0:00:02 > 0:00:05Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire revives the sights,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09- sounds and smells of the 19th century.- Morning.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12At its heart stands the pharmacy -
0:00:12 > 0:00:17a treasure house of potions and remedies from a century and a half ago.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Now, in a unique experiment, historian Ruth Goodman,
0:00:20 > 0:00:25Professor of Pharmacy Nick Barber and PhD student Tom Quick
0:00:25 > 0:00:27have opened the doors to the Victorian pharmacy,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32recreating a High Street institution we take for granted,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34but which was once a novel idea.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37They've brought the pharmacy to life,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42sourcing ingredients, mixing potions and dispensing cures.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45But in an age when skin creams contained arsenic and
0:00:45 > 0:00:51cold medicines were based on opium, the team are being highly selective.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54They're only trying out safe versions of traditional remedies
0:00:54 > 0:00:57on carefully selected customers.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02The start was like the Wild West - people didn't know what was good and bad.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Try to get a bit of speed up. Oh, there we go!
0:01:04 > 0:01:09The pharmacy was something that affected everybody's lives in one way or another.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13They're discovering an age of social change
0:01:13 > 0:01:18that brought healthcare within the reach of ordinary people for the very first time,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21heralding a consumer revolution that reached far beyond medicine
0:01:21 > 0:01:26to create the model for the modern High Street chemist as we know it today.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Having followed the evolution of the pharmacy
0:01:38 > 0:01:41through 50 remarkable years,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Barber & Goodman's High Street shop is approaching the end of the 19th century.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51The pharmacy has now moved into a new era of scientific understanding.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56Old ideas of what caused disease and how to treat it have faded away,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01and the foundations of modern medicine are firmly in place.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05This is what the whole of the 19th century, in a sense, ends up as. It's a culmination.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06It comes up to this, doesn't it?
0:02:06 > 0:02:09And all of a sudden, we have this scientific knowledge.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11The pharmacist has the expertise.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16We're stocking branded products, probably for the first time. We're not making them ourselves any more.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Pharmacists are starting to look like... Well, department stores.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24One discovery that led to a whole new range of products
0:02:24 > 0:02:26was the understanding of pain relief.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31For thousands of years, medicinal plants had been used to control pain,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35but by the end of the 19th century, scientists had shown
0:02:35 > 0:02:37that the pain-killing properties of some plants
0:02:37 > 0:02:41were due to a chemical called salicylic acid.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Nick and herbalist Eleanor Gallia are on the hunt
0:02:45 > 0:02:49for one of the most effective of these natural painkillers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52So, what's this plant we're seeking?
0:02:52 > 0:02:53Meadowsweet.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And what was it used for?
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Digestive, calming digestive.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Very popular in rheumatism. Pain relief.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I keep thinking I see little bits of it.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09It's very small at the moment.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11There's some here, actually.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15More of it here.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19So, the effects depend partly on the time of the year
0:03:19 > 0:03:23when it's picked, and obviously the parts of the plant which are picked?
0:03:23 > 0:03:28Was that something which herbalists and chemists and druggists would have paid attention to?
0:03:28 > 0:03:33Hugely. Very, very important. Especially so when, traditionally, herbalists were collecting
0:03:33 > 0:03:37their own herbs, then dispensing their own herbs and making up tinctures and medicines.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- So, shall we pick some meadowsweet then?- Yes, let's.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Remembering all the time that this is just the very young growth.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48It's used quite specifically in rheumatism and the pain that comes from that.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52But really, the main action, the anti-acid action, which is...
0:03:52 > 0:03:56It's got a lovely soothing action on the inside of the stomach.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00It helps the mucosa, the alkali which protects the gut from
0:04:00 > 0:04:02the acid that's produced in the whole digestive process.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06We can make an infusion out of it, make it like a tea?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Yes.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18With the rise of industrialisation and the expansion of towns,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22what you've got, really, is a lot of people in one place.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27And pharmacies have a whole new group of people, urban dwellers,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29that they're trying to cater to.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32No longer just a provider of drugs and remedies,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36the Victorian pharmacy now sold a wide range of products
0:04:36 > 0:04:41which wouldn't look out of place in today's chemist shops.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43When you walk into a pharmacy nowadays,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46you're seeing over 100 years of history in front of you.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49People wonder why there are things like perfumes in pharmacies,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53why there are, you know, products to do with dentistry
0:04:53 > 0:04:56or some of them selling glasses, and so on,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and all these were activities which were happening in the Victorian era.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Towards the end of Victoria's reign, an emerging middle class
0:05:07 > 0:05:13with an increased disposable income looked to the pharmacy for more than just cures.
