0:00:03 > 0:00:05150 years ago,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09Victorian Britain became the world's first industrial superpower.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14And as the country thrived, London, the beating heart of Empire,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16became the world's richest city.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21But just as it is now,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25Victorian London was a city divided by extremes of wealth and want.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28This is the story of one poor community
0:00:28 > 0:00:30living in London's East End.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35In the heart of modern Stratford...
0:00:37 > 0:00:39..a Victorian slum has been recreated.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44And a group of 21st century people are moving in.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Oh!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Absolutely awful.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I am just a bit dumbstruck.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Like the original slum-dwellers,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57they'll have to work to keep a roof over their heads...
0:00:57 > 0:00:59It's absolutely shattering.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Ha'penny a tattie!
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..and put food on the table.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09I'm starving. This makes me a bit emotional, to be honest.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15They'll explore the lives of their own East End ancestors...
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I needed to be here.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I need to find these people.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I wish they could be here to see me do this.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25..discover the history of their trades...
0:01:25 > 0:01:26So, this is a workshop, yeah?
0:01:27 > 0:01:30..and experience first-hand what life was like...
0:01:30 > 0:01:32You will call me ma'am.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34..for those at the bottom of the economic pile.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37If they were disabled, they couldn't do it. They didn't eat.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39They didn't eat, they died.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42They'll live through five decades of turbulent history.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44Look at the newspaper!
0:01:44 > 0:01:47From the 1860s, when the poor knew their place...
0:01:47 > 0:01:50It's just another nail in the coffin.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51You might as well be dead.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54..through depressions...
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Can't believe people have to live like this all their life.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58..revolutions...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01I am proud to be an East End suffragette.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05..and seismic social change...
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- Jelly! - GASPS
0:02:07 > 0:02:09The Irish are moving up.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10..to the turn of the century...
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Death of the Queen.
0:02:12 > 0:02:13- ALL:- Long live the King.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16..when the people who powered Britain's industrial success
0:02:16 > 0:02:18finally found their voice.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20The poor cannot be trodden on.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21Power to the people.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And the foundations were laid for lasting change.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Victory!
0:02:27 > 0:02:29This is the story of how
0:02:29 > 0:02:32a quarter of a million slum-dwellers in the East End
0:02:32 > 0:02:35changed our attitude to poverty for ever.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37CHEERING AND LAUGHTER
0:02:37 > 0:02:39This is The Slum.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Fuelled by the Industrial Revolution, in 1860,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54London's economy was booming.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59Here in the West End, the city as we know it now was taking shape.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01There was new housing,
0:03:01 > 0:03:02grand railway stations,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05and the streets were filled with smart shops
0:03:05 > 0:03:07all showcasing London's wealth.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10As today, people came to London in search of work.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14In fact, the population tripled in just 50 years.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17But this was a city divided.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18For the first time,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21geographical lines were drawn between those enjoying
0:03:21 > 0:03:24the nation's wealth in the West...
0:03:26 > 0:03:29..and those who weren't, in the East.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Hidden away from public view,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39people lived lives of almost unimaginable poverty,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41packed into dilapidated buildings,
0:03:41 > 0:03:46and the crammed courtyards of the East End slums.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51This was the industrial heart of the city.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54The air here would have been heavily polluted by the tanneries
0:03:54 > 0:03:56and by the gasworks.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58But despite that, people came from all over,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00desperately in search of work.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04The three miles between Aldgate and Bow
0:04:04 > 0:04:07held one of the highest concentrations of working poor
0:04:07 > 0:04:09in Britain.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13This was the underbelly of the Industrial Revolution.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15This corner of modern Stratford,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17a stone's throw from the Olympic Park,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20has been taken back to the 1860s.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23The slum was a microcosm,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26a mixture of skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers,
0:04:26 > 0:04:31all living together in tumbledown terraces and tenements.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Recreated from historical accounts of slums,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38like the notorious, deprived Old Nichol in Shoreditch,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41this tenement building typifies the abject poverty
0:04:41 > 0:04:44which was rife in Victorian cities
0:04:44 > 0:04:46just over a century ago.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50From the smallest, barest rooms at the top of the building,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53to larger, more expensive dwellings at the bottom,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55people got by with the bare minimum.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00The courtyard houses a single communal water pump,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02a stove,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04and shared privies.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06There are businesses here, too.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09A lodging house known as the doss-house
0:05:09 > 0:05:11for those who couldn't afford to rent a room,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15and a small shop, the lifeblood of the slum community.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Now a new group of residents are moving in,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22to bring the forgotten world of the Victorian poor
0:05:22 > 0:05:24back to life.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26- Oh!- Oh, my God!- No!
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It looks like a dungeon.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32First to arrive is the Potter family.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- Wow.- The garden.- Look how dirty it is.- Look at all the mud!
0:05:35 > 0:05:37- Do you think you can live in this?- No.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39- Do you think you've got a choice?- No.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44The Potters are a close-knit clan from Derby.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Fish and chips! Come and get it.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Mum Alison lives around the corner
0:05:50 > 0:05:53from Grandad Graham and Grandma Heather.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56- Thank you. - They're hot.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Heather's ancestors are from Bethnal Green
0:05:58 > 0:06:00in London's East End.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03All my life I felt that my roots were not in Derby.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08A couple of years ago I started to search my ancestry,
0:06:08 > 0:06:14but it's more than just getting dates and names and numbers.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16I want to go back and I want to know the people.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22I want to do it for Nan because it's, like,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24very, very important to her
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and it will help her learn more about our Victorian ancestors.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31- This is it.- Heavy door.
0:06:31 > 0:06:32Oh, my goodness.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Like many Victorian East Enders,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Heather's ancestors were unskilled workers
0:06:37 > 0:06:40who could only afford basic accommodation.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Another bed.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The family of five will live in just one room.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48They have two beds,
0:06:48 > 0:06:49a table and chair,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51and little else,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54but even housing this austere would have cost a Victorian labourer
0:06:54 > 0:06:57over a third of their weekly wage.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00If we have this bed...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- Right.- ..would you and the girls be OK with that one?- Yes.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07How are you going to sleep, though, cos there's three of you?
0:07:07 > 0:07:08Oh, we'll work it out between us.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- You can go in the middle.- Yeah.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11What do you think?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I'm just a bit dumbstruck, I think.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21I just think it's very sad that people had to live like this.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Yes, it's a bit bleak, isn't it?
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Yes, very bleak.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28As well as unskilled workers,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31the East End was also home to many who had a trade.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Moving into one of the larger dwellings downstairs
0:07:35 > 0:07:37is the Howarth family.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Oh, my God!
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Dad Russell is a tailor.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45As a skilled worker,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48he would have been able to afford double the Potters' rent.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52For that, they get the relative comfort of two rooms.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54It's bigger than I thought.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Tin bath and, unlike their poorer neighbours,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00a small stove to cook their own food.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03- You can't cook with that. - Well, I'm going to have to.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06Look at the filth on it.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- I know.- The filth on the walls.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13I just can't get my head around this is our home now.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17For some, like the Howarths,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20the slum provided an opportunity of sorts.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23They had the skills and the means to make money.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Others weren't so lucky.
