36:38He may have bitten off more than he could chew, in fact.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41It's immensely sad because it would affect the whole family.
0:36:41 > 0:36:46Your own ancestor, Mary, would have only been three at this time.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48I'd like to explain to you a little bit
0:36:48 > 0:36:51more about the process of going bankrupt.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54But to do that, I think we'd better go somewhere else.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01David is taking Mary to a pub in the market
0:37:01 > 0:37:03square in the centre of Norwich.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Now, have a look at this.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11This is Norwich Marketplace, where the whole
0:37:11 > 0:37:15process of the bankruptcy would have taken place.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18And it was done in a brutally public way.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23It would be a meeting of creditors, in a pub or an inn,
0:37:23 > 0:37:25just such as this one.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29And then there would be a sale of the assets.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Here is an advertisement for the Berrys' bankruptcy.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Perhaps you'd like to have a look at it?
0:37:35 > 0:37:42"To be sold by auction - Four post and other bedsteads with
0:37:42 > 0:37:47"printed cotton furniture, linen, beautiful French drapery
0:37:47 > 0:37:53"window curtains, handsome sofa on castors, Kidderminster carpets,
0:37:53 > 0:37:58"large mahogany dining table with circular ends, elegant mahogany
0:37:58 > 0:38:05"card tables, gilt and fancy painted drawing room chamber chairs."
0:38:05 > 0:38:09What a shock to see it all being viewed and people coming through the
0:38:09 > 0:38:13house, and the children must have felt lost as all this was happening.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17Absolutely. It must have been utterly humiliating for them.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19- I mean, when you think your bed's going...- Mm.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22..you'd think they would leave them the bed.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26David, the sale is on the 30th of January, 1812,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I'm just wondering what's going to happen
0:38:29 > 0:38:33when all that lot's sold, where will they go, what will they do?
0:38:33 > 0:38:36- Well, come inside and I'll tell you what happens.- Right.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39OK. After you.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45The point about bankruptcy is, although it's humiliating
0:38:45 > 0:38:50and traumatising, it doesn't necessarily mean destitution.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55The bankruptcy process allows for 5% of the assets to
0:38:55 > 0:39:01be retained by the family and, in this case, they allowed him
0:39:01 > 0:39:06to keep a printing press and a set of type, hoping that perhaps
0:39:06 > 0:39:08he may be able to get back on his feet again.
0:39:08 > 0:39:15And here is the advertisement from the Norfolk Chronicle for June 1813.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17"This day is published by C. Berry,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21"that's Christopher Berry Junior, Pottergate Street.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24"Price - One shilling.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27"A little irregular ode addressed to the
0:39:27 > 0:39:31"Decayed Members of the Bankrupt Club."
0:39:31 > 0:39:35That's very strange, isn't it? He's almost making fun of himself.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39He's writing poems about his own situation.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41It's all very well to do that,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44and it may be a little bit jovial, but who's going to buy it?
0:39:45 > 0:39:49He's got to get back to make money to keep his family, hasn't he?
0:39:49 > 0:39:50Absolutely.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53He doesn't seem to have... Be good in business.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I wonder what he's like at home.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59Regarding home, I made a few notes about your family
0:39:59 > 0:40:01and your family tree.
0:40:01 > 0:40:07If you look across ways you'll see that Mary was not the only child.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Mary was born in April 1808
0:40:09 > 0:40:15and then we have another Christopher, a Maria, a John, a Louisa...
0:40:15 > 0:40:20And four more children, so he's got one, two, three, four, five,
0:40:20 > 0:40:27six, seven, eight mouths to feed and yet he's without a good income,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30without a sure house.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33And almost a new child each year.
0:40:33 > 0:40:39Yes. So I think his wife has quite a lot to put up with.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40Indeed, she did.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44And in fact, that takes us on to the next document.
0:40:44 > 0:40:45What is this?
0:40:45 > 0:40:50This is part of the records of the Poor Law Commissioners.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55"Ordered that the wife of Christopher Berry,
0:40:55 > 0:41:01"the younger, and six of her children be received..."
0:41:01 > 0:41:03I don't...
0:41:05 > 0:41:10It's... I... Do you know, I really thought... Wait a minute.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20They've all gone into the workhouse.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23You're as upset as I am!
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Yes. Yes, it's a very sad story.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31That is unbelievable that... "The wife of Christopher Berry,
0:41:31 > 0:41:37"the younger, and six of her children be received into the workhouse and
0:41:37 > 0:41:45"that the said Christopher Berry pay 20 shillings weekly towards their
0:41:45 > 0:41:52"maintenance on Saturday in each week to commence on Saturday next.