0:05:13 > 0:05:14They wanted to be pampered too.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The pharmacists' expertise with chemicals left them well placed
0:05:18 > 0:05:21to take advantage of this consumer boom.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Perfumier Alec Lawless is going to give Ruth
0:05:24 > 0:05:26a lesson in perfume making.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29You've brought some amazing stuff.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32This is things from the first perfumier's trade.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Things for making perfumes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I suppose in the earlier periods,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40perfume was very much the reserve of the super-rich.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43- Then that changes now? - It changes dramatically.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48What characterised this age was the beginning of mass production and branding.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51You could sell an eau de cologne
0:05:51 > 0:05:55and nobody was going to say, "You can't call that an eau de cologne."
0:05:55 > 0:05:59There were several perfumes like that. One was called Jockey Club.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02There was another called Mille Fleurs
0:06:02 > 0:06:03and another called New-mown Hay.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08Basically these names became known as perfume.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The other thing was the pharmacist -
0:06:10 > 0:06:13because they'd been university trained,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17they liked experimenting and they had this whole cornucopia.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21A lot of the things that were used in apothecaries for medicine
0:06:21 > 0:06:23were also perfume ingredients.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28- I recognise most of the things. We've got a drawer full of myrrh sitting over there.- There you go.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- That's sandalwood, isn't it? - Sandalwood.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33We've got a drawer of that up that end.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38Many of these are ingredients we have medicinally in the pharmacy anyway.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42How easy would it be for us as, you know, local pharmacists,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45to invent a perfume of our own?
0:06:45 > 0:06:49Well, a lot of them did and I'm sure like a lot of recipes at the time,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51these recipes come down.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55But it's basically what you had in the fridge. THEY CHUCKLE
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Could you give us some advice on how to make our own?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01What sort of things should we do and perhaps even a name -
0:07:01 > 0:07:03what sort of name would be appropriate?
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Maybe we should pay homage to Queen Victoria in some way.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11That would tie in very nicely with
0:07:11 > 0:07:13parts of the Empire.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18India - I mean, this is East Indian sandalwood, finest...
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- That's powerful.- It's one of the finest of all perfume ingredients
0:07:22 > 0:07:27- and, of course, Queen Victoria is the Empress of India. - "Empress of India."
0:07:27 > 0:07:30I have to say, it sounds a lot nicer than Jockey Club.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Now we have to decide how to make it smell nice.
0:07:33 > 0:07:40There were two oils and essences that were highly revered at the time
0:07:40 > 0:07:44but still not used in perfumery, because of the exorbitant cost.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47One of them was Rose Otto and the other one was sandalwood.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49We're going to use both of those
0:07:49 > 0:07:52because we want our perfume to be really posh.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57Yes, but also relatively cheap to make
0:07:57 > 0:07:59that we can sell for a high profit.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Oh, good point. OK.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- We can put some other... I'm going to put coriander in there. - That sounds a bit cheaper.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07That's a really nice little top note.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11The daft thing is, when I said I was doing this, the boys wanted to have a go too.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Boys and perfume?
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Nick and Tom both want to have a go too. We thought we might all have a go.
0:08:18 > 0:08:23Why don't we split the perfume into top notes, middle notes and base notes
0:08:23 > 0:08:26and each of you can have a play around
0:08:26 > 0:08:31and come up with the combination for each of those that you like the best.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33OK. I'll have a go with that.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38Pharmacists were creating perfumes because they had the raw materials -
0:08:38 > 0:08:42they had the plant products, the aromatic products,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45the essences - and also, they needed to make money.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50- Some money to deposit. - Certainly, sir.- Thank you.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53'If you look in the chemists and druggists of the time,
0:08:53 > 0:08:58'you'll see pages of bankruptcies. It was an expensive thing to be in.'
0:08:58 > 0:09:01You needed to stock your shop, you needed to buy the shop, or rent it,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03so they had a lot of outgoings
0:09:03 > 0:09:05and they needed the income to keep going as well.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08They were diversifying into any areas to do with their knowledge
0:09:08 > 0:09:12of chemicals and so on, which allowed them to make income.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- Thank you very much.- Thank you very much. Have a good day. Bye-bye.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Hello, Eleanor. How are you?