0:08:28 > 0:08:29Wow!
0:08:29 > 0:08:32The slums were home to thousands of lone parents,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35usually widowed or abandoned women,
0:08:35 > 0:08:36with nowhere else to go.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- What do you think?- What's this?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42That's just our bedding, I think.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43It's so dirty.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Shazida and her twins may be moving into the smallest room...
0:08:49 > 0:08:53..but even so, finding the rent on one income will be tough.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Very basic, isn't it?
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Very basic.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I can't believe people had to live like this all their life.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07In the 1860s, 90% of Victorians rented their homes.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10If you were poor, you moved to an area like the East End
0:09:10 > 0:09:13where you would rent a room rather than a whole house.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16The one advantage of living in an area like this
0:09:16 > 0:09:20is you didn't have to provide proof of employment or good character
0:09:20 > 0:09:22as you would have had to do elsewhere.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26The slums drew people from the fringes of society.
0:09:26 > 0:09:31Low-paid workers, immigrants, even fallen aristocrats,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34driven to the East End by hard times.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Poverty and misfortune sent people here by the thousand.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40There were very few safety nets.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43This was a time before welfare benefits,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45the NHS, or the minimum wage.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50The poorest of all couldn't even afford to rent their own room.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Some paid to sleep in other people's beds.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Others opted for the doss-house.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58In 1860,
0:09:58 > 0:10:0150,000 people had no option but to pay fourpence a night
0:10:01 > 0:10:05to sleep in rows in what were known as coffin beds.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08In charge of this doss-house
0:10:08 > 0:10:12is 39-year-old Andy Gardner from Oxfordshire.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14It looks like Victorian flat pack.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Most slums were owned by absent landlords
0:10:18 > 0:10:22who employed local men like Andy to run the doss-house
0:10:22 > 0:10:24and collect rent from the other tenants.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Oh, dear me. That's one way of ingratiating myself with the group,
0:10:28 > 0:10:29isn't it?
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Hi, guys. Nice to meet you. Give me your money.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34Or I'm going to kick you out of your room.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39As rent collector, Andy gets free accommodation.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Here we are, then.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46But he'll need an income from the doss-house or find other work
0:10:46 > 0:10:50- to pay for food. - There's not a lot here.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53I have got something to keep warm,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55somewhere to sit down and eat,
0:10:55 > 0:10:56somewhere to wash,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58somewhere to sleep.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01This is the lap of luxury, really, compared to the doss-house.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08The residents are exploring their new surroundings...
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Oh, look at the mud everywhere.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Lovely, I love it.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16- Hello.- Hi!
0:11:16 > 0:11:18..and meeting their neighbours.
0:11:18 > 0:11:19What's your room like? Bigger or smaller?
0:11:19 > 0:11:21It's a lot smaller.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I think it's half of this size.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Welcome. I'm your local rent man.
0:11:28 > 0:11:29Are you?
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Get the rolling pin ready.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Get the rolling pin ready! Otherwise you'll be down here.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35Have you seen how they sleep in here?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37No. Is this the doss-house?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- This is the doss-house. - This is the doss-house.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42If you can't afford the coffin bed for fourpence,
0:11:42 > 0:11:43you'll like the other one.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45- Want to sit down on the bench?- OK.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50- Like this?- Yes.
0:11:50 > 0:11:55That is disgusting for a human being to actually even pay.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56It's either that or the street.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04This is the tuppenny hangover,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07where people slept upright supported only by a rope.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Something the residents could experience
0:12:11 > 0:12:14if they fail to pay Andy at the end of the week.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17So if you can't afford the rent on that day,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19would you come back again another day?
0:12:19 > 0:12:21- No.- So it's that day or nothing?
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Other people would be waiting to come in.
0:12:23 > 0:12:24That's harsh.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Yes, very.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28- Really harsh.- Extremely harsh.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30You've come to work then, won't you?
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Right, you need to work really hard.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34And you can't get us into debt.
0:12:34 > 0:12:35No.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41For the Victorian poor,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43keeping a roof over your head was the absolute priority.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45After that came food,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and in the 1860s food was surprisingly expensive.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It consumed an average of two-thirds of a slum-dweller's income.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57So a reasonable living could be made from keeping the slum fed.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Ah, do we have a business?
0:13:01 > 0:13:05- A job which falls to Adrian and Wiebke Bird.- Oh!
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Aha! We're going to be grocers.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14Adrian and Wiebke have homes in rural Hertfordshire and Wales.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19Their family histories echo the mass migrations of the 19th century.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Migration's a really big theme in my own life,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24living in the States and then coming to the UK,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26and then also in my parents' lives,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29growing up in Germany and migrating to the United States.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31I want to know what it was like for people to be moving
0:13:31 > 0:13:35from the countryside to the cities for opportunity.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36In Victorian times,
0:13:36 > 0:13:40country folk were moving to towns in their droves,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and handyman Adrian's passion for rural crafts
0:13:43 > 0:13:44should stand him in good stead.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I think I'm prepared.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51I think the skills I've got will be very well suited to the slum.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I'm going to have to draw on all I've learnt
0:13:53 > 0:13:56over the last number of years
0:13:56 > 0:13:58to be able to keep us going and keep us fed.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02Oh, my.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Wow. Look at the wallpaper.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07This is home.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09With a shop and a room to rent,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11the Birds have the highest outgoings of all.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15We're living in luxury!
0:14:15 > 0:14:17But they also have a stove on which to cook
0:14:17 > 0:14:19and the fanciest furnishings.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22As shopkeepers, they have decent earning potential.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26For a slum, this must have been one of the nicest places.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29This must have been the top of the heap.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I'm beginning to think we're probably doing OK.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Many slum-dwellers had no way to cook for themselves.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38That's rank! That's strong.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42So shops like these were pivotal to the community.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- Hello.- Come on in.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47With most residents living day-to-day and hand-to-mouth,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50cash flow was a major problem.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52What can we do for you guys this evening?
0:14:52 > 0:14:55So slum shops sold them only what they could afford,
0:14:55 > 0:14:56bread by the slice,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58tea by the spoonful,
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and small portions of hot food.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04They'd even rent a bowl and a spoon to eat it with.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07We have to say now that we haven't got any money.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09We know the situation. You're all in the same boat.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Do you tick till Friday and then your bill's due Friday, please.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14Friday. OK.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Tick was a system of credit based on trust
0:15:17 > 0:15:19and it kept the slum economy moving.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- I'll put that in the book for you.- OK. Thank you.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24We will see you tomorrow.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Like many poor Victorians who came to the slums,
0:15:28 > 0:15:33these residents face starting their new life already in debt.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Obviously, as a priority food, bread and cheese.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39It all depends how much it is.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I'm just worried because we don't know how much Dad is going to earn
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and we've got rent to pay. In four days we've got rent.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48If we don't pay the rent,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50I am not going to live in one of those other rooms.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52On a bit of rope.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56It's not going to happen. There's no way you can sleep in that doss-house
0:15:56 > 0:15:57with a rope.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Make do without the heat in the room tonight?