0:41:54 > 0:42:01"If he failed therein, the Mayor is requested to issue
0:42:01 > 0:42:07"a warrant for the apprehension of the said Christopher Berry."
0:42:07 > 0:42:09It's a very sad story.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13It's a strange story as well, because he's obviously
0:42:13 > 0:42:19earning money, to be able to pay 20 shillings a week upkeep,
0:42:19 > 0:42:24he must be earning money and yet he lets his family and all
0:42:24 > 0:42:29of those babies, all of those young children, go into the workhouse.
0:42:29 > 0:42:36Now, what age would Mary be, er, Mary Berry, at this stage?
0:42:36 > 0:42:37She would have been 11.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42- 11.- And all of the other children would have been less than 11.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44It's a dreadful story.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46It's just so sad.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48How could he let them?
0:43:02 > 0:43:04Talk about from riches to rags,
0:43:04 > 0:43:08and to think at the very end of this, the workhouse.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I think, when they arrive, they're going to be very teased.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I mean, they're not going to speak like the other
0:43:15 > 0:43:18children in the workhouse or the other people.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24They've come from a grand house and good living,
0:43:24 > 0:43:29they'll speak well, they'll be educated, it will be hard.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33They'll be broken hearted and their mother,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35I can't imagine how she feels.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Thinking about it, there were eight children
0:43:51 > 0:43:55and I've just read that six go with their mother to the Workhouse.
0:43:57 > 0:43:58There are two elsewhere.
0:43:59 > 0:44:05I want to know who went to the workhouse and how they were treated.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10The workhouse in Norwich the Berrys were sent to no longer stands.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Instead, Mary is visiting a nearby
0:44:17 > 0:44:22workhouse, in use around the same time, which is now a museum.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37She's meeting workhouse expert Peter Higginbotham.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Norwich workhouse, you know, was not a pleasant place.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44I've got a thing here that really illustrates,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47in kind of graphic detail, what kind of place it was.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51And if you'd like to just have a read through that, a local paper.
0:44:51 > 0:44:57"In 1826, and for years previous, the workhouse was in every
0:44:57 > 0:45:03"part of it a scene of filth, wretchedness and indecency.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08"Imagine 600 paupers who for weeks,
0:45:08 > 0:45:12"months and years breakfasted,
0:45:12 > 0:45:17"dined and supped without any order or regularity,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21"who neither had knife, fork or plate.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24"They were to be seen in groups with their hot puddings
0:45:24 > 0:45:28"and meat in their hands, literally gnawing at it.
0:45:28 > 0:45:35"Beds and bedding swarmed with vermin." That is awful.
0:45:35 > 0:45:40It is. It's not that pleasant a place at all.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43OK, let's look at what we've got here.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46Mary gives Peter the document showing
0:45:46 > 0:45:50the admission of Christopher's family into the workhouse.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54This is quite a strange picture we've got here.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57If he can afford 20 shillings a week to keep his family in the
0:45:57 > 0:46:00workhouse, you'd think he'd manage to keep them outside the workhouse.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Exactly.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04So, that's very strange in itself.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08The one thing that might explain this rather strange situation
0:46:08 > 0:46:11is that Christopher has basically left his family,
0:46:11 > 0:46:18he's abandoned them, and the family, mother, all those children and
0:46:18 > 0:46:22one newly born child couldn't cope and they were forced to seek help.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26Are you telling me that you think that he's left home in fact
0:46:26 > 0:46:28when they were desperate?
0:46:28 > 0:46:29Quite possibly, yeah.
0:46:29 > 0:46:33If Christopher had walked out on them,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37then that would explain this rather stern record that he was
0:46:37 > 0:46:40going to be paying for their keep, or else.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45We do have some more information that builds on that suggestion.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49And if you'd like to look at that.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54"Burials. St Giles, Norwich.
0:46:57 > 0:46:58"Eliza Berry."
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Now, that was one of the children.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03That's right.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06That was the youngest, just a few months old.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08- In St Andrews Workhouse.- Mm.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10- So the littlest one...- Yeah.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13..has died of something in the workhouse.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15In the workhouse, yeah, yeah.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Christopher doesn't immediately come and rescue them,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21you might say, take them away from this awful place.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23But you'd think he'd do something.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25You would think so, but apparently not.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27- Nothing.- Yeah.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30In fact, we know they were still in the workhouse
0:47:30 > 0:47:34because, just a few years later, we've got another.
0:47:36 > 0:47:40Where are we? Again, Burials in the Parish of St Giles.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43- That's exactly the same as the one before.- Yeah.