0:09:30 > 0:09:33- Perfect timing - kettle's just boiled.- Ah, fantastic!
0:09:33 > 0:09:37- So, any chance of some of this meadowsweet tea?- For sure.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39See what it was like,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42being a Victorian taking some natural medicine.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43Yes.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46It was quite difficult in Victorian times with pain control.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50I mean, partly, pain was thought to be sent there by God
0:09:50 > 0:09:53so there's an issue about it.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55When they introduced chloroform
0:09:55 > 0:09:57to stop the pain of childbirth,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01there was a lot of religious leaders against it,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04saying it was stopping God's work being done.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06So they were quite a barrier to it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11- Wow!- And so, the movement against it...
0:10:11 > 0:10:15was quite strong. People were saying, "This is against God's way."
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Most of the natural products were used for pain control -
0:10:20 > 0:10:24well, there were only natural products - were opium and cannabis.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Queen Victoria had cannabis for her period pains.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33- What did the vicar say about that? - I don't know. I think perhaps they didn't tell him.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Fantastic.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Thank you.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Mm.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- It's quite restorative as just a smell, isn't it?- Yes, it's lovely.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48Almondy.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Good health, Nick.- Cheers.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Good health. This is very good.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03I was prepared for a bit of a witch's brew, but this is good.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Plants like meadowsweet, and also willow,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13had long been used to control pain.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15But by the end of the 19th century,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18the active ingredient, salicylic acid,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22could be extracted using the latest laboratory techniques.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28By isolating salicylic acid from meadowsweet and willow,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31they could produce a range of painkilling medicines.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37It is the key ingredient in modern, non-prescription painkillers such as aspirin.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42This is the source of salicylic acid. It's willow bark.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44Just from normal willow trees?
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Normal willow trees.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50That, if you chew it...
0:11:52 > 0:11:54It's quite bitter, isn't it?
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Hippocrates, in 400 BC,
0:11:56 > 0:12:01was prescribing an infusion of willow leaves, not the bark -
0:12:01 > 0:12:04you can use the leaves of the willow tree, as well as the bark -
0:12:04 > 0:12:06to ease the pain of childbirth.
0:12:06 > 0:12:092,500 years we have known this is a painkiller.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Salicylic acid can reduce pain, it also is antipyretic.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Right, so it reduces fever, if you are hot and feverish.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19It is anti-inflammatory.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Things like rheumatism or if you have an inflamed area of your body -
0:12:23 > 0:12:26- your gums can be inflamed, all sorts of areas.- It'll help treat that.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28It's a bit of a wonder drug.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30It is, isn't it?
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It's still used in wart treatments.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37It's used in strong concentration, to like 60%,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39to burn off warts.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The first step is to grind this bark down.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46If Nick and scientist Mike Bullivant can extract
0:12:46 > 0:12:48the salicylic acid from the willow bark,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52then Nick can make up painkillers to sell in the pharmacy.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57- Having ground it...- How are we going to get it out?- ..the next step is to add some ether.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Ether? Why are we using ether?
0:12:59 > 0:13:03The ether is a solvent that will dissolve the salicylic acid.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09After allowing the mixture to settle,
0:13:09 > 0:13:14the solution is filtered to remove all the willow fibres.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17What's coming through the filter funnel
0:13:17 > 0:13:24should be an ether solution of salicylic acid and other things.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29And the next step is getting rid of those other things,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32so we're left with as pure a salicylic acid as possible.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36Do you think this would have been worth it for the pharmacist,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38in terms of the cost of the ingredients and stuff,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42and the yield of salicylic acid that they get out?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45The yield's really low - I suspect we're going to get a very low yield.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47- Right.- Don't expect too much.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52- But, yeah, I think it would have been, perhaps, economical if you had the time.- Yeah.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- Because the willow bark is free. - Yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56It takes time and patience, doesn't it?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Oh! Like life...
0:13:58 > 0:13:59take your time.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12- In goes the ether and salicylic acid and other things.- And other things.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16To isolate the salicylic acid from all the other chemicals in the bark,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20it's first turned into a salt by adding sodium carbonate -
0:14:20 > 0:14:23better known as washing soda.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28If I give a good shake, that's just getting the two layers mixed up as much as you possibly can.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31The two layers are separated out.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37Perfect.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Then Mike adds dilute sulphuric acid
0:14:40 > 0:14:44to turn the salt into solid salicylic acid.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Whoa! See, that's neutralising the sodium carbonate
0:14:50 > 0:14:53and converting it back to acid, you see?