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Yeah, we'll just have to all cuddle up and make do.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04I'd rather be cold...
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And hungry.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10..and hungry, and pay the rent.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13Put it on the tick for you.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15As long as it's paid before Monday.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17That's the rent day as well.
0:16:17 > 0:16:18That's our rent day too,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- that's why.- We are all in the same boat, to be honest.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24You do feel as if you have some responsibility
0:16:24 > 0:16:27to try and help these people, definitely.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29That's hit me.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I feel a little bit more responsible than I thought I would.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39We decided not to have a fire because we didn't want to
0:16:39 > 0:16:42run up too much debt straightaway.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45It feels scary that you feel like...
0:16:47 > 0:16:50..you're in debt before you even get anywhere, before you do anything.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52We're already in debt.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58In 1860, London was a modern metropolis
0:16:58 > 0:17:00with a booming population.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03But there was little sympathy for those who were struggling.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Poverty was seen as part of the natural order of things.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07You were either born poor,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11or you fell into poverty because of your own moral failings.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12If you were poor,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15you simply had to work harder, or endure.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23I'm struggling now.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25That's on day one. I am.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I'm struggling now. I'm tired and...
0:17:29 > 0:17:31..I hurt,
0:17:31 > 0:17:33and all I want to do is go to bed.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36It's not going to be very comfortable.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38It's going to be very cold.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But hopefully we will keep each other warm.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I do feel very much isolated.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46The other families have got a male presence
0:17:46 > 0:17:51whereas it's just the three of us. So...it's a lot tougher.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54You jump in.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57Sharing a bed is definitely going to be a challenge.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00I'm going to have to rise to it because I've got no other choice.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I think we'll band together as a family,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and we'll probably get closer, to be honest.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09A few minutes ago I was like, "Where's the biscuits?"
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Then I just remembered, "Oh, no, we can't afford biscuits."
0:18:13 > 0:18:17I just felt a depressing feeling inside,
0:18:17 > 0:18:19like a ship's just sunk inside me.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29BANGING
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- Come on, you three. - GROANING
0:18:31 > 0:18:32Up you get. Time to get up.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38It's their first morning in the slum.
0:18:39 > 0:18:40- You all right?- Yeah.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And with rent day already fast approaching...
0:18:43 > 0:18:46- I'm going to go and find some work. - OK.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49..everyone has the same priority.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51See you later.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Ta-ra.- Bye.- See you, girls.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54- Goodbye, Grandad.- Bye.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Good luck.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58New arrivals had to find work fast.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It was the only way to keep a roof over your head,
0:19:01 > 0:19:02and provide for your family.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07The money they earn and the money they spend
0:19:07 > 0:19:10is based on Victorian wages and prices
0:19:10 > 0:19:12converted to modern-day money,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16so they can get a feeling for a Victorian cost of living.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18As man of the house,
0:19:18 > 0:19:2359-year-old Graham would have been expected to provide for his family.
0:19:25 > 0:19:31In the 1860s, Britain produced half the world's iron and cotton cloth,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33and two thirds of its coal.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37The economy had made a seismic shift from rural to urban.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41People poured into London, Glasgow, Manchester,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43booming industrial hubs,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45powered by an army of unskilled workers.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49In the East End of London alone,
0:19:49 > 0:19:54the 1861 census lists more than 10,000 men as general labourers.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00The work paid well, enough to keep a family warm and fed,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04but just as it is for some of today's zero-hour workers,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07there was no guarantee of work from one day to the next.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10I am feeling the pressure.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Without me earning the money,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15there'll be no food for the girls, my wife and daughter.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Graham has a day of work at a local bell foundry.
0:20:21 > 0:20:26Here, church bells are made as they have been for the last 500 years,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28with every part of the process still done by hand.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31This is your first job.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Dig these two cores out.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35- OK.- Use the crowbars to dig out the bricks.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Don't break any of the bricks.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Remove all the sand off the surface of the bells,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41cos we tune the bells and anything that's left
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- will make the tools go blunt. - OK?- Yes.- All right?- Yes.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45- I'll leave you to it.- OK.- OK.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49In the 21st century, Graham is retired,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51from his job in a carpet shop.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53But for the Victorian poor,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56there was no such thing as retirement.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01It is going to be a hard day of labour, but we need money.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Without this wage we can do nothing.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05We're going to use it to pay the rent and pay the shop
0:21:05 > 0:21:07because we've already got debt, so...
0:21:09 > 0:21:11It's hard work. But we'll do it.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19In the slums, having an able body was a clear advantage.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- Hello, Andy.- Hello.- I've got a few bits and pieces here.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26In 2004, Andy, a professional golfer,
0:21:26 > 0:21:28had his right leg amputated below the knee.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33This is my specialist leg, this is what I use to compete.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35And I play all over Europe.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38This leg is really hi tech, really comfortable.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Have a feel.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42- A thing of beauty. - It IS a thing of beauty.- Yeah.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Andy wants to get a better understanding
0:21:45 > 0:21:48of what life would have been like for Victorians
0:21:48 > 0:21:50with a disability like his.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54This really is the Rolls-Royce of artificial legs at that time.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57You can certainly see the craftsmanship that has gone into it.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02These hi-tech legs would have cost 20 Victorian pounds in 1860,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05equivalent to more than two years' rent in the slums.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06Somebody in your circumstances
0:22:06 > 0:22:09could not remotely have afforded to buy this.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11In Victorian times you could have your leg cut off free of charge
0:22:11 > 0:22:13but they wouldn't provide you with anything.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Disability was more common
0:22:16 > 0:22:17and visible
0:22:17 > 0:22:20in Victorian society than it is today.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23Poorly regulated factories and docks
0:22:23 > 0:22:25were crammed with dangerous machinery,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28and injuries accounted for many amputations.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Without X-rays or antibiotics,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34there was only a 50-50 chance of surviving surgery.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39And afterwards, most poor amputees had to make do with crutches,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41or the most basic wooden leg.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44What got you interested in this in the first place?
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Just to see how somebody in my situation
0:22:46 > 0:22:48would have actually coped back then.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51What they had available, what they didn't have available.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53This is the sort of thing they had available
0:22:53 > 0:22:55- if you didn't have a lot of money.- Yes, indeed.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57It doesn't look very comfortable, does it?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Since you expressed an interest in trying one of these authentic ones,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03we got something that is as close to authentic as we can make it
0:23:03 > 0:23:06but which actually won't be too uncomfortable.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10- OK.- This is a modern version of an old classic.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13- Do you want to give it a go? - I would love to give it a go.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15'It's the same shape as a Victorian peg leg,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17'but this one's fibreglass,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19'and specially designed for Andy's stump.'
0:23:20 > 0:23:22What do you reckon, then?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24The cup is comfortable.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26For a Victorian, obviously, that would have been absolutely hideous.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28The fit would have been terrible.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The thing they used to do because it fitted so badly, effectively,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33they used to use turpentine to harden the skin.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35- OK.- Have you heard of that? - No, I haven't heard of that.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- Can you imagine rubbing turpentine in?- That really doesn't sound pleasant at all.- No.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42I guess if you've got a wooden thing there you want as much protection
0:23:42 > 0:23:44and padding and whatever else you can get.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45So it's not uncomfortable?
0:23:45 > 0:23:47No, not uncomfortable at all.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- Just weird?- It's just weird and...
0:23:50 > 0:23:51..unstable.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53I don't have a foot!
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- Obviously, you use your foot to push off.- Yeah.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58So I get no return from...
0:23:59 > 0:24:00..a foot.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03The whole point of doing this is to really see what it would have
0:24:03 > 0:24:05been like for myself in this time,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07and this is the way to do it, isn't it?
0:24:07 > 0:24:08This is lesson number one.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Lesson number one. It's not easy!
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Quite! THEY LAUGH
0:24:13 > 0:24:14Next door,
0:24:14 > 0:24:16with Graham out at work,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Heather and Alison Potter are learning what they would be doing
0:24:19 > 0:24:23in the 1860s to help make ends meet.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25Do you put quite a lot of glue on?
0:24:25 > 0:24:26I don't think I've enough glue on.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Slum rooms weren't just where people lived.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34These were the unofficial workshops of the city.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Everything from buttonholes to billiard balls
0:24:36 > 0:24:38were made in people's rooms.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42This had its advantages for families like the Potters...
0:24:43 > 0:24:47..because though it was frowned upon for married women to go out to work,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49they could supplement their income from home.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Which bit are you doing?
0:24:52 > 0:24:54The drawer or the box?
0:24:54 > 0:24:55I think it's the box.
0:24:59 > 0:25:05In 1861, Bryant & May opened a match factory in nearby Bow.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08It quickly became the largest employer of casual female labour
0:25:08 > 0:25:10in the area.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12As well as factory workers,
0:25:12 > 0:25:16it also employed women to assemble matchboxes in their own homes.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18Called piecework,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21often whole families would get involved.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Heather's great-grandmother Annie was a matchbox maker,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30and she would have been expected to make up to 1,000 boxes a day.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It overwhelms me a bit at the moment
0:25:33 > 0:25:34because half of me sees this
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and then in my head I have how I live now.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41I'd probably be sat on the settee reading a Kindle,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43halfway through the morning.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45They must have just been real tough women.
0:25:45 > 0:25:46They were fighters.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48They had to be, didn't they, to survive?
0:25:48 > 0:25:53To survive for themselves and the children and families, really.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57For single mothers with children to look after,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and fewer opportunities to earn,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03it's estimated that up to one in 12 Victorian women
0:26:03 > 0:26:05turned to prostitution.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Piecework would have been one of the only ways
0:26:08 > 0:26:09to make an honest living.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Right, that's the lid.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14Shazida and the twins are making fancy boxes,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17for things like perfume and cosmetics.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19We need to start a production line, here.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25In their modern lives, Shazida and ten-year-old twins
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Sadie and Saudi live in Scunthorpe.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31So what do we understand about the revolution?
0:26:31 > 0:26:33It created industry.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34It was a big change, wasn't it?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Shazida works as an admin assistant,
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and home-schools her children.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42We literally do everything together.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46You could say that I've pretty much dedicated my life to the twins.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49It's very difficult being a single mum in the 21st century,
0:26:49 > 0:26:53so I want to experience how the Victorian single mothers lived,
0:26:53 > 0:26:55how they survived.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57It must have been really difficult.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59That's not going to stick together, is it?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01Try putting a bit more?
0:27:03 > 0:27:08In 1860, there were pieceworkers on every street in London's East End.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14A box maker would have worked a 16-hour day
0:27:14 > 0:27:17and been paid enough to buy a loaf of bread.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22It wasn't only women who worked from home.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Although his rent is covered, with no-one in the doss-house,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Andy needs an income to pay for food.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I am making handles for tools.
0:27:34 > 0:27:35Furniture making,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38cane chair repairing and wood turning
0:27:38 > 0:27:41were all common types of piecework done by men.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43This is...
0:27:43 > 0:27:44one of my first attempts.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46I'm quite pleased with that, to be honest.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49It's going to take a lot of getting used to using this.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51It's hard on the leg, it's very hard on the leg.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Alongside the slum's unskilled workforce,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02East London was also a hub for trades,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05like tanning, embroidery and tailoring.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08Russell and his son James
0:28:08 > 0:28:12are off to find out how their Victorian predecessors
0:28:12 > 0:28:13made their living.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17Hello, Graham Brown?
0:28:17 > 0:28:19A bespoke tailor of high-end suits...
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- I'm getting smaller.- Smaller?!
0:28:22 > 0:28:25..Russell works in the heart of the City of London.
0:28:25 > 0:28:26I love my trade of tailoring.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28I really am passionate about it.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31We want to find out how hard it was tailoring in the 1800s.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It'll be a great experience.
0:28:33 > 0:28:34I can't wait to do it.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35The family live in Essex,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39where mum Mandy combines a part-time job in human resources
0:28:39 > 0:28:42with looking after children James and Rebecca.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45I would like to say we spend loads of time together as a family
0:28:45 > 0:28:48but when you think about it, we don't.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52I'd just love to spend more time together, you know what I mean?
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Mandy's from a long line of Jewish tailors,
0:28:55 > 0:28:59and her family history is firmly rooted in the East End.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02For me it's just about understanding how the Victorians lived,
0:29:02 > 0:29:04how our ancestors lived.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06I really want to understand their struggles
0:29:06 > 0:29:10and spending proper time with Russell and the children,
0:29:10 > 0:29:13- and seeing how we cope.- Yes. Or not, as the case may be.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15As the case may be, yes.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17- Hello.- Hi.- Nice to meet you.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22Dr Vivian Richmond is an expert in the Victorian textile trades.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25This is Petticoat Lane.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27This is the heart of the rag trade.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Home to a street market since the 17th century,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Petticoat Lane is where generations of tailors
0:29:35 > 0:29:37have bought their raw materials.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42While West End tailors worked with expensive fabrics,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45new clothes would have been alien to the East End poor.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49So you are now in the rag trade,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53and your job will be to take these clothes away,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56and make them into something else, or to mend them.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59This stuff here, these waistcoats,
0:29:59 > 0:30:01they've been made into cloth caps.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Down here, we have some trousers.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05They don't look saveable to me.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08You're going for practicality, not aesthetics, here.
0:30:08 > 0:30:09LAUGHTER
0:30:09 > 0:30:12It's a shock. I thought I'd be doing more technical stuff,
0:30:12 > 0:30:14more making stuff or altering stuff.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19The difficulty for Jewish tailors was that in their home countries,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22they were very often highly trained, highly skilled,
0:30:22 > 0:30:25but they arrive in England with nothing,
0:30:25 > 0:30:27literally nothing, many of them.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31So they're going to be right down the bottom of the pile,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35hence doing this kind of translating work and transformatory work
0:30:35 > 0:30:36with clothing.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44By the 1860s, around 20,000 Jewish people lived in London,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47with more arriving from Europe all the time.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Almost half made their living through tailoring.
0:30:52 > 0:30:53Shocked!
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Really shocked I've been given a bunch of rags
0:30:55 > 0:30:58to try and turn into something that someone's going to buy.
0:30:58 > 0:30:59I'm horrified.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02This is a different end of the scale to what I'm used to working on.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05We normally make court dress and tail coats,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07and this stuff is just the bottom end.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09People have actually finished wearing it
0:31:09 > 0:31:12and we've got to make it for people to wear again.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14It's going to be a challenge, I think.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22Graham has been hard at work in the bell foundry.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25He's done four hours without a break.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32I never thought it'd be this physical.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34It's absolutely shattering.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39I think to finish the full day with nothing to eat this morning
0:31:39 > 0:31:42on an empty stomach is going to be really, really tough.
0:31:42 > 0:31:44I didn't realise how difficult it would be.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50What's keeping me going is the family at home.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53I've got to do it! Just got to carry on.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01- Mand?- Yeah?- The last lot,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04can we divide up the stuff into what's got to be done?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06That was what I was just going to say. It's what I've been doing.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- Trousers.- I'm already ahead of you.- Are you?- OK.
0:32:09 > 0:32:11Look, waistcoats all in this pile.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13And washing, just throw on the floor.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15- What is that?- Probably sick.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17Or they've been in a fight.
0:32:17 > 0:32:18- It's blood.- You're joking!
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Just put it in the washing.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21- And I've got to wash that?- Yes.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Russell hasn't hand-stitched anything for years,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28but although he won't have modern machines,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30he WILL have help.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32In the 21st century,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Rebecca and James go to private school.
0:32:35 > 0:32:36Here, they'll be put to work.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Do all the caps first,
0:32:38 > 0:32:40then we'll start working on the trousers.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43And the shoes, give them a polish up and a bit of cardboard at the end.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45Yes, boss.
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Rather than repaired,
0:32:46 > 0:32:51shoes were simply patched up and painted black to hide the holes.
0:32:52 > 0:32:53In my shop, I've got all the machinery,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56the correct tools for the job, all fit for purpose.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Here in the slum, they're using the bare minimum...
0:33:00 > 0:33:02..of stuff. It's all done by hand.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04It must have been really tough for them,
0:33:04 > 0:33:05as I'm finding out myself, now.
0:33:09 > 0:33:14Andy is also finding out just how hard slum work would have been.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19One little slip,
0:33:19 > 0:33:20and it's... It's ruined.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23It's absolutely ruined.
0:33:24 > 0:33:25I feel like I've failed.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28I feel like I've failed. I don't like failing at anything.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Nothing.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31But...this has beaten me.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Back in 1860, if they were disabled and doing something like this,
0:33:35 > 0:33:36they couldn't do it.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41How these guys did 600 or 1,000 of these every single day...?
0:33:42 > 0:33:43I've done seven.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46These guys did it. And if they didn't do it, they didn't eat.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48If they didn't eat, they died.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54Graham is finishing his shift.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59He's earned £10, the equivalent of a Victorian labourer's daily wage.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01- There's your wages for today. - Thank you.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Nearly enough for his £13 rent.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07- Any work tomorrow?- Be here at quarter to eight and don't be late.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09OK. Thanks.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12But after eight hours' hard labour...
0:34:15 > 0:34:16..he's on his last legs.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21- Hello.- Hi.
0:34:21 > 0:34:22- All right?- Yes.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24So? Did you get any money?
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Yes. £10.
0:34:26 > 0:34:27Amazing!
0:34:28 > 0:34:30How was your day?
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Hard work. Very hard.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35Yes. I've never worked like that before in my life.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38The hardest thing I've ever, ever done.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- Really?- Yes, the sweat was absolutely pouring off me.
0:34:41 > 0:34:42SHE GASPS
0:34:42 > 0:34:43Dripping down.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46You did well!
0:34:46 > 0:34:48THEY CHUCKLE
0:34:48 > 0:34:49Yeah.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58For everyone else, slum life is in full swing.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03Life in a Victorian slum was undoubtedly harsh,
0:35:03 > 0:35:05but it wasn't all doom and gloom.
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Teeming with people...
0:35:09 > 0:35:10Yes!
0:35:12 > 0:35:13..it was noisy...
0:35:15 > 0:35:17..filthy...
0:35:18 > 0:35:20..and smelly.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26Humans and animals lived cheek by jowl.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Every room and yard was used for work.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37The Birds are making a cheap East End classic,
0:35:37 > 0:35:38smoked kippers.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41These were often made in privies,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43an ideal makeshift smokehouse,
0:35:43 > 0:35:48with the added bonus of disguising the smell of human waste.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51I was thinking £1.20 a portion.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54I know. But we don't want to put anything more on tick, you see.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56- OK, then.- Till after market.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58- And I don't like kippers. - And he doesn't like kippers!
0:35:59 > 0:36:00KNOCKING
0:36:02 > 0:36:05- Hello, Shaz. How's it going? All right?- Yeah.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07We were going to do...
0:36:07 > 0:36:08a kipper if you wanted one.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10All right. Yeah, you can put me down. Thank you.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Okey dokey, no problem.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14See you later.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19Shaz wants to put £1.20 on the tick for one dinner?
0:36:19 > 0:36:20Yeah.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21And she's sure she wants that?
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Yep.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25You want to take the risk?
0:36:25 > 0:36:27OK, if that's what you want to do.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38- Mandy, first one finished.- Yay!
0:36:38 > 0:36:39It's really good.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41Brilliant.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45With no way of earning anything until the weekend market,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48the Howarths are keeping their debts to a minimum.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50I'm really hungry right now.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53This morning the bread we had left from the night before we gave to the
0:36:53 > 0:36:57kids, so Russell and I haven't actually eaten anything
0:36:57 > 0:36:59since yesterday evening,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02when we had a quarter of a slice of bread.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07I actually feel exhausted but we've got so much to do ready for market
0:37:07 > 0:37:09that I'm not even sure if Russell and I
0:37:09 > 0:37:11are going to have time to get to bed
0:37:11 > 0:37:14at a decent hour because we've got to get all this stuff done.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28You've no idea how good an egg sandwich can taste.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36I've got a half slice of bread with butter.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39It's good to eat, cos I'm hungry.
0:37:46 > 0:37:47It's early,
0:37:47 > 0:37:49but the Howarths have already been up and working for an hour.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52Halfway through. That's it.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55And tailor Russell has turned teacher.
0:37:55 > 0:37:56That's it. Lovely, perfect.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58- Like that?- That's it.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Too much?- That's fine.
0:38:00 > 0:38:01We've pulled together.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04He's taught me how to sew.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06He's taken the patience and the time.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08LAUGHTER
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Whereas in our real life we're so busy,
0:38:11 > 0:38:12that we're like ships in the night,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and now we've come together again,
0:38:15 > 0:38:17and actually we've realised we still do love each other
0:38:17 > 0:38:19and we still do like each other, which is great.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22It's actually quite nice the two of us just sitting here,
0:38:22 > 0:38:24- just sewing.- Yeah.
0:38:29 > 0:38:30I've got to stand up, I'm sorry.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33- Why are you standing up? - I've got to.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Upstairs, things aren't going so well for the Potters.
0:38:39 > 0:38:40Graham's back has seized up,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43and there's no way he'll be able to go back to work
0:38:43 > 0:38:44at the bell foundry.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50Their only other potential income is from the matchboxes,
0:38:50 > 0:38:52which is unlikely to pay the rent.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56I've made one, two, three, four, five, six.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58They take a whole day to dry.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02No, it's just not going to happen.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04In the 1860s,
0:39:04 > 0:39:05the loss of the main breadwinner
0:39:05 > 0:39:09accounted for nearly two-thirds of families forced to seek help
0:39:09 > 0:39:11from the Victorian authorities.
0:39:12 > 0:39:19What is enlightening is how quickly your situation can change.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22Dad can't work today cos he's injured.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25And the matchboxes were a bit of a failure.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27We've got to start thinking
0:39:27 > 0:39:31how we're going to find the next few pennies.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38The family is in dire straits.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42They've no option left but to send the children out to work.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45I'm confident that we'll get the rest of the rent today.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47Yeah, I'm confident you will as well.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Oh, she's amazing.
0:39:50 > 0:39:51Good girl.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Heather and Olivia are going to bunch and sell watercress.
0:39:57 > 0:39:59Now we know how much we have to earn,
0:39:59 > 0:40:03I'm just determined to get that much money and I think we will.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Children were considered economically viable
0:40:08 > 0:40:11by the age of seven or eight,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14and were as important to the East End workforce as their parents.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Places like Covent Garden, Victorian London's main fruit and veg market,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23were filled with street sellers, many of them children.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29Watercress was a popular street food that could be bought for pennies
0:40:29 > 0:40:31and sold for a slim profit.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Excuse me, would you like to buy any watercress?
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Their working day would have begun as early as 4am,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42and gone on for up to 16 hours.
0:40:42 > 0:40:43Watercress.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Ninepence a bunch.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46- There you go.- Thank you so much.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48- Thank you.- Bye-bye!
0:40:50 > 0:40:51So good.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53I'm doing this at uni, the 1800s.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55Are you?
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Hi. Excuse me?
0:40:56 > 0:40:58Would you like to buy any watercress?
0:40:59 > 0:41:01- Thank you.- Cheers.
0:41:01 > 0:41:03It must have been hard seeing your children go out
0:41:03 > 0:41:05and knowing they've got to do this.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- Is that all right?- Perfect.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09'It makes me feel angry,'
0:41:09 > 0:41:14because if it was snowing and there weren't many people out,
0:41:14 > 0:41:16you just had to do it anyway.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19We've done really well. We've got a little bit of money to take back.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21Whoa. Look at that.
0:41:21 > 0:41:22I know, you've done really well!
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Back at the slum...
0:41:29 > 0:41:33..Shaz and the twins have been making fancy boxes all day.
0:41:34 > 0:41:35She'll be paid at the end of the week
0:41:35 > 0:41:39for each box which meets the required standard.
0:41:39 > 0:41:41- How are you?- I'm good, thank you.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43- I've come for some soup.- Right.
0:41:43 > 0:41:44How did your boxes sell?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46I haven't sold any yet.
0:41:46 > 0:41:49- We've been making them. - Oh, it's hard work, isn't it?
0:41:49 > 0:41:53- Yes, it is. Yes.- What I'm trying to do is get a grip, as you can see,
0:41:53 > 0:41:55with how much we've put on the tick so far.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58- All right, OK.- And how much we can really lay out again
0:41:58 > 0:42:00until everybody starts getting paid.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04I'm hoping that we'll be able to sell all the boxes
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- so we should be able to pay off the debt.- Right.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08- Hi. How are you?- Good evening.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13- I'm fine, thank you.- We can do one cup of broth on top of this,
0:42:13 > 0:42:15but I really can't go much further than that.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17We're really going to need to be careful from now on.
0:42:17 > 0:42:18Right, OK. Yes.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22With their own rent due at the end of the week,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24the Birds are wrestling with their responsibilities.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28You know, we'll have to keep our eye on them
0:42:28 > 0:42:30and see what they make today,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32and hopefully they can move those goods.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Yeah, but this is the sort of thing that would have happened a lot.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39- Yes.- A single mum with two children.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42They have to eat and they have to have the wherewithal to make money.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46How do you... What if they can't pay at the end?
0:42:46 > 0:42:47What do you do?
0:42:49 > 0:42:50Don't know.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- Hello?- Come on.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59The Potter girls are back from Covent Garden.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01We got £10.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04- No!- Good work.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07- We can pay our rent now. - I think you've done really well.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10To get £10, that's made me feel...
0:43:11 > 0:43:12..a little bit easier.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Much better, much better.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16You've done good, missus.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Good evening, Potters, how are you?
0:43:20 > 0:43:23The family celebrate with their first hot food in days.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25We've got some soup on today,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27which hopefully you would like to purchase.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29We made £10 selling cress.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31£10? That's nice to know.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34So would you like to pay up tonight what you already owe?
0:43:34 > 0:43:36We haven't brought any money down with us.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38You're more than welcome to go and get it.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Paying off their tick has cost the Potters £7.96,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47putting them short of their rent once more.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54I think that's a circle you can't get out of
0:43:54 > 0:43:57because these things just happen,
0:43:57 > 0:44:00and that's the ongoing misery,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02because at the end of the day,
0:44:02 > 0:44:06you know you've got to wake up into it again the next morning
0:44:06 > 0:44:07and it's another fight, then, to survive.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20It's market day.
0:44:24 > 0:44:25There we go.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32We went to bed quite late last night
0:44:32 > 0:44:35and then we were up early again this morning
0:44:35 > 0:44:37because time is money, and I'm shattered.
0:44:37 > 0:44:39So unbelievably tired.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41What we've got finished is what we can sell
0:44:41 > 0:44:44and we have to make rent and we have to pay the grocer.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46Got quite a bit to get done.
0:44:46 > 0:44:47Mandy's working on the shoes.
0:44:47 > 0:44:48I'm working on the caps.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50I've got some alterations to do afterwards.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51Hopefully we'll sell it.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54We haven't eaten yet. Actually, it's non-negotiable.
0:44:54 > 0:44:56You just give the children the food
0:44:56 > 0:44:59and I'm sure my ancestors would have been more concerned
0:44:59 > 0:45:01for my grandparents.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03To be fair, they were successful in that,
0:45:03 > 0:45:07because my mum had a very nice life and I've got a very nice life,
0:45:07 > 0:45:11so what they sacrificed there, to work so hard and install all that,
0:45:11 > 0:45:13has paid off. It's just a shame they're not here to see it.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14Sorry!
0:45:14 > 0:45:15SHE LAUGHS
0:45:15 > 0:45:16Sorry.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18SHE SOBS
0:45:25 > 0:45:27Sorry. That came all of a sudden.
0:45:27 > 0:45:28Sorry.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30SHE CHUCKLES
0:45:31 > 0:45:33I wish they could be here to see me do this.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37At least they know that I understood what they go through.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40I just need a tissue.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42We haven't got a tissue. Some old lining.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Some old lining.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46SHE LAUGHS
0:45:46 > 0:45:47This'll do.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51You're not going to use that, are you? Not going to shout at me.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53No, you can use that piece.
0:45:53 > 0:45:54This time!
0:45:56 > 0:45:57OK, I need to get on.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05Andy's preparing the doss-house
0:46:05 > 0:46:08in the hope he'll soon have paying customers.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12So far he's earned nothing, and it's taking its toll.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15I'm starving. I've got some lunch.
0:46:17 > 0:46:18What I saved...
0:46:20 > 0:46:21..from yesterday.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23From my sandwich last night.
0:46:24 > 0:46:25Little bit of fluff.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30But I don't want to get into too much debt,
0:46:30 > 0:46:31and that's what's worrying me.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It's making me a bit emotional, to be honest.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36HE SNIFFS
0:46:36 > 0:46:37Sorry.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41I really don't know how they survived.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44This whole experience is massively humbling.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48When you think you've got it hard, and you haven't.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59It's payday for the pieceworkers,
0:46:59 > 0:47:02who would have hand-delivered finished goods to the factories.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04See you later, guys.
0:47:04 > 0:47:05- Bye.- See you later.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08Wages were low and standards high.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11Any products that didn't make the grade would be rejected.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Most of Shaz's boxes weren't up to scratch.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17She's only made £2.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19I don't think it will cover my rent
0:47:19 > 0:47:22and I don't think I'll be able to pay off my food debt.
0:47:22 > 0:47:23I feel really low.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26It's really grinding me down, now.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29- I couldn't imagine living like this forever.- No.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33It's unliveable.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37The Potters, too, have been paid the going rate
0:47:37 > 0:47:40for the 25 matchboxes they did manage to make.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42You'll never guess how much we got.
0:47:42 > 0:47:43SHE LAUGHS
0:47:45 > 0:47:46- We got one pence! - LAUGHTER
0:47:48 > 0:47:49So we've got market day today.
0:47:49 > 0:47:50We've got kippers.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52We've got kippers, we've got two lots of soap.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56With their customers hard up,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58even the shopkeepers are feeling the pinch.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02It looks like the market is becoming more and more important for us
0:48:02 > 0:48:05to be able to earn enough to pay our rent.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08Everybody's being very conservative with what they're buying from us.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11We haven't sold very much so that is going to make or break us, I think,
0:48:11 > 0:48:12at this point.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20The weekend market was crucial,
0:48:20 > 0:48:23before rent day came round on Monday.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27It's 9p for a bunch, or we're selling four bunches for 34p.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33From leftover food to second-hand shoes...
0:48:34 > 0:48:39..these markets were a way to turn any meagre assets into cash.
0:48:39 > 0:48:41What are we on? One or two?
0:48:41 > 0:48:42- Two, two cabbages.- That's...
0:48:42 > 0:48:46The Birds are trying to shift their surplus stock.
0:48:46 > 0:48:47This has got tallow in it.
0:48:47 > 0:48:49Yes, this has got tallow in it.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52The Potters are hoping to scrape together the rest of their rent
0:48:52 > 0:48:54from the last of the watercress.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56It's looking a little bit dry, now.
0:48:58 > 0:48:59- These are handmade.- How much?
0:48:59 > 0:49:02£3.40, thank you.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04And after a week of hard work,
0:49:04 > 0:49:07it's been the Howarths' first chance to earn.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12I actually ironed this with a proper old hot iron.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14Thank you so much. That's really kind of you. Thank you.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17These are all hand-stitched, handmade from waistcoats.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20Lovely. I think cos, like, East London
0:49:20 > 0:49:22you forget it was a working-class area.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24Obviously a lot of people have moved in now
0:49:24 > 0:49:26and it's all up-and-coming and like trendy,
0:49:26 > 0:49:28which is all we know of it.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30You forget that actually this was how it started.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35It's just really interesting how they lived
0:49:35 > 0:49:38and the struggles they had day-to-day. What amazed me...
0:49:38 > 0:49:41They've got to think of their rent first before they can eat.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Come on, miss, I've got to eat tonight!
0:49:44 > 0:49:45£3.40.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48I felt a little bit...sad.
0:49:48 > 0:49:55It made me think how lucky we are, and we take so much for granted.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Five, yes. Thank you very much.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00- I hope it helps you.- I'm not going to haggle you for the price.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02Cheers, mate. Cheers, thanks.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04Nice!
0:50:04 > 0:50:06As the market draws to a close,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08everyone is counting up,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11ready for tomorrow's reckoning with the rent man.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14- 15, 16...- ALL: Yes!
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Rent's paid!
0:50:16 > 0:50:17I've never been so happy.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20No, I know. As a family together achieving something like that
0:50:20 > 0:50:22- is just amazing.- It's been immense.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24It's been absolutely immense.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29So we've got £33.13.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31- Rent covered.- Just!- Just!
0:50:31 > 0:50:33Well done.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34THEY CHUCKLE
0:50:35 > 0:50:37- That is close, though. - It is, isn't it?
0:50:37 > 0:50:38Yeah.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40It looks quite a bit there.
0:50:40 > 0:50:41Yeah, we did really well.
0:50:41 > 0:50:4560, 70, 80, 90.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47£1.56, we've got.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48That's brilliant!
0:50:48 > 0:50:50Well done. Well done.
0:50:50 > 0:50:51That's excellent.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53- We've had a really good day, haven't we?- We have.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55I feel triumphant.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57What does that mean?
0:50:57 > 0:50:59- Victorious.- Oh.
0:50:59 > 0:51:02Between them, the five members of the Potter family
0:51:02 > 0:51:03have covered their rent.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07But they're not sure everyone's doing so well.
0:51:07 > 0:51:1180p, £2, £2.40.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Shaz next door, we're not sure about her rent.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17I'm worried about Shaz, yeah.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21I really felt for her, I thought she looked really tired and worn out.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23This morning she looked, yeah.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25I think it's been really hard for her.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37In the East End,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39rent day was known as Black Monday.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Keeping a roof over your head depended entirely on
0:51:44 > 0:51:46whether you could settle up.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51If the slum-dwellers fail to pay rent collector Andy,
0:51:51 > 0:51:54he could evict them from their rooms.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57It's a horrible feeling to have to say to someone,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59I'm going to have to take this off you.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01It is going to be really, really hard.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Andy can also earn money by running the doss-house,
0:52:04 > 0:52:06if there's anyone in it.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08These are just narrow mattresses
0:52:08 > 0:52:11that I've got to fill with straw to use as padding.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13And then that goes into the coffin beds that I've made.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15And then people can come and sleep in that
0:52:15 > 0:52:18if they want, for the princely sum of 4p.
0:52:18 > 0:52:19But I'm hoping they do cos...
0:52:19 > 0:52:21that's where I'm going to make my money.
0:52:22 > 0:52:23I'm absolutely starving.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28How we doing, guys?
0:52:28 > 0:52:32- You all right? Possibly your least favourite day of the week.- Yes!
0:52:32 > 0:52:33As the Howarths have shown,
0:52:33 > 0:52:35some could succeed in the slums.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39They've paid their bill at the shop and their rent.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42They'll eat something other than bread tonight,
0:52:42 > 0:52:45and they'll have money left over for the week ahead.
0:52:45 > 0:52:46Really well done. You deserve it.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48- So there you go.- You deserve it.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50Relief, relief, relief.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52- Cheerio.- See you later.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56- First rent paid.- First rent paid.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58How was the day at market for you?
0:52:58 > 0:52:59It was OK.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03With some customers having paid off their tick, and modest sales,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05the Birds scrape together their rent.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07- Perfect.- Thank you very much!
0:53:10 > 0:53:12You counted it all out by your fair hands yourself, have you?
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- Yeah.- Perfect.
0:53:14 > 0:53:15The Potters, too,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18end their first week JUST free of debt.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- All right, take care, guys.- See you next week.- Take care. Bye-bye.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23In the 1860s,
0:53:23 > 0:53:27anyone who failed to pay their rent faced either the doss-house,
0:53:27 > 0:53:28the workhouse,
0:53:28 > 0:53:29or the street.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Shaz's below-par piecework has left her with almost nothing.
0:53:36 > 0:53:37- Hi.- Hello.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41OK, so we were looking for £8.16 today.
0:53:41 > 0:53:42Is that going to be OK for you?
0:53:42 > 0:53:44No, I can pay £2.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46- £2?- Yeah.
0:53:46 > 0:53:47OK.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51This puts me in a horrible...
0:53:52 > 0:53:54..horrible position.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56So one way I can resolve this...
0:53:57 > 0:54:00..is to ask you guys to leave.
0:54:00 > 0:54:02Mm-hm.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05And to put you up in the doss-house.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09Now, I don't want to do that.
0:54:09 > 0:54:10I really don't.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14I mean, obviously, you're nowhere near the rent.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16And you've got tick in the shop.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19If you have money in two days,
0:54:19 > 0:54:24I would like a proportion of that to come back off your rent.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26If you're happy to do that, then that's what we'll do.
0:54:26 > 0:54:27- Mm-hm. OK.- OK?
0:54:29 > 0:54:31- OK.- All right, then, thank you.
0:54:31 > 0:54:32No problems.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37When I first found out I was going to be the rent collector,
0:54:37 > 0:54:39it was, aha, what fun!
0:54:39 > 0:54:42I get to go round and take money off these people
0:54:42 > 0:54:44and if they ain't got the money I'm going to kick them out!
0:54:44 > 0:54:46And I'm running the doss-house.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49Yeah, it's not like that in real life.
0:54:49 > 0:54:50That was...tough, with Shaz.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55I thought I'd be able to accomplish something but obviously I've been...
0:54:57 > 0:55:00..I've been defeated, I think that's the word, by society,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02or the era that I'm living in.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04It's just, I'm just in a vicious circle, here.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08I'm not giving up just yet. There's still a bit of fight in me left.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15It's the end of the residents' first week of 19th-century slum life.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Living here during Victorian times
0:55:18 > 0:55:21would have been tough and unpredictable.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24Work was harsh, wages often appallingly low.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27And yet, as our slum-dwellers have shown,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30somehow, people found a way to survive.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Being at the top of the pecking order within the slum,
0:55:35 > 0:55:39I do feel torn between wanting to help people,
0:55:39 > 0:55:40and not help them.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45Shaz worries me a little bit because we'll probably lose money on her.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47So all I can say from that is,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50next time I'll try and be a bit more astute.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53And, I don't know, not give her so much.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55People in the Victorian East End, you know,
0:55:55 > 0:55:59they didn't make the choices they did because they wanted to.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01It was because they had to.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03You know? And they were faced with life and death choices
0:56:03 > 0:56:05that we don't get faced with today.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08HE SIGHS DEEPLY
0:56:11 > 0:56:15Day after day, week after week, generation after generation,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17this is pretty much what their life was like.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20This cycle of poverty that they lived in.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22I think life is on a knife-edge all the time
0:56:22 > 0:56:23in this sort of environment,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25because you can't earn enough money
0:56:25 > 0:56:27to be able to put things away for next week
0:56:27 > 0:56:29because you've got to survive.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32You've got to buy stuff. We need to start building up the strength again
0:56:32 > 0:56:34to be able to carry on next week,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37and again, start to get the rent.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39I'm just really happy that we managed to do it
0:56:39 > 0:56:43and we won't be going into the doss-house. Not today!
0:56:43 > 0:56:44THEY LAUGH
0:56:44 > 0:56:45Not today!
0:56:48 > 0:56:50That's what happens when you work hard.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52You get pies!
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Before your ancestors, they were just names.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59But now actually living what they went through, it's insane.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Like, this is relentless.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05You have to have... You have to be so resilient to do this,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08and they must have been the strongest people out there.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13The slum, it looks miserable, it stinks, it's everything you could...
0:57:13 > 0:57:16Everything you imagine is the slum.
0:57:16 > 0:57:18What you can't see
0:57:18 > 0:57:21is the sense of happiness and community that's here.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25We're just together, all of us together.
0:57:25 > 0:57:26It's great.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31The first hot food we've really had.
0:57:31 > 0:57:32It's really nice.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34I thought we had a bad time.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39I grew up in the 1950s, and we didn't have any money.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42But this is a whole different situation.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47I will never say that I lived in poverty again, ever.
0:57:47 > 0:57:48Because I didn't.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Because this is poverty.
0:57:54 > 0:57:55Next time...
0:57:56 > 0:57:58..it's the 1870s.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Nice, isn't it? Look.
0:58:00 > 0:58:01And a new decade...
0:58:01 > 0:58:0422 pairs of trousers.
0:58:04 > 0:58:05- Oh, my God.- When's it due?
0:58:05 > 0:58:07..demands a whole new workforce...
0:58:07 > 0:58:09He treats us like employees, not family.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11..until an economic nosedive...
0:58:11 > 0:58:12I have nothing.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14I'm not taking the food out of their mouths to feed her children.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16In you come.
0:58:16 > 0:58:17..and new arrivals...
0:58:17 > 0:58:19- Got any work today? - The young fellow, I can take him.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21..push some to the edge.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Nothing to eat, terrible.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25It's great. The Irish are moving up.