0:47:47 > 0:47:52Augustus! That's one of the children.
0:47:54 > 0:47:55Age nine.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00And even that's not the end of the story.
0:48:02 > 0:48:03The following year...
0:48:06 > 0:48:09Again, Burials in St Giles. Edward Berry.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12That's one of the little boys.
0:48:12 > 0:48:17St Andrews Workhouse. Age six.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Can you imagine how their mother is feeling?
0:48:22 > 0:48:24Most likely she has no strength left.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31And again, Christopher's not taking any interest or...
0:48:31 > 0:48:32- They're still there.- Mm.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40Of the six children who'd entered the workhouse, three had died.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44But Christopher had had eight children in all.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Well, we know that six children went into the workhouse.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52- Yes. And two... - And there were two more.- Yeah.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56Now, it was generally the case that the oldest children were
0:48:56 > 0:48:58the ones that didn't go into the workhouse.
0:48:58 > 0:48:59And that would have been Mary?
0:48:59 > 0:49:03That would have been Mary. And Christopher was the oldest boy.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06So, what may have happened is Christopher
0:49:06 > 0:49:10went into his father's business, such as it was,
0:49:10 > 0:49:15and that Mary may have also joined him as his kind of housekeeper.
0:49:15 > 0:49:16She was 11,
0:49:16 > 0:49:21- so she would be able to cope, to look after her father, maybe.- Yeah.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25But the evidence suggests Mary's relationship with her father
0:49:25 > 0:49:27may not have been good.
0:49:27 > 0:49:31I believe you've got some baptism certificates.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Right, I have.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37Mary shows Peter the birth records of Mary's own boys, born in
0:49:37 > 0:49:44the 1830s and the 1840s - Edward, Henry Augustus and George Frederick.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48It's interesting, that collection of names.
0:49:50 > 0:49:51And is there anything
0:49:51 > 0:49:54you might say there's possibly a name that's missing?
0:49:54 > 0:50:00- Christopher. Now, you see, I hadn't thought of that.- Mm.
0:50:00 > 0:50:07This means... Often they called a first child after the father
0:50:07 > 0:50:12and that has not been in this case, so that perhaps explains that
0:50:12 > 0:50:15- Mary didn't think a lot of her father Christopher.- Yeah, yeah.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19And this is a family that, I mean, for generations,
0:50:19 > 0:50:21the males have been Christopher or John.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30But Mary did name two of her sons after her little brothers -
0:50:30 > 0:50:34Augustus and Edward - who had died in the workhouse.
0:50:42 > 0:50:46It was lovely that she named two of her children
0:50:46 > 0:50:49after the two that died.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53And no sign of Christopher whatsoever.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57So I just wonder if she had no respect for her father.
0:50:58 > 0:51:04I want to know what is happening to Mary.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09She's got two small sons, I want to know what happens to Mary
0:51:09 > 0:51:11and those little boys.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23Mary arranges to meet up again with genealogist Joanne, to find out
0:51:23 > 0:51:28what happened to Mary and her two surviving sons, George and Edward.
0:51:30 > 0:51:34Mary, in 1845, had Edward.
0:51:34 > 0:51:39- Yes.- And she would have been about 35 then, would she?- Yeah.
0:51:39 > 0:51:44- This was her second child that was alive.- Yes.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46And it must have been so difficult for her
0:51:46 > 0:51:49because she would have had this brand-new baby
0:51:49 > 0:51:55and, living in a very poor part of Norwich, what was she living off?
0:51:55 > 0:51:57- How was she living?- Mm.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00We could have a look at some later censuses and see
0:52:00 > 0:52:04- if we can find her there.- I'd like to, yes.- Shall we try that? OK.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08So, if you just type Mary in there.
0:52:08 > 0:52:09Right.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16You can see how terribly skilled and speedy I am on a computer.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18That's Mary Berry there.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21That's it, yeah. This is quite interesting here.
0:52:21 > 0:52:22Can you make this out?
0:52:22 > 0:52:25Because this is the first time we've seen a profession.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28I can't read it. Something maker.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Yeah. I think it says "stay maker".
0:52:31 > 0:52:35- Gosh, isn't that wonderful? She's working.- Yep.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37A staymaker. That's corset maker.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38It is, yes, yeah.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40- Oh, that's good. Well done.- Yeah.
0:52:40 > 0:52:41That's lovely.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45OK, so she's a staymaker in 1851.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49- Right.- Let's see what she's up to in 1861.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53Here we are. She's a staymaker.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57- And she's just living with Edward, your great-grandfather here.- Yes.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00And he is an apprentice to a printer.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02So back in the business of printing.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04- Yeah.- So it must have been in the blood.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08But I'd like to know more about this corset making.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11What would they be paid?