0:14:55 > 0:14:57It's changing the colour
0:14:57 > 0:15:00- and do you see that white solid coming down?- Yes, absolutely.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04- Now, that salicylic acid that's forming - can you see?- Yep.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06A white, feathery solid.
0:15:06 > 0:15:10So it's not looking too bad at the moment.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's heartening that we've got some salicylic acid.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15It's amazing - just three or four stages,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18going from...pieces of plant
0:15:18 > 0:15:21all the way through to a pure chemical.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- Just leave that to settle.- Fantastic.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27If you look back to the start of the period -
0:15:27 > 0:15:31like, sort of early 19th century, medicine is very much a personal thing.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35You know, sort of, maybe take your family recipe to the pharmacist
0:15:35 > 0:15:36to get it made up.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39And compare that with the end of the century,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43when you're kind of putting yourself in the hands of a community of specialists
0:15:43 > 0:15:49who have trained for a long time and built up a different kind of authority.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52It's no longer "What my parents did",
0:15:52 > 0:15:54now it's, "Who has the knowledge?"
0:15:58 > 0:16:02In a time when most people walked everywhere,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06relief from foot pain was in high demand.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Local businessman Richard Eley
0:16:08 > 0:16:12has come to see what the Victorian Pharmacy could offer for his problem.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Well, I have a rather painful, but rather small, corn
0:16:16 > 0:16:18on the inside of my little toe.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22Oh, I see. Yeah, you can sort of see a sore area.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25The pain goes from my little toe up to my knee,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29to the point where I have considered having my little toe amputated.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30Really, as bad as that?
0:16:30 > 0:16:35It offers Ruth an opportunity to find another use for salicylic acid.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37In stronger concentrations,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40the chemical Nick and Mike have made as a painkiller
0:16:40 > 0:16:44can also be used to remove warts and corns.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Well, the Victorian wonder-drug for this -
0:16:47 > 0:16:50the thing that they thought was going to transform the care -
0:16:50 > 0:16:52was salicylic acid.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Ah, salicylic acid!
0:16:54 > 0:16:56And in fact, I've got...
0:16:56 > 0:17:01Actually, this is a modern preparation of salicylic acid.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05There's a few other things in here to carry the acid.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07You can have it in a liquid form
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- or put on little corn plasters that you applied.- Yes.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14You'd get a little tin with medicated corn plasters.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- So, it's just... - Just at the side there.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Just there, yeah? That little area. There we go.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24That should whiten as it dries
0:17:24 > 0:17:25and you get a skin over it.
0:17:25 > 0:17:31It holds the active ingredient against the affected part.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35- It does actually burn the skin away? - Yeah, it sort of slowly...
0:17:35 > 0:17:38kills the whole area and that allows the...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41virus, basically, to be lifted out.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42So...
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Now you see it, now you don't.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Basically, you take that away
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and a drop every day on the same spot.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54- A drop every day keeps the corn away. - That's the theory.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Nick is ready to use the same chemical -
0:18:00 > 0:18:04the salicylic acid he and Mike made - to prepare some cachets,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08thin rice-paper capsules that he can fill with the finished drug.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12As a modern pharmacist, it's a skill he's never needed to learn before.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17There you are, Nick. Here's your salicylic acid.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21- Fantastic. Well done.- Last time you saw it, it was in a filter funnel and it looked like that.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I said I'd purify it by re-crystallising it.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- That was the result.- They're fantastic - really long needles.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30You wanted it really pure. So I took that,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35the needles, and re-crystallised them. What I've ended up is really pure needles, which I've ground up.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40- You asked for it ground and that's it. There's your pure salicylic acid. - Fantastic.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I'm going to stick them in these cachets.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45I'm going to have to mix that... It'd be such a small amount in each one,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50I'll mix it with something which is OK to swallow like citric acid,
0:18:50 > 0:18:51grind them together,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53make a nice mixture and then we just...
0:18:53 > 0:18:57put an amount in each of these cachets.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Then we put the other half in this,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04close it up and they stick together.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08You know those sweets - flying saucers, they were called, or spaceships.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Two halves of rice paper with some sherbet in the middle.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Stick them in your mouth and they dissolve and the sherbet's released.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18This rice paper, as you know, once it gets wet -
0:19:18 > 0:19:23a bit of acid on it - it will fall apart and release the powder.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Ready for action.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28There you are. Don't use either of those, cos they're impure.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29That's what you work with.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Brilliant. Thanks very much, mate. See you later.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Let's see how this goes.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53This will be the top half of each cachet.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57They're quite delicate, so I'm a bit worried about cracking them.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59I don't quite know how far to press them in.
0:19:59 > 0:20:00Quite a tight fit.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06Fingers crossed.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10Dampness there.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Press these down and hope.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- HE CHUCKLES - That's all we can do at this stage.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21And now, fingers crossed...
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Yay! Look at that.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Fantastic.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Now, you use this thing to push them out as well.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35I'm really pleased about this. I didn't think...
0:20:35 > 0:20:39it would work anywhere near as well as that.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Look at that - perfect cachets, holding together.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44POWDER RATTLES
0:20:44 > 0:20:46You can hear the powder inside.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50What we have been through is just, erm...
0:20:50 > 0:20:53a remarkable process, really,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55which doesn't happen nowadays.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59It's the sort of thing which... Everything's manufactured and standardised.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02We started with willow bark - a natural product -
0:21:02 > 0:21:06and we've chemically extracted the key element
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and we've put the salicylic acid in here,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14in this dose form, ready to give to a patient,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17or as a Victorian person would give to a patient.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Salicylic acid was an effective painkiller,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25but could be a stomach irritant.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The big breakthrough came in 1899 when aspirin,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32a chemically altered version of it with less side effects,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34was released onto the market.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Whatever the content,
0:21:36 > 0:21:40cachets allowed pharmacists to dispense a pre-measured dose.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44The practical problem for the patient was swallowing them.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Student Tom Chandler has volunteered to try one out.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50..powder's put inside, in two halves...
0:21:50 > 0:21:54The texts of the time would say, "Just take it down like an oyster."
0:21:54 > 0:21:57OK. Is there any more advice than that you can give me?
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- If you're not an oyster eater, it's not very helpful really.- No!
0:22:00 > 0:22:05- I think you're going to have to work it out for yourself. Are you willing to give it a go?- Yeah, why not?
0:22:05 > 0:22:07- Dunk it in the water. - OK, just get a bit wet.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- That's it.- Is that enough?- Yep.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11- In your mouth, back of the tongue. - OK.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And swig it down, swallow it.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Ugh!
0:22:17 > 0:22:19It feels like it's stuck about here.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- Oh, my goodness.- It's big, isn't it?
0:22:22 > 0:22:25- Yeah.- You wouldn't get a modern tablet that size.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29But as it softens with the water and the moisture of your body,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31it will start deforming and be easier to go down.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Yeah, I can feel it sort of, like, moving.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- Whereabouts is it now?- It's about here, getting slightly lower.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41It'll work its way down, and in reality,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43you'd have a biscuit or a piece of bread with it
0:22:43 > 0:22:45or something like that, if it were stuck.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49It physically knocks it down into the stomach,
0:22:49 > 0:22:54then dissolves and releases the drug and cures your headache, hopefully.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Thank you very much.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59I bet you're glad science has moved on and now we have aspirin tablets.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03I'm so glad. Small things rather than those, definitely.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Nick, Ruth and Tom are receiving a crash course in perfume making
0:23:11 > 0:23:13as they try to create a scent
0:23:13 > 0:23:15that would have appealed to the Victorian nose.
0:23:15 > 0:23:2119th Century perfumiers applied scientific ideas to the ancient art of perfume making.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26They used musical terms to describe how a scent should be constructed.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27This symphony of smell
0:23:27 > 0:23:31was made up of three separate mixtures of fragrant oils,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34known as the top, middle and base notes,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37which evaporate at different rates on the skin.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Perfumier Alec Lawless has given Tom the job
0:23:40 > 0:23:42of making up the long-lasting base note.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46It seems that two of these are a lot stronger than the other three.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51- Yes.- I was wondering if I'm sort of making... Is it the base note?- Yes.
0:23:51 > 0:23:52What's the idea? Is it...