0:53:11 > 0:53:12What were the conditions like?
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- How did she get the job?- Yeah.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18It might be interesting to see if you can find out a little bit more.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Corsets were made from whalebone
0:53:22 > 0:53:25and were designed to give women suffocatingly tight waists.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30In the mid-19th century, corsets were in demand.
0:53:30 > 0:53:35They were worn by women of all social classes.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Today, just a handful of corset makers remain.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42Among them, Gini Newton, who makes corsets for museums
0:53:42 > 0:53:45and historical societies.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49She's also an expert on the history of corset making
0:53:49 > 0:53:52and has done some research into Mary's great-great-grandmother.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57- Hello.- Hello. How nice to meet you.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59Gosh, is that done by hand?
0:53:59 > 0:54:01This is all done by hand, yes.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04When that corset is cinched in on the correct body,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07it produces heaving, heaving bosoms.
0:54:07 > 0:54:12- Because you used to see great cleavage, didn't you?- Yes.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16So I've just found out that my great-great-grandmother,
0:54:16 > 0:54:18Mary, was a staymaker.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Now, would she have done that in her own home, because she
0:54:22 > 0:54:24has a little boy of six.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26And I understand she wasn't married?
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- She was not married, no.- OK
0:54:29 > 0:54:33So, yes, the... I would say there's a very strong likelihood she's
0:54:33 > 0:54:34working from her own home.
0:54:34 > 0:54:39And she's probably doing what's known as sweated labour or slop.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43What that means is that she's working for other people.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46And doing long hours, I expect, to make money,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48Would it be well paid?
0:54:48 > 0:54:49No, it's not well paid.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53Somewhere between four and six shillings a week.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55So that's not a lot of money.
0:54:55 > 0:54:56Certainly not a lot of money.
0:54:56 > 0:55:02No. But we find her in a trade directory.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04- Oh!- And this is the trade directory.
0:55:04 > 0:55:09- What date was this? - This is 1854 and have a look here.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13There we are. Berry, Mary, Pottergate Street.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17Here, what we're actually seeing is Mary has been working in that
0:55:17 > 0:55:21sweated industry, but now she's also acknowledging that she has
0:55:21 > 0:55:26some private clients who she either goes out to visit and to fit
0:55:26 > 0:55:29and to measure, or who come to visit with her.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Well, it's nice to think that she's got...
0:55:33 > 0:55:36Could we call it a profession?
0:55:36 > 0:55:37I think so.
0:55:38 > 0:55:44The census records show that both of Mary's sons entered good trades.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47- Her eldest son is shown as a carpenter.- Hm-mm.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51And we have Edward as an apprentice printer.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55We also know that her son Edward is just round the corner.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58There's a consistent pattern of Edward being
0:55:58 > 0:56:02in the same location or very close to his mum.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06So, I suspect that he's offering support to her.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12- Isn't that nice? Because she's helped him all the way.- Yes.
0:56:12 > 0:56:18- He's her last child and he's got a good job.- Hm-mm.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21And he's obviously giving a little something or at least support
0:56:21 > 0:56:22to his mother.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24And in fact, Mary, right to the end.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28Here we have...
0:56:36 > 0:56:38- This is her death certificate.- Yes.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45So Mary Berry dies at age 70.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50"Signature and description and residence of informant.
0:56:50 > 0:56:56"Edward Berry, son, present at the death." That's lovely.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00- Her son, Edward, was there at the end.- Yeah.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Looking after his mum.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13I'm immensely proud of her.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18And she had such difficult times and she battled on proudly.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22She did all she could for her children,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25but she was very rewarded in the end.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29She had her children nearby, like I've got my children nearby,
0:57:29 > 0:57:30it's lovely.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34And Edward was there by her side.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36In a way, I think that's a happy ending.
0:57:53 > 0:57:58Mary's journey began with her grandparents and she decides to end
0:57:58 > 0:58:02by visiting their grave in Norwich, with her brothers William and Roger.
0:58:03 > 0:58:07It's a difficult thing. Who do I inherit genes from?
0:58:07 > 0:58:12Robert Houghton or Mary Berry? Robert Houghton
0:58:12 > 0:58:19worked really, really hard in his bakery for his family.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21But, on the other hand, I think perhaps my genes
0:58:21 > 0:58:23come from Mary Berry.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25She did the very best of her life.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27She avoided the workhouse and
0:58:27 > 0:58:31I think she was very family orientated, which indeed I am.
0:58:33 > 0:58:35Er, I think I have to thank Mary Berry.