0:23:52 > 0:23:56These things are the most tenacious and the reason for that is
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- that they're heavier molecules than the top or the middle notes.- OK.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04So, they're going to retard the evaporation of the perfume.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08So it's the bits that comes out last, basically.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11This will be what's left on the skin.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15Nick has been entrusted with the most expensive ingredients.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20The smell is so intense that it's driving out anything else...
0:24:20 > 0:24:23These are the middle notes, the floral heart -
0:24:23 > 0:24:27the main personality of the perfume.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29These guys are really expensive.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34The powerful fragrances are proving a little too much for Ruth.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36The lady is very sensitive and delicate.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40You told me these were not overpowering. You lied. They are...
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- I'm sorry.- OK.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47You're obviously incredibly sensitive.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I smelt all four of them first,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- by which time my nose was beginning to burn.- Yeah. OK.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57And then I thought, well, the one that I liked best still was the bergamot oil
0:24:57 > 0:24:58so I put more of that in.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02You mentioned the lime was particularly strong, so I put the least of that in.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- I'm going to go for that one. - The second one.- Number two.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08If the team's efforts can be combined into a popular perfume,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11then the Empress of India scent
0:25:11 > 0:25:13could be a real money-spinner for the pharmacy.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17Now, in order to have some sort of structure,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20these would be blended. Roughly...
0:25:20 > 0:25:2550% of it is going to be the floral heart,
0:25:25 > 0:25:2920% the top notes and 30% the base notes.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32just as a rule of thumb.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34I'm also going to put some musk in there
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and one or two other things.
0:25:37 > 0:25:38THEY CHUCKLE
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Making it entirely your own.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43They were too expensive to let you play with.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48Alec blends the three sets of fragrant oils together
0:25:48 > 0:25:50to produce the finished perfume.
0:25:54 > 0:26:00If you wave it around a bit to encourage the oxygen to...
0:26:00 > 0:26:02accelerate the evaporation.
0:26:04 > 0:26:09I didn't smell either of your two independently, and this certainly smells very different from mine,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- when it's blended.- That's all right. - It's quite complex.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16I think it's really funny tha you chaps are enjoying the perfume more than me.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18- THEY LAUGH - It's great fun!
0:26:18 > 0:26:22All we need to do now is get that properly bottled
0:26:22 > 0:26:23and a nice label on it
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and start making some money out of it.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Exactly. We can have different dilutions for different people.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- Different classes.- Yes.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Ruth is keen to find out if the Empress of India will be a hit with the ladies of the town.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Good morning!
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Hello.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45- Ooh, hello.- Hello.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47I wonder if you could help me.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50I'm doing a bit of market research about perfume.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- I love perfume.- Really?- I do, yes.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56- That's a very fine bottle. I do like that.- It's nice, isn't it?
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Let me know what you really think. It's quite a potent one.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Just have a little sniff and see what you think.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06- Ooh, yeah, it is, in't it? - Strong, isn't it?- It's quite strong.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09It's lovely. Yes. It's quite flowery.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13- If I just pop just a tiny little bit on there.- Yep.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Hmm!
0:27:16 > 0:27:17Oh! Ooh!
0:27:17 > 0:27:19- It is a strong one, isn't it?- Mm.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22- It's growing on me. - Well, that's a good sign.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27Not nice, is it? Not nice. I think it's more for you than for me.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29One of the things the perfumier said to me
0:27:29 > 0:27:31- was that it smells different on everybody.- Yes.
0:27:31 > 0:27:36- Oh, it's beautiful.- Yes? - It smells quite expensive.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39It would have been expensive at the time.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40In the Victorian period,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44you would begin to see perfume getting a little bit cheaper,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48so people like school mistresses could afford, occasionally, a little bit of perfume.
0:27:48 > 0:27:53- I'm going to have some for Christmas. - You really think this something you would actually enjoy,
0:27:53 > 0:27:58- that would stand up against a modern perfume?- Definitely - it's quite a strong, powerful smell.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01This is quite flowery, which is lovely. Thank you for popping in.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Next time, on Victorian Pharmacy,
0:28:07 > 0:28:09the 19th century draws to a close.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12That's good, keep it up. The faster the better.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16The team embrace the inventions and some secrets of the time.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21This is one of the most exciting things I think I've found in the pharmacy.
0:28:21 > 0:28:26And with a massive expansion of products and services,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28they'll take a giant step into the 20th century.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Watch the birdie, keep still.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34And towards the high street pharmacy we know today.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:41 > 0:28:44E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk