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Blists Hill Victorian Town in Shropshire

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revives the sights, sounds and smells
of the 1 9th century.

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Good morning.

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At its heart stands the pharmacy -

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a treasure house of potions and remedies
from a century and a half ago.

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Now, in a unique experiment,
historian Ruth Goodman,

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professor of pharmacy Nick Barber,
and PhD student Tom Quick

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have opened the doors
to the Victorian pharmacy,

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recreating a high street institution
we take for granted,

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but which was once a novel idea.

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They're bringing the pharmacy to life,

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sourcing ingredients,
mixing potions and dispensing cures.

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But in an age
when skin creams contained arsenic

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and cold medicines were based on opium,

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the team need to be highly selective.

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They're only trying out safe versions
of traditional remedies

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on carefully selected customers.

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Woah!

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The start was like the Wild West.
People didn't know what was good and bad.

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Get a bit of speed up. Oh, there we go, yeah.

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The pharmacy was something that affected
everybody's lives in one way or another.

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They're discovering an age of social change

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that brought health care within the reach
of ordinary people for the very first time,

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heralding a consumer revolution
that reached far beyond medicine

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to create the model for the modern
high street chemist as we know it today.

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So far, after a grand opening,

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the pharmacy team have made the transition

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from the traditional remedies
of the early 1 9th century

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to the birth of new scientific advances.

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Now they're taking on the medical and
commercial challenges of the 1 850s and 1 860s.

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- Hello, there.
- As promised.

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Professor Barber's Miracletts.

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ln the mid 1 9th century,

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overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions
had reached their peak,

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leading to unprecedented outbreaks of diseases
like cholera and tuberculosis.

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Desperate for cures, people turned to
the pharmacies as never before.

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l mean, this is the point
when public health is at its worst.

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Perhaps of all the time in Britain,

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the 1 850s is the very, very worst,
the most scary time of all.

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There are a whole series of infectious diseases -
cholera, scarlet fever,

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typhus, typhoid, influenza -

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all of them killing people right left and centre.

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Measles.

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What you get as well is sort of a new fear.

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lt must have been a really scary time, actually.

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And you would just reach out for anything,
wouldn't you?

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Anything that offered any sort of hope.

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With medical science
struggling to provide viable treatments,

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and people looking for miracles,

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new commercial opportunities beckoned.

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People were really worried
about these diseases

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and they were prepared to spend money.

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The pharmacy's a business
so there need to be medicines

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which either cure, or are believed to cure,
the diseases which are there.

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ln the spirit of experimentation,

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they developed creative new remedies
for the health crisis,

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one of which aimed to solve everybody's
problems in one go - cure-all medicines.

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Do l need to have separate medicines
for each thing?

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No, we can come up with a cure-all,

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which will make you better
whatever's wrong with you, almost.

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They addressed the public's fears and brought
people clamouring to the pharmacy.

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lt's got to solve people's problems, really.

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They were seen as a viable means of treatment.

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The team are going to make
their very own Victorian-style cure-all.

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Ruth and Tom are setting out to determine
the level of customer demand for their product.

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- Morning!
- Morning.

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Hi, there. My name's Tom. This is Ruth.

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- My name's Tom.
- Nice to meet you.

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We're from the pharmacy just up the road.

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We're sort of on a bit of a market research
sort of...

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Thought so.

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We're looking for people who might have
something wrong with them, of any sort, really.

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l've got quite a few.

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l do have a small sty here on my eyelid.

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- Oh, yeah, l see.
- lt doesn't seem to go away.

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Working with sewerage as well, l tend to
get septicaemia quite a lot, cos l burn myself.

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My back is absolutely killing me.

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l've got a burn there, which is in an open joint,
moveable joint, which takes some healing up.

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- And then quite a nasty one on my elbow.
RUTH: Oh, that's really horrid, that is.

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l've had a sore throat for a couple of months.
Had quite bad tonsillitis.

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And the other thing, my knees.

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Knees. They swell up.

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And then, of course,

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there's anything you can do with baldness
would be appreciated.

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With potential customers lined up,

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Nick needs to decide on the ingredients
for their medicine.

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Briony Hudson, curator of
the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Museum,

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has brought him some examples
of genuine cure-alls for inspiration.

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Some of the really big sellers are things like...
Let's have a look at them.

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l guess Beecham's pills here.

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Thomas Beecham
went round the markets in Lancashire,

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selling pills that gradually got more and more
popular, hit the national market.

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So he was a really big name.

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We've got Holloway's pills.

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Thomas Holloway, who styled himself
as a professor, no medical background,

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but absolutely hit the big time,

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was making so much money,
he died a millionaire.

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Did people know what was in them?

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Could they say what was in it, like you can now,
and, ''l don't like that,'' or...

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No, not at all. Part of the mystery,
and perhaps part of the appeal,

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was that they were what were called
secret remedies.

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So there was absolutely nothing in law
that meant you had to reveal what was in them.

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They didn't have to reveal any scientific basis

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to a claim that they could cure
this massive list of diseases.

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How many would people take?

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Were they a sort of a one-a-day
or a one-a-week sort of minimalist thing?

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Some you would want to say
just when you were ill,

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but a lot of these, no, you really did want to
encourage people to take a regime of many.

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Morison's is a really good example.

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People were taking up to 1 ,000 of the pills
a week.

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And in the 1 830s,
the first case of someone dying.

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Clearly a very serious issue.

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You had to trust your pharmacist,
or trust the advertising,

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or trust the person that recommended it to you,

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that they wouldn't do you harm
and they would do you good.

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Ruth and Tom are making headway,
gaining trust from their potential customers.

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We're coming up with a kind of concoction
that would have been considered a cure-all.

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They're a sort of medicine that,
that would cure a whole range of things.

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l certainly think that these pills should...
Well, they're designed to help you.

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- Everything?
- Yeah, a general tonic for your body, so yeah.

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- Would you be happy taking them?
- Yeah.

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- Yes.
- That'll be great.

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l'm willing to try everything.

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lf you can stop it growing out my ears
and up me nose and put a bit on my head,

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that'd be lovely.

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With a growing number of ailments to treat,
Nick wants to find an authentic formula.

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Fortunately, although these remedies
were secret at the time,

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a book was later published
by the British Medical Association

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revealing the hidden contents
of popular cure-all brands.

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So this is Secret Remedies.

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''What They Cost And What They Contain.''

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So what they were aiming to do
is spelt out on the cover.

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A lot of them have things like senna,
aloes, liquorice, rhubarb, that sort of thing.

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Most of them were laxatives.
And so they did have an effect.

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People would think, ''lt's working in me,
cos l can feel there's an effect.''

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One example, the wonderful titled
''Pink Pills For Pale People'', which is great.

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They were claiming, as with all of these things,
they could treat a really wide range of diseases.

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l really like the advert that says,

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''..the dark days of dyspepsia...Doctor Williams'
pink pills go to the very cause of the mischief.''

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lf you look at the ingredients...

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nothing particularly worrying.

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Certainly got liquorice in there,
got sugar in there.

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Along with sulphate of iron
and potassium carbonate,

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but l don't think anything
that would have done anyone great harm.

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Or great good, either, for that matter.

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Today, it's hard not to be sceptical
about the ingredients of cure-alls,

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but in the mid 1 9th century,
many people genuinely didn't know any better.

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There was little scientific understanding
of the cause of disease.

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Nobody knew - in our everyday terms now -
what really worked and what didn't.

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Through into the middle Victorian times,

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people believed that infections and disease
often came from decaying matter,

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and that this raised up an invisible gas
which they would call a miasma.

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The miasma theory of disease

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believed that the disease was spread
by evil clouds of bad-smelling air.

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People said,
''Well, obviously these new diseases,

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they are caused by the evil miasmas.
Wherever there is stink, there is illness.''

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And they believed it was the same miasma
for everything -

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the same one for cholera as influenza -

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but your body, your constitution,
would react to that miasma in a different way.

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And that's what would give you
the disease state.

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lf they had flatulence, or diarrhoea,

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they didn't know
whether it was the start of cholera or not.

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So that's when they'd take their cure-alls.

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They'd take it to nip the disease in the bud
and stop it progressing.

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With their thinking rooted in
false scientific theory,

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pharmacists were inadvertently
misleading the public.

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Pharmacists in the 1 850s
are somewhere between

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the quacks on the one hand
who are just out there selling things

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which they knew were pointless,

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and the scientists who were researching things.

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And they'd be selling things
which people believed would work,

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but they had to make a living out of it as well.

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The pressure to make money was very real.

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Records show that
in the middle of the 1 9th century

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about 1 00 pharmacies
went bankrupt every year.

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Shops opened six days a week,
often from 8am to 1 1 pm.

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The staff worked even longer hours -
preparing the shop in the morning for business,

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and catching up with the day's prescriptions
and accounts at night.

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Organising their expensive stock
was another time-consuming priority.

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Poor storage or overstocking
could put their whole business at risk.

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Supplies come in quite regularly in batches.

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And the things have to be stored properly.

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lt's no good putting herbs down in the cellar,
for example. They'd get damp.

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They're better off being decanted
into the drawers here

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where the atmosphere is dry,
and people are opening the doors regularly.

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So you're getting plenty of air supply
through them.

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Looking after the things is, in some ways,

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as important a part of
a pharmacist's stock in trade -

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knowing how to care for things
so that they don't lose their potency.

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l don't like having the senna pods in a glass jar

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because the light fades them
and starts to break down their properties.

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So they're better off being stored in the drawers.

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Really useful stuff, senna pods.

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One of the most effective
of the herbal laxatives.

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l'll make sure l put these back in the right places.

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l really love this,
having loads of stuff all stashed up.

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lt's really sort of... l don't know.
The magpie in me.

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And, of course, should l get ill,
everything l might possibly need is here.

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As a 21 st-century pharmacist,

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Nick is struggling to select the ingredients
for his 1 9th-century cure-all.

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We know that one set of ingredients
is not going to cure all ailments.

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So what l've got to do
is put my modern knowledge behind me

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and try and find something which is authentic,
which will have an effect on the body,

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but also we need to make sure it's really safe.

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He turns to his pharmacy's prescription book -

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a log of preparations
doctors had requested for their patients,

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which were administered by the pharmacy.

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A lot of people couldn't afford to use the doctor,

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but these cure-alls were sometimes
prescriptions which the doctors used.

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They sort of cut out the middle man.

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People could get access
to these doctor's medicines

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by just going to the pharmacist
and purchasing them over the counter.

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Here, Nick finds inspiration for his formula

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and finally decides on a variety
of perfectly safe ingredients.

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He's showing Tom how to turn his formula,
or recipe, into their first batch of pills -

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enough for 20 customers.

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l've got a secret recipe.

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- What are we putting in these?
- That's secret.

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But l'll tell you, cos you're an apprentice
and need to know.

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What l've got is some soap powder.
Acts as a laxative.

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They actually used quite a lot in Victorian days.

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Some liquorice roots going in.

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Helps people cough, and it can protect
the stomach as well, if people have ulcers.

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l'm grinding them together now, nicely.

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And then we've just got one more thing to add,
which is rhubarb, ground rhubarb root.

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lt's a laxative. So, actually,
two of these ingredients are laxative.

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What we've got to do now is bind this together.

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So a little glucose syrup.
A little bit at a time. Just...

229
00:14:09,927 --> 00:14:12,361
lt's quite a laborious process, isn't it?

230
00:14:12,407 --> 00:14:18,039
lt's kind of, the sort of thing you can imagine
an apprentice like me having to do quite a lot,

231
00:14:18,087 --> 00:14:20,601
just standing there, pestle and mortar.

232
00:14:20,647 --> 00:14:23,002
You'd have a good right arm, l can tell you.

233
00:14:23,767 --> 00:14:25,962
lt's worth the effort, l can assure you!

234
00:14:26,167 --> 00:14:28,886
So l suppose the main cost is man hours
if anything.

235
00:14:28,927 --> 00:14:32,636
On average, the price charged forjust one pill

236
00:14:32,687 --> 00:14:35,121
would have covered the cost
of making over 200.

237
00:14:35,167 --> 00:14:36,885
Coming together nicely now.

238
00:14:36,927 --> 00:14:39,122
They sold in massive quantities,

239
00:14:39,167 --> 00:14:43,240
despite having what we now know
were very modest healing properties.

240
00:14:43,967 --> 00:14:47,403
lf you give people a sugar-coated pill
and they think it's a medicine,

241
00:14:47,447 --> 00:14:51,599
you can get a 20% to 30% recovery rate
in some conditions.

242
00:14:52,287 --> 00:14:56,200
The power of the mind to heal is quite amazing.

243
00:14:57,527 --> 00:15:00,917
And this is just beginning to thicken now
at the bottom here.

244
00:15:03,887 --> 00:15:10,884
l think this is quite a nice situation to be in,
watching the pharmacist so hard at work!

245
00:15:12,767 --> 00:15:15,964
l'm doing something wrong somewhere.
l'm not sure what it is.

246
00:15:16,007 --> 00:15:17,520
No, l'm learning a lot.

247
00:15:17,567 --> 00:15:19,956
Just a little bit more on the crumbly bits.

248
00:15:20,687 --> 00:15:25,238
All that powder just gradually comes together
into this sort of cake.

249
00:15:25,287 --> 00:15:27,755
lf my calculations are correct!

250
00:15:29,607 --> 00:15:31,245
A cheesecake base, isn't it?

251
00:15:31,287 --> 00:15:34,404
(Nick laughs) Yes.
l don't think it'll taste as good, though.

252
00:15:34,447 --> 00:15:37,837
Shall we have a go at
actually rolling some pills, then?

253
00:15:37,887 --> 00:15:40,447
Yeah, it is now one mass.

254
00:15:40,487 --> 00:15:43,957
The pharmacy has a brass and mahogany
pill-making machine

255
00:15:44,007 --> 00:15:46,885
which Tom's getting his hands on
for the first time.

256
00:15:46,927 --> 00:15:51,796
So what l need to do here is sort of break off
a bit and make it into a sausage, don't l?

257
00:15:51,847 --> 00:15:53,166
That's right.

258
00:15:53,207 --> 00:15:55,004
Before this machine was invented,

259
00:15:55,047 --> 00:15:59,325
the pill mass was rolled out by hand
and cut to size with a spatula.

260
00:15:59,367 --> 00:16:01,642
Roll it down into a long, thin sausage.

261
00:16:01,687 --> 00:16:06,124
This is a piece of advanced kit, making sure
you got the same dosage for everyone,

262
00:16:06,167 --> 00:16:10,319
because it standardises the size
of each little pill coming out.

263
00:16:10,367 --> 00:16:11,846
That is looking good.

264
00:16:12,527 --> 00:16:16,725
Ah, no, still a bit too much, though.
Oh, no, look! Flattened the thing.

265
00:16:16,767 --> 00:16:18,803
You don't need a lot for this at all, do you?

266
00:16:18,847 --> 00:16:21,680
Now we just sort of roll it across these bits,
yeah?

267
00:16:21,727 --> 00:16:23,206
- Yeah.
- This way round?

268
00:16:23,967 --> 00:16:26,925
The brass grooves are designed
to cut a spherical pill.

269
00:16:26,967 --> 00:16:29,083
Push back and forth a few times.

270
00:16:29,127 --> 00:16:30,685
That's it.

271
00:16:30,727 --> 00:16:32,797
Get your body into it.

272
00:16:33,607 --> 00:16:36,360
And we have lots of kind of slug-like pellets.

273
00:16:37,127 --> 00:16:41,086
Try and make them look a bit better
with this pill-rounding device.

274
00:16:45,767 --> 00:16:48,042
They do look horribly like rabbit droppings.

275
00:16:48,087 --> 00:16:50,965
TOM: l think we needed to have
slightly stickier pills.

276
00:16:51,007 --> 00:16:52,201
Hm.

277
00:16:52,247 --> 00:16:53,965
Appearance was key.

278
00:16:54,007 --> 00:16:58,956
They had to look like they were going to work
even if the main ingredient was soap powder.

279
00:16:59,007 --> 00:17:03,478
Some pharmacists even coated pills
for their wealthier customers in silver leaf

280
00:17:03,527 --> 00:17:06,883
to increase their desirability - and their price.

281
00:17:06,927 --> 00:17:09,441
How many thousand have we got to make?

282
00:17:09,487 --> 00:17:12,877
So, if we're doing 50 pills in a box...

283
00:17:12,927 --> 00:17:14,918
and a box a week for a patient.

284
00:17:14,967 --> 00:17:18,039
- Right, 20 people.
- 20 boxes a week.

285
00:17:18,087 --> 00:17:21,443
So that's er...1 ,000 pills.

286
00:17:22,167 --> 00:17:23,680
We've just nearly done 50.

287
00:17:24,367 --> 00:17:28,565
As apprentice, it'll be Tom'sjob
to make the rest of the pills.

288
00:17:28,607 --> 00:17:31,280
lt'll take about three days to do it.

289
00:17:37,007 --> 00:17:38,998
(Chopping)

290
00:17:40,567 --> 00:17:43,764
ln the kitchen,
Ruth is making a remedy for Bill Jones,

291
00:17:43,807 --> 00:17:46,037
the plumber who complained of hair loss.

292
00:17:48,047 --> 00:17:52,837
Herbalist Eleanor Gallia has come to show Ruth
how to make Macassar hair oil.

293
00:17:52,887 --> 00:17:58,120
lts recipe came from Macassar in lndia,
giving it exotic connotations.

294
00:17:58,167 --> 00:18:02,240
But most British pharmacists
used ingredients from closer to home.

295
00:18:02,287 --> 00:18:09,363
l've got here the European alkanet,
which sort of produces a hugely effective dye.

296
00:18:09,407 --> 00:18:11,398
Just look at that.

297
00:18:11,447 --> 00:18:14,564
You've got the fresh,
you've got the native British.

298
00:18:15,367 --> 00:18:18,962
So if you look there,
can you see the glistening there?

299
00:18:19,007 --> 00:18:22,204
Yeah, you can, can't you?
lt's really quite pretty.

300
00:18:22,247 --> 00:18:24,158
lt's beautiful. Really beautiful.

301
00:18:24,207 --> 00:18:26,437
- Yeah, there's a sort of...
- Gooey-ness.

302
00:18:26,487 --> 00:18:31,925
lt's weeping a gooey, sort of sticky sap,
that'll help coat the hair.

303
00:18:31,967 --> 00:18:35,437
- And make it easier to comb and...
- Yeah. Act like a conditioner.

304
00:18:35,487 --> 00:18:39,196
Absolutely. And nourish the scalp as well,
moisturise the scalp.

305
00:18:39,247 --> 00:18:44,321
Victorians didn't have a proper understanding
of hair loss, and saw it as an illness.

306
00:18:44,367 --> 00:18:49,964
One 1 864 medical report stated its causes
as ''habitual drinking'',

307
00:18:50,007 --> 00:18:54,922
''late hours'', ''violence'',
''intense study or thoughtfulness''

308
00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:59,757
and ''the pernicious practice of
constantly wearing a hard, non-ventilating hat''.

309
00:19:02,967 --> 00:19:06,755
We're putting it all into cold oil
and then heating it above the fire.

310
00:19:06,807 --> 00:19:10,038
This recipe has gone unchanged
for hundreds of years.

311
00:19:10,727 --> 00:19:12,319
l'm just going to stir this in.

312
00:19:13,607 --> 00:19:15,962
- Yeah, red.
- Already pink, even cold.

313
00:19:16,007 --> 00:19:17,520
Yeah. Lovely.

314
00:19:17,567 --> 00:19:22,322
The mixture needs to heat for an hour
before the remaining ingredients can be added.

315
00:19:23,127 --> 00:19:26,358
- Shall we have a cup of tea?
- l'll make a pot. That sounds good.

316
00:19:32,487 --> 00:19:37,356
ln preparation for the launch
of their cure-all pills, Nick is drafting a poster.

317
00:19:37,407 --> 00:19:42,435
ln the 1 850s and '60s, more people could read,
printing processes had improved,

318
00:19:42,487 --> 00:19:45,206
and advertising really starts to begin to take off.

319
00:19:45,247 --> 00:19:48,284
And it was really influential on people.

320
00:19:52,687 --> 00:19:54,279
But even in Victorian times

321
00:19:54,327 --> 00:19:57,842
there were some limits on the claims
you could make for a cure-all.

322
00:19:57,887 --> 00:20:02,961
Nick is seeking advice from Barrister Phil Taylor
on what it was legally safe to say.

323
00:20:03,007 --> 00:20:06,397
l've got something to start with.
''Professor Barber's Miracletts.

324
00:20:06,447 --> 00:20:08,244
The miracle medicine.

325
00:20:08,287 --> 00:20:14,601
lf it does not cure all your ills, we will pay £50.''
As a way of getting the public in to buy it.

326
00:20:14,647 --> 00:20:16,638
ls that OK?

327
00:20:16,687 --> 00:20:20,202
Yes, l think it probably is,
erm, because this is a reward.

328
00:20:20,247 --> 00:20:24,957
But you have to understand that if the cure
does not work, you have to pay the money.

329
00:20:25,007 --> 00:20:27,043
- Ah!
- That's the big problem.

330
00:20:27,087 --> 00:20:32,115
The reward offered for one Victorian product,
the carbolic smoke ball,

331
00:20:32,167 --> 00:20:36,080
set a precedent for penalising
false advertising promises.

332
00:20:36,807 --> 00:20:39,685
Mrs Louisa Carlill actually bought that,

333
00:20:39,727 --> 00:20:46,280
having seen an advertisement
which clearly says if you then contract influenza,

334
00:20:46,327 --> 00:20:52,357
having used our smoke ball,
you, erm, can get £1 00 as the reward.

335
00:20:52,407 --> 00:20:56,036
So this would have been inhaled,
there'd be a nosepiece or something,

336
00:20:56,087 --> 00:21:00,080
and people who inhaled this,
were supposed to be kept free from influenza?

337
00:21:00,127 --> 00:21:04,086
She tried it, but she actually contracted flu,
so she wanted her money.

338
00:21:04,127 --> 00:21:06,004
Of course, they wouldn't pay her.

339
00:21:06,047 --> 00:21:09,357
So then she decided to sue them.
She was a tough lady.

340
00:21:09,407 --> 00:21:14,879
And she went through the courts and this case,
probably the most famous case in English law,

341
00:21:14,927 --> 00:21:17,646
clarified the law, so they had to pay up.

342
00:21:17,687 --> 00:21:19,837
OK. l think we'll cross that bit out.

343
00:21:20,567 --> 00:21:24,446
Erm, what about other cures?
Can l claim it cures anything?

344
00:21:25,527 --> 00:21:27,165
lnsomnia, l thought of.

345
00:21:28,527 --> 00:21:31,087
Why don't we add consumption? And...

346
00:21:31,127 --> 00:21:33,880
Yes, you could have depression, to some
extent.

347
00:21:33,927 --> 00:21:36,077
Low spirits, they'd probably put then.

348
00:21:36,127 --> 00:21:40,564
But, of course, the important thing is
that you're not offering a reward of any sort.

349
00:21:40,607 --> 00:21:42,882
- And then you should be safe.
- Great, thank you.

350
00:21:42,927 --> 00:21:44,565
- We're ready to go.
- Good.

351
00:21:44,607 --> 00:21:46,438
What happened to the patient, by the way?

352
00:21:46,487 --> 00:21:49,320
Well, she lived to a ripe old age - 97.

353
00:21:49,367 --> 00:21:52,803
Died in 1 942, erm, of influenza.

354
00:21:56,047 --> 00:21:59,881
For Nick, this relative lack of rules
is unfamiliar territory.

355
00:22:00,607 --> 00:22:03,519
lt was completely different, of course,
to how things are today

356
00:22:03,567 --> 00:22:05,478
when we've got a whole mass of rules.

357
00:22:05,527 --> 00:22:08,599
Lots of medicines can't be advertised
to the public at all.

358
00:22:08,647 --> 00:22:13,084
And if you do advertise medicines,
there's got to be evidence as to how they work,

359
00:22:13,127 --> 00:22:15,960
whether they work
and can really cure you or not.

360
00:22:16,047 --> 00:22:20,359
You can't claim anything cures unless
there's a whole load of evidence behind it.

361
00:22:20,407 --> 00:22:24,002
You'd have to give information
about side effects and all sorts of things,

362
00:22:24,087 --> 00:22:26,237
so it's a very different situation.

363
00:22:26,927 --> 00:22:30,886
l'm gonna get the printer to print lots of copies,
l'm gonna put them all round the town,

364
00:22:30,927 --> 00:22:35,000
and try and get people to come in
and buy my miracle cure.

365
00:22:40,087 --> 00:22:44,046
ln Ruth's kitchen,
the Macassar hair oil has heated through.

366
00:22:46,927 --> 00:22:51,000
There you go, that's been boiling,
boiling, boiling, boiling, hot, hot, hot, hot!

367
00:22:51,047 --> 00:22:53,083
- Lovely.
- Fantastic colour.

368
00:22:53,127 --> 00:22:54,321
Beautiful.

369
00:22:55,727 --> 00:22:57,957
Look at the colour of that!

370
00:22:58,847 --> 00:23:03,159
Eleanor has an old trick up her sleeve
for blending in another ingredient.

371
00:23:03,207 --> 00:23:04,435
Cleavers.

372
00:23:04,487 --> 00:23:07,684
You get your cleavers...
l picked these this morning.

373
00:23:07,727 --> 00:23:10,287
So your first row goes up the way.

374
00:23:11,287 --> 00:23:16,281
Your second row goes across the way.
So, basically, you're weaving.

375
00:23:16,327 --> 00:23:19,080
And they all want to stick together,
anyway, don't they?

376
00:23:19,127 --> 00:23:23,598
To make a mat sort of thing is pretty much
what they've got in mind, by themselves.

377
00:23:23,647 --> 00:23:24,636
Yes.

378
00:23:24,687 --> 00:23:27,565
lt's a sieve. lt's gonna make a really nice filter.

379
00:23:27,607 --> 00:23:28,437
Yeah.

380
00:23:28,487 --> 00:23:32,196
But at the same time
we're pouring hot oil through it,

381
00:23:32,247 --> 00:23:35,637
- so that's going to draw some of the...
- Plenty of it.

382
00:23:35,687 --> 00:23:39,282
..contents of the cleavers
into the liquid at the same time, isn't it.

383
00:23:39,367 --> 00:23:44,395
So, in a sense, by making a sieve of it,
you're sort of killing two birds with one stone.

384
00:23:44,447 --> 00:23:46,756
And then we pop that in there.

385
00:23:48,847 --> 00:23:50,917
- lt does smell good, this.
- Mm.

386
00:23:50,967 --> 00:23:53,356
- We haven't added the perfumes yet.
- We haven't.

387
00:24:01,167 --> 00:24:04,318
Good. Looks like it's coming through quite nice.

388
00:24:09,127 --> 00:24:12,164
Ooh! Ooh, that smells good!

389
00:24:12,207 --> 00:24:16,485
The final stage is to scent it with cinnamon,
lemon and cloves.

390
00:24:20,087 --> 00:24:23,966
So this is a hair oil aimed...
well, l suppose, at both sexes...

391
00:24:24,687 --> 00:24:26,757
..to some degree.

392
00:24:26,807 --> 00:24:29,640
And people usually put
sort of slightly different scents in,

393
00:24:29,687 --> 00:24:33,043
according to whether it was a male hair oil
or a female hair oil.

394
00:24:33,087 --> 00:24:35,521
- This one could actually go either way.
- lt could.

395
00:24:35,567 --> 00:24:39,196
lt's just how you package it
as to whether it's for women or for men.

396
00:24:39,247 --> 00:24:44,367
The pharmacy will market the hair oil as a
preventative remedy for hair loss aimed at men.

397
00:24:44,407 --> 00:24:47,638
Oh, it's gonna be too full!
We're gonna have to switch it back in there.

398
00:24:47,687 --> 00:24:50,485
One, two, three, whoo!

399
00:24:50,527 --> 00:24:52,040
(They laugh)

400
00:24:54,087 --> 00:24:58,126
Many enterprising pharmacists
expanded its appeal beyond medicine

401
00:24:58,167 --> 00:25:00,761
as a health and beauty product
aimed at women.

402
00:25:00,807 --> 00:25:03,685
- That's a lot of hair oil, isn't it?
- lt is a lot of hair oil.

403
00:25:12,047 --> 00:25:14,607
Tom's been busy pill-making -

404
00:25:14,647 --> 00:25:18,765
one of the many chores an apprentice
would have carried out for his master.

405
00:25:18,807 --> 00:25:20,957
The apprentice would be a really important part

406
00:25:21,007 --> 00:25:23,316
of the chemists and druggists
in the 1 9th century.

407
00:25:24,847 --> 00:25:29,557
Not only are you doing all the dogsbody work,
but you're actually a source of income.

408
00:25:29,607 --> 00:25:32,167
You wouldn't be paid by the pharmacist.

409
00:25:32,207 --> 00:25:35,279
Your parents would actually pay for you
to learn off them.

410
00:25:36,087 --> 00:25:38,442
You'd join this place at 1 4,

411
00:25:38,487 --> 00:25:42,241
so you're sort of looked after
as member of the family, in a way.

412
00:25:43,207 --> 00:25:46,882
Of course, it's not a normal
parent-son relationship,

413
00:25:46,927 --> 00:25:51,284
cos actually you've got to work really hard
for your living.

414
00:25:51,327 --> 00:25:53,363
You know, it would be a tough life.

415
00:25:58,087 --> 00:26:00,521
An apprentice had to impress his boss,

416
00:26:00,567 --> 00:26:02,603
and Tom's hoping to do just that

417
00:26:02,647 --> 00:26:06,196
by drumming up further publicity
for Nick's cure-all medicine.

418
00:26:06,247 --> 00:26:11,275
He's drafted in engineer Chris Hill
to help him put together a promotional stunt.

419
00:26:12,607 --> 00:26:17,840
What we want to do at the pharmacy is make
some sort of, sort of a bit of an event, really,

420
00:26:17,887 --> 00:26:20,799
and a bit of a show to attract some customers.

421
00:26:20,847 --> 00:26:24,635
And what we thought we could do
is maybe fix up some sort of machine

422
00:26:24,687 --> 00:26:27,645
that we could maybe power
a pestle and mortar with,

423
00:26:27,687 --> 00:26:30,599
so we can show our ability
to grind all the medicines and so on.

424
00:26:30,647 --> 00:26:33,764
Yeah, OK. An automated grinding mechanism.

425
00:26:33,807 --> 00:26:35,286
That's right, yeah, yeah.

426
00:26:36,327 --> 00:26:39,956
He's been inspired by a contraption
used by a chemist in Knaresborough

427
00:26:40,007 --> 00:26:44,637
in the early 1 9th century -
a pestle and mortar...powered by a dog.

428
00:26:45,927 --> 00:26:49,442
Victorian England
is actually filled with advertising.

429
00:26:49,487 --> 00:26:52,638
And there are adverts in all the papers.

430
00:26:52,687 --> 00:26:55,281
Some of the papers
are just composed of adverts

431
00:26:55,327 --> 00:26:57,522
in exactly the same way as today.

432
00:26:57,567 --> 00:27:01,321
What's fascinating about doing a stunt
like a dog pestle and mortar

433
00:27:01,367 --> 00:27:05,918
is that you're creating a real,
physical event in the street.

434
00:27:06,727 --> 00:27:09,446
And it's a lot more local. lt's a lot more...

435
00:27:09,487 --> 00:27:11,557
You're advertising it on a local scale.

436
00:27:11,607 --> 00:27:13,916
Chris is going to make the machine.

437
00:27:13,967 --> 00:27:16,720
All Tom needs now is the dog.

438
00:27:24,607 --> 00:27:26,723
- Morning.
- Morning.

439
00:27:28,407 --> 00:27:31,319
lt's time for the first marketing push.

440
00:27:31,367 --> 00:27:34,677
Nick's claims for his cure-all
have been put into print.

441
00:27:35,687 --> 00:27:37,996
l can feel them working already!

442
00:27:38,967 --> 00:27:43,404
The first batch of Professor Barber's Miracletts
is ready for delivery.

443
00:27:45,167 --> 00:27:46,725
Morning, Ross!

444
00:27:46,807 --> 00:27:48,035
Morning.

445
00:27:48,087 --> 00:27:50,203
l've brought you something!

446
00:27:51,007 --> 00:27:53,919
We've got some special pills for you.

447
00:27:53,967 --> 00:27:56,276
Pharmacies, of course, are a business.

448
00:27:56,327 --> 00:27:58,204
We have to make a living.

449
00:27:58,247 --> 00:28:02,604
We've got these Miraclett
miracle cures for you today.

450
00:28:02,647 --> 00:28:05,559
And that means getting in touch
with your local community.

451
00:28:05,607 --> 00:28:09,361
- Hello, there.
- As promised, Professor Barber's Miracletts.

452
00:28:09,407 --> 00:28:10,886
Thanks very much.

453
00:28:10,927 --> 00:28:14,442
lt means finding the products
that they want to buy.

454
00:28:14,487 --> 00:28:18,196
See if it sorts out your back.
lt should clean your blood if nothing else.

455
00:28:18,247 --> 00:28:20,317
Clean me blood, right!
Sure l need that.

456
00:28:20,367 --> 00:28:25,202
And you'd have to project an image that was
enormously trustworthy and deeply convincing.

457
00:28:25,247 --> 00:28:27,681
- l have my doubts.
- Really? OK.

458
00:28:27,727 --> 00:28:30,366
- Do you know what's actually in it?
- Erm...

459
00:28:30,407 --> 00:28:33,717
With the best will in the world,
it's not gonna cure everything, is it?

460
00:28:33,767 --> 00:28:38,887
l think pharmacists would have been quite coy
about revealing their secret ingredients.

461
00:28:38,927 --> 00:28:40,406
Oh, of course, yes.

462
00:28:40,447 --> 00:28:44,326
- l hope that it does some good.
- Any side effects that l might...?

463
00:28:44,367 --> 00:28:46,517
- You could tell us! (Laughs)
- OK.

464
00:28:47,207 --> 00:28:51,962
lt must have been quite difficult, mustn't it,
sort of...maintaining this front.

465
00:28:52,007 --> 00:28:53,884
Better go and sell some more.

466
00:29:03,687 --> 00:29:08,886
The Victorian public may have clung to the hope
that cure-alls would provide miraculous results,

467
00:29:09,567 --> 00:29:14,766
but they'd be of little help for people suffering
from the most serious disease of the day -

468
00:29:14,807 --> 00:29:20,165
cholera, a water-borne infection
whose main symptom is violent diarrhoea.

469
00:29:21,287 --> 00:29:22,925
Cholera was an appalling illness

470
00:29:22,967 --> 00:29:29,156
because they were just shrinking and wizening
and dying from dehydration, ultimately.

471
00:29:29,207 --> 00:29:36,887
With major cholera epidemics in 1 849 and 1 854
claiming the lives of almost 1 00,000 Britons,

472
00:29:36,927 --> 00:29:39,885
the race was on
to stop the spread of the disease.

473
00:29:40,767 --> 00:29:43,759
But at first they didn't even know about germs.

474
00:29:45,327 --> 00:29:48,717
A fundamental breakthrough in medical science
came in the 1 860s

475
00:29:48,767 --> 00:29:52,282
when the existence of germs,
the invisible causes of disease,

476
00:29:52,367 --> 00:29:55,404
was established by scientists like Louis Pasteur.

477
00:29:56,927 --> 00:29:59,839
A number of researchers,
and particularly Pasteur,

478
00:29:59,887 --> 00:30:03,243
said this is actually tiny ''animalcules'',
as one of them, called them,

479
00:30:03,287 --> 00:30:07,599
tiny, little organisms which they could
begin to see under the microscope

480
00:30:07,647 --> 00:30:09,717
and which affected people.

481
00:30:10,607 --> 00:30:14,964
Now that they understood that germs existed,
they could develop products to kill them.

482
00:30:15,687 --> 00:30:17,882
ln a consumer revolution,

483
00:30:17,927 --> 00:30:22,125
the public finally gained access
to effective methods of preventing disease.

484
00:30:22,167 --> 00:30:28,515
You begin to find for the first time that products
are being advertised as antiseptics,

485
00:30:28,567 --> 00:30:33,083
as disinfectants - things to kill
these newfound, extremely dangerous germs.

486
00:30:33,127 --> 00:30:35,687
Things that might have been there, anyway,

487
00:30:35,727 --> 00:30:40,960
but now were being recognised and valued
for their germ-killing properties.

488
00:30:41,007 --> 00:30:45,159
The first chemical to be used as a disinfectant
was carbolic acid,

489
00:30:45,207 --> 00:30:49,359
previously used as a deodoriser
to mask the smell of raw sewage.

490
00:30:50,687 --> 00:30:54,521
Delighted with a new use
for this previously under-valued chemical,

491
00:30:54,567 --> 00:30:57,081
enterprising pharmacists were quick to create

492
00:30:57,127 --> 00:31:00,517
a vast new range
of household cleaning products.

493
00:31:04,887 --> 00:31:09,961
To make his own disinfectant, Nick's asked
scientist Mike Bullivant, who's running the lab,

494
00:31:10,007 --> 00:31:14,922
to help him extract some carbolic acid
from its unlikely source - coal tar.

495
00:31:16,607 --> 00:31:18,199
lt's horrible stuff to work with.

496
00:31:18,247 --> 00:31:23,401
lt's viscous, it's thick, it's black...
it smells, it's obnoxious.

497
00:31:23,447 --> 00:31:27,725
lt was always regarded
by the early Victorians as waste product...

498
00:31:27,767 --> 00:31:29,723
which was difficult to get rid of.

499
00:31:29,767 --> 00:31:34,204
What l'm doing is heating the coal tar up,
and the vapours will pass through here

500
00:31:34,247 --> 00:31:37,080
and they'll start to condense -
this is an air condenser.

501
00:31:37,127 --> 00:31:40,085
lt condenses on the cold surface.
You'll see droplets forming.

502
00:31:40,127 --> 00:31:45,645
l'm interested in the components that come off
between and 1 70 and 230 degrees Celsius.

503
00:31:45,687 --> 00:31:47,518
Anything else is just rubbish -

504
00:31:47,567 --> 00:31:50,286
because that's where the carbolic acid is.

505
00:31:53,047 --> 00:31:55,515
- The magic of chemistry.
- Yeah.

506
00:31:56,287 --> 00:31:58,357
Here we go. Can you see in...

507
00:31:58,407 --> 00:32:00,716
l think we've got one or two drops here now.

508
00:32:00,767 --> 00:32:03,076
Yeah, there's liquid in the bottom there.

509
00:32:04,407 --> 00:32:06,762
lt won't be clear at this stage, cos it's impure.

510
00:32:06,807 --> 00:32:09,162
Obviously we want
as pure a product as possible.

511
00:32:10,287 --> 00:32:14,075
lt took the Victorians over 30 years
of trial and error

512
00:32:14,127 --> 00:32:17,517
to uncover the benefits
of this mysterious substance.

513
00:32:17,567 --> 00:32:20,400
First extracted from coal tar in 1 834,

514
00:32:20,447 --> 00:32:25,362
its germ-killing properties
were finally realised in 1 867.

515
00:32:25,407 --> 00:32:30,276
One of the first people who sort of used this
for health was Joseph Lister, the surgeon.

516
00:32:30,327 --> 00:32:33,637
He reduced the death rate in operations
by using this.

517
00:32:33,687 --> 00:32:36,155
- What? Carbolic acid?
- Yeah.

518
00:32:36,207 --> 00:32:38,562
A patient lying on an operating table

519
00:32:38,607 --> 00:32:41,758
had less chance of living
than a solider at Waterloo.

520
00:32:41,807 --> 00:32:43,479
lt's true.

521
00:32:43,527 --> 00:32:47,281
l mean, 35% death rate from infection
after surgery.

522
00:32:47,327 --> 00:32:51,115
After amputation, two thirds of them
died from an infection.

523
00:32:52,007 --> 00:32:55,158
And so what Lister did, he got carbolic acid...

524
00:32:55,927 --> 00:32:58,885
..and he made it into a paste,
and he also had a spray.

525
00:32:58,927 --> 00:33:00,406
So he sprayed the theatre?

526
00:33:00,447 --> 00:33:02,802
- He sprayed the wounds.
- Oh, yeah.

527
00:33:02,847 --> 00:33:06,840
Everyone was working in
this mist of carbolic acid.

528
00:33:06,887 --> 00:33:10,516
- Which is really nasty when it's concentrated.
- lt's corrosive.

529
00:33:10,567 --> 00:33:14,958
But they'd spray this into the wound
during surgery, and the death rates dropped.

530
00:33:15,007 --> 00:33:18,204
One in seven people died
after he introduced this.

531
00:33:18,247 --> 00:33:22,240
So big improvement from, you know,
two out of three.

532
00:33:25,807 --> 00:33:27,843
Come on. Come on.

533
00:33:28,767 --> 00:33:30,280
Come on.

534
00:33:30,327 --> 00:33:32,238
Give us your carbolic acid.

535
00:33:33,567 --> 00:33:36,365
Here it comes. Look at that. Look at that go.

536
00:33:36,407 --> 00:33:38,363
That's gorgeous, isn't it?

537
00:33:38,407 --> 00:33:39,886
This is all profit.

538
00:33:42,847 --> 00:33:46,999
- l think you've hit your upper limit there.
- l think we'll call that a day.

539
00:33:47,047 --> 00:33:50,517
- So it's a matter now of just letting it cool down.
- OK.

540
00:33:50,567 --> 00:33:53,877
Then we'll come back
and look more closely at what's in here.

541
00:33:53,927 --> 00:33:56,282
Let's go for a bite to eat whilst that's doing.

542
00:33:56,327 --> 00:33:58,318
Yeah, it's safe enough.

543
00:34:03,127 --> 00:34:06,324
The shop has a new customer
who's in search of a cure.

544
00:34:09,847 --> 00:34:12,998
Local council worker Maria Morris
has a bad back.

545
00:34:13,727 --> 00:34:16,321
lt's mainly across the shoulder blades.

546
00:34:16,367 --> 00:34:19,484
Erm, l've had physio in the past,

547
00:34:19,527 --> 00:34:21,802
but it hasn't really done a lot.

548
00:34:21,847 --> 00:34:25,886
- So it's sort of muscle?
- Yes, mainly between the shoulder blades.

549
00:34:25,927 --> 00:34:27,155
Yeah.

550
00:34:27,207 --> 00:34:31,120
ln the Victorian period there would have been
several options available to you.

551
00:34:31,167 --> 00:34:33,965
There would be creams and things
you could have rubbed in.

552
00:34:34,007 --> 00:34:37,682
But there was a brand-new treatment
that you might be interested in.

553
00:34:37,727 --> 00:34:40,685
Tom?
Have you got that electrotherapy machine?

554
00:34:40,727 --> 00:34:42,365
Yeah, l have, just here.

555
00:34:42,407 --> 00:34:44,762
- He's quite into this.
- Oh, right.

556
00:34:45,607 --> 00:34:48,121
Yeah, bit of boys' toys, isn't it? Yeah.

557
00:34:48,167 --> 00:34:50,158
So here we go.

558
00:34:51,007 --> 00:34:57,242
And this little contraption would be designed
to give you an electric shock.

559
00:34:57,287 --> 00:35:01,121
- Oh, right.
- Or, sorry, to electrify your muscles.

560
00:35:02,367 --> 00:35:06,679
lnvented in 1 862, this precursor
to the modern-day TENS machine

561
00:35:06,727 --> 00:35:08,922
was the height of technology.

562
00:35:10,047 --> 00:35:13,084
Pharmacists either charged money
to use the machine,

563
00:35:13,127 --> 00:35:16,005
or offered it for free
to draw people into the shop.

564
00:35:16,727 --> 00:35:18,763
Does it actually work?

565
00:35:18,807 --> 00:35:22,595
Well, there's plenty of evidence
to show that it works in pain relief.

566
00:35:23,567 --> 00:35:28,322
However, the main body of 1 9th-century use
for it is not for pain relief at all.

567
00:35:28,367 --> 00:35:30,164
So not really for things like your back.

568
00:35:30,207 --> 00:35:33,597
More for conditions
associated just with being female.

569
00:35:33,647 --> 00:35:35,239
- Oh, right.
- Hysteria.

570
00:35:35,287 --> 00:35:36,879
Oh, right, yes!

571
00:35:36,927 --> 00:35:40,317
Your womb would get out of control
and sort of cause you to go mad.

572
00:35:40,367 --> 00:35:44,963
The idea of shocking you in some way
to cure your hysteria would be quite a big thing.

573
00:35:45,007 --> 00:35:49,080
So any sort of mental unhappiness,
or distress that a woman was suffering,

574
00:35:49,127 --> 00:35:54,884
or that other people thought she was suffering,
could be, therefore, cured by electrotherapy.

575
00:35:54,927 --> 00:35:57,202
Although there were a number of patients

576
00:35:57,247 --> 00:36:00,557
who were coming for the same problems
that you're experiencing.

577
00:36:00,607 --> 00:36:03,121
- Oh, right.
- So shall we give it a go, then?

578
00:36:03,167 --> 00:36:04,680
Yes, definitely!

579
00:36:07,007 --> 00:36:09,157
- So, are you all right there?
- Yes.

580
00:36:09,207 --> 00:36:10,959
You're sure? OK, here we go.

581
00:36:11,007 --> 00:36:13,760
Give me a shout if it gets too much or anything,
all right?

582
00:36:13,807 --> 00:36:15,320
Yeah.

583
00:36:17,767 --> 00:36:19,439
- All right?
- Yeah. Nothing.

584
00:36:19,487 --> 00:36:21,762
Nothing. Just try a bit faster.

585
00:36:24,247 --> 00:36:25,805
No.

586
00:36:25,847 --> 00:36:28,202
- OK.
- Go on, as hard as possible.

587
00:36:32,207 --> 00:36:34,004
Nothing.

588
00:36:34,687 --> 00:36:36,006
Oh, no!

589
00:36:36,047 --> 00:36:39,084
Er, it doesn't look like it's gonna work, does it?

590
00:36:40,207 --> 00:36:41,879
Oh, right. OK, shall l have a go?

591
00:36:42,807 --> 00:36:45,719
lf l just do that. Go as fast as you can.

592
00:36:46,447 --> 00:36:49,166
- Hold the box down.
- l don't think it's...

593
00:36:49,207 --> 00:36:51,357
Oh, dear. Right, OK.

594
00:36:51,407 --> 00:36:52,396
Nothing!

595
00:36:52,447 --> 00:36:55,678
We're gonna have to maybe take this away
to the workshop.

596
00:36:55,727 --> 00:36:58,480
- Yeah. Oh, that's a bit disappointing!
- Oh, yes!

597
00:36:58,527 --> 00:37:01,200
Haven't we got anything else electric?

598
00:37:01,247 --> 00:37:05,126
The pharmacy has one of
Doctor Hoffmann's electric brushes,

599
00:37:05,167 --> 00:37:09,126
which claimed to cure everything
from skin disease to paralysis.

600
00:37:09,927 --> 00:37:11,280
lt's, erm...

601
00:37:12,247 --> 00:37:14,966
lt's got like a zinc plate on the back.

602
00:37:15,007 --> 00:37:17,441
So you'd soak that in acid, wouldn't you?

603
00:37:17,487 --> 00:37:19,478
Yeah, and then that's copper.

604
00:37:19,527 --> 00:37:21,757
So it's sort of working like a battery.

605
00:37:21,807 --> 00:37:23,877
How rough is that brush, though?

606
00:37:23,927 --> 00:37:26,441
- That is rough.
- That is rough, isn't it?

607
00:37:27,167 --> 00:37:32,480
lt was important to Victorians to feel an effect
in order to believe a remedy was working.

608
00:37:32,527 --> 00:37:34,995
l don't think you were supposed to do
much with it.

609
00:37:35,047 --> 00:37:37,356
l think you were just supposed to, just gently...

610
00:37:37,407 --> 00:37:40,558
- lt's wire, you see, in order to carry the charge.
- Yes.

611
00:37:40,607 --> 00:37:46,398
So you'd be sort of like doing a sort of tingly
stimulation all over the surface of the skin.

612
00:37:46,447 --> 00:37:49,166
- Right.
- A body brush. lt's amazing, isn't it?

613
00:37:49,687 --> 00:37:54,238
lt doesn't look like electrotherapy's going to work
for us today for you! l'm really sorry!

614
00:37:56,367 --> 00:37:59,359
We do, however,
have a very good line in liniments.

615
00:37:59,407 --> 00:38:02,399
We've got some really good ones.
l'll go and find some.

616
00:38:02,447 --> 00:38:03,926
Thank you very much.

617
00:38:11,327 --> 00:38:13,921
ln the lab, things are going more smoothly,

618
00:38:13,967 --> 00:38:19,166
and the distilled liquid from the coal tar is one
step away from becoming pure carbolic acid.

619
00:38:20,327 --> 00:38:24,400
Once the temperature starts registering
1 80 to 1 83,

620
00:38:24,447 --> 00:38:27,086
l know that's pure carbolic acid coming over.

621
00:38:27,127 --> 00:38:30,961
The chances of two things being in there
that boil at the same temperature are slim,

622
00:38:31,007 --> 00:38:33,237
so we assume it's carbolic acid.

623
00:38:33,287 --> 00:38:35,482
lt's 1 81 .

624
00:38:35,527 --> 00:38:37,802
- And here it comes, dropping through.
- 1 81 .

625
00:38:37,847 --> 00:38:41,601
Which is smack on the...
boiling temperature of carbolic acid.

626
00:38:42,287 --> 00:38:44,278
lt's nice and clear, isn't it?

627
00:38:45,007 --> 00:38:49,398
Chemicals that kill germs became so popular
that many over-relied on them,

628
00:38:49,447 --> 00:38:52,359
neglecting the importance of basic cleanliness.

629
00:38:53,047 --> 00:38:55,561
Lister, the surgeon, didn't believe in hygiene.

630
00:38:55,607 --> 00:38:57,723
He believed that carbolic acid did it all.

631
00:38:57,767 --> 00:38:59,246
He was filthy.

632
00:38:59,287 --> 00:39:02,836
And he had a blue frock coat
which he used to do dissections in...

633
00:39:02,887 --> 00:39:04,366
- Yeah.
- ..of dead bodies.

634
00:39:04,407 --> 00:39:06,363
He'd also do his surgery in the same coat.

635
00:39:06,407 --> 00:39:10,002
There was another movement
who believed that hygiene was the answer.

636
00:39:10,047 --> 00:39:13,722
They just had clean, open wards,
and made everything washed, and so on.

637
00:39:13,767 --> 00:39:15,519
- Keeping the windows open.
- Yeah!

638
00:39:15,567 --> 00:39:18,365
And their death rate
was much better than Lister's.

639
00:39:18,407 --> 00:39:20,523
They got it down to one in 50 dying.

640
00:39:20,567 --> 00:39:24,765
He ignored them for a long time
until it was so clear that their method was better,

641
00:39:24,807 --> 00:39:27,116
and he said he'd thought that all along.

642
00:39:27,847 --> 00:39:31,203
But it's a bit like what's happened recently
in hospitals.

643
00:39:31,247 --> 00:39:32,885
We trusted chemicals so much,

644
00:39:32,927 --> 00:39:35,964
people had sort of forgotten
about the importance of hygiene.

645
00:39:36,007 --> 00:39:40,319
Nick will dilute the pure acid
to turn it into a saleable cleaning product.

646
00:39:41,007 --> 00:39:44,044
l am a happy bunny, because...
Can you see that?

647
00:39:44,087 --> 00:39:46,157
l think we'll leave it at that.

648
00:39:46,207 --> 00:39:48,596
There is our carbolic acid. Beautiful.

649
00:39:50,847 --> 00:39:53,042
- ln a boiling tube over there...
- Yeah.

650
00:39:53,087 --> 00:39:56,557
..there's some of the material
we started out with earlier on.

651
00:39:56,607 --> 00:39:58,677
- Coal tar.
- Wow!

652
00:39:58,727 --> 00:40:01,366
- So we've gone from that to that.
- Wow!

653
00:40:01,407 --> 00:40:04,399
- Magical, isn't it?
- Yeah, amazing difference. Yeah.

654
00:40:04,447 --> 00:40:06,005
l'm gonna dilute it down.

655
00:40:06,047 --> 00:40:08,322
And then we can sell disinfectant as well.

656
00:40:08,367 --> 00:40:12,121
- This is gonna be your best seller, mate.
- Thanks very much!

657
00:40:17,527 --> 00:40:20,564
Engineer Chris Hill
is putting the finishing touches

658
00:40:20,607 --> 00:40:23,326
to Tom's dog-powered pestle and mortar.

659
00:40:26,967 --> 00:40:28,958
Hey, Chris!

660
00:40:31,127 --> 00:40:34,244
One small dog. All right?

661
00:40:34,287 --> 00:40:36,323
Up until the mid 1 9th century,

662
00:40:36,367 --> 00:40:41,725
a breed of dog called a turnspit
was often used to turn meat on a spit over a fire.

663
00:40:42,567 --> 00:40:46,685
The dog pestle and mortar
is an adaptation of that technology.

664
00:40:46,727 --> 00:40:50,686
Hopefully all we need to do
is get Tilly to move a little bit.

665
00:40:50,727 --> 00:40:55,403
The turnspit dog is now extinct
so Tom's using a Jack Russell...

666
00:40:55,447 --> 00:40:57,756
Tilly. Tilly.

667
00:40:57,807 --> 00:41:01,561
..a breed less renowned
for its turning capabilities.

668
00:41:01,607 --> 00:41:03,996
- No intention of...
- Come on, come on!

669
00:41:05,167 --> 00:41:07,761
No! Tilly, Tilly, Tilly, Tilly, Tilly!

670
00:41:07,807 --> 00:41:09,604
- l'll give her a hand.
- A little start.

671
00:41:09,647 --> 00:41:11,797
She'll be fine once we get her sorted.

672
00:41:11,847 --> 00:41:14,077
Hey, come on, Tilly.

673
00:41:14,127 --> 00:41:17,915
- There we go, look at that, she loves it!
- She could get used to that.

674
00:41:17,967 --> 00:41:21,676
Look at the pestle going round.
She's almost doing that by herself.

675
00:41:21,727 --> 00:41:26,198
Well, l think Tilly needs...er, some sort of treat.

676
00:41:26,247 --> 00:41:27,726
Come on.

677
00:41:28,767 --> 00:41:30,325
What's that?

678
00:41:30,367 --> 00:41:32,562
- Hey, look at that!
- Hey, there you go!

679
00:41:35,287 --> 00:41:37,278
Good girl.

680
00:41:44,607 --> 00:41:48,282
Animals played an important part
in 1 9th-century commerce.

681
00:41:48,967 --> 00:41:54,087
Despite industrialisation,
most local transportation was still horse driven.

682
00:41:54,967 --> 00:41:58,243
Many people still relied on livestock
to make a living.

683
00:42:00,007 --> 00:42:02,680
With the veterinary profession in its infancy,

684
00:42:02,727 --> 00:42:06,766
animal health provided pharmacists
with a lucrative sideline.

685
00:42:07,567 --> 00:42:11,116
lf your livelihood depended on the horse,
as it did for the farmer,

686
00:42:11,167 --> 00:42:13,806
and your food supply
depended on the animals as well,

687
00:42:13,847 --> 00:42:15,838
clearly they wanted them to be healthy.

688
00:42:16,767 --> 00:42:20,237
Horseman Steve Ledsham has asked Nick
if he can provide something

689
00:42:20,287 --> 00:42:23,597
to soothe the aching muscles
of his shire horse, Casey.

690
00:42:25,167 --> 00:42:29,797
Luckily for Nick, there was little distinction
between animal and human medicines.

691
00:42:29,847 --> 00:42:34,875
He can use the same chemicals and techniques
as he would in making a human remedy.

692
00:42:34,927 --> 00:42:39,079
The way they think about animals' bodies
is the same as what happens to humans.

693
00:42:39,127 --> 00:42:44,121
A horseman would demand something that was
similar to a medicine he'd applied on himself.

694
00:42:44,887 --> 00:42:49,961
Nick's making a liquid embrocation,
or muscle rub, that will be applied externally.

695
00:42:50,007 --> 00:42:52,123
The white of egg.

696
00:42:52,167 --> 00:42:56,638
And then oil of turpentine.
Then we've got acetic acid as well.

697
00:42:57,407 --> 00:42:58,886
Just vinegar.

698
00:42:58,927 --> 00:43:03,842
People were likely to have more confidence
in a medicine if its effects were noticeable.

699
00:43:03,887 --> 00:43:08,915
lt's what's called a rubefacient.
lt gives you a warming effect when you rub it in.

700
00:43:08,967 --> 00:43:11,845
And feels good. So they worked to some extent,

701
00:43:11,887 --> 00:43:15,277
but people would certainly have felt
that they were working.

702
00:43:17,167 --> 00:43:19,317
l think this is getting ready to pour.

703
00:43:21,607 --> 00:43:25,156
Nick has an appointment
to see the horseman later in the day.

704
00:43:25,207 --> 00:43:28,756
That should be enough for one.
And that's ready to rub on the horse.

705
00:43:30,647 --> 00:43:33,320
With the public's confidence
in pharmacists growing,

706
00:43:33,367 --> 00:43:37,155
they began to expand their range
beyond traditional products.

707
00:43:38,367 --> 00:43:42,246
lnspiration came from their neighbours
on the high street.

708
00:43:44,407 --> 00:43:46,523
l could probably go in another inch and a half.

709
00:43:46,567 --> 00:43:48,603
- Yeah?
- l think.

710
00:43:50,727 --> 00:43:55,278
ln the draper's shop, Ruth is helping
her daughter Eve with a new corset -

711
00:43:55,327 --> 00:43:58,956
a source of several marketing opportunities
for a pharmacy.

712
00:44:00,447 --> 00:44:02,517
For a start, they sold corsets.

713
00:44:03,247 --> 00:44:06,364
Medical and health corsets,
which were pretty much the same,

714
00:44:06,407 --> 00:44:10,480
except they had sort of eyelet holes
punched in them to let the air breathe.

715
00:44:10,527 --> 00:44:12,404
Supposed to make all the difference.

716
00:44:12,447 --> 00:44:15,803
Erm, and you also get
a range of creams and powders.

717
00:44:15,847 --> 00:44:18,645
Special nipple shields and suction cups to...

718
00:44:18,687 --> 00:44:22,999
(Giggles)
..to help counteract the effects of a corset.

719
00:44:23,967 --> 00:44:26,276
Most young, healthy women

720
00:44:26,327 --> 00:44:31,526
were looking to take their waists down
to something between 20 and 22 inches.

721
00:44:31,567 --> 00:44:36,880
Slatterns, sluts - those with loose morals -
wore loose corsets.

722
00:44:36,927 --> 00:44:40,397
Because it's pressing your ribs,
your diaphragm can't move.

723
00:44:41,207 --> 00:44:43,198
So all your breathing happens up here.

724
00:44:43,887 --> 00:44:45,206
Yeah, definitely.

725
00:44:45,247 --> 00:44:49,001
Many people think that this led to
enormous numbers of fainting incidents,

726
00:44:49,047 --> 00:44:50,480
and it can do.

727
00:44:50,527 --> 00:44:57,638
So one of the things that people would...
sell, use, carry as a result, were smelling salts.

728
00:44:57,687 --> 00:44:59,723
To sort of bring you round when you fainted.

729
00:45:01,807 --> 00:45:04,116
l've got the ingredients here.

730
00:45:04,167 --> 00:45:05,646
There we are.

731
00:45:05,687 --> 00:45:10,761
Smelling salts themselves are one of
the easiest products to produce in a pharmacy.

732
00:45:11,887 --> 00:45:13,878
Ooh, that's powerful stuff!

733
00:45:14,567 --> 00:45:17,525
lt's not about curing anybody, it's about profit.

734
00:45:17,567 --> 00:45:19,956
So l just need to sieve it.

735
00:45:20,687 --> 00:45:25,317
And this is the ingredient, really.
This is all smelling salts are.

736
00:45:26,007 --> 00:45:27,520
Ammonia.

737
00:45:27,567 --> 00:45:31,196
Ammonia proper
can in fact be produced by stale urine.

738
00:45:31,247 --> 00:45:34,478
This gives you some idea of the smell
that we're talking about here.

739
00:45:34,527 --> 00:45:35,926
Not nice.

740
00:45:35,967 --> 00:45:38,720
Swooning was considered to be very feminine.

741
00:45:38,767 --> 00:45:41,042
And even if you didn't faint every five minutes,

742
00:45:41,087 --> 00:45:43,965
the fact you had your smelling salts
and might pull them out,

743
00:45:44,007 --> 00:45:46,362
and you might say things like, ''l feel a bit faint'' -

744
00:45:46,407 --> 00:45:49,683
actually, you didn't at all,
but it was all part of the paraphernalia.

745
00:45:58,647 --> 00:46:01,207
Rather than filling up
that whole bottle with liquid,

746
00:46:01,247 --> 00:46:05,081
l'm basically going to fill it up
with liquid-impregnated sponge.

747
00:46:06,567 --> 00:46:08,603
So yet again, a bit cheaper.

748
00:46:09,287 --> 00:46:12,836
For quite a long period of time,
policemen actually carried smelling salts

749
00:46:12,887 --> 00:46:17,039
so that they could deal with women
who'd fallen down in the street or fainted.

750
00:46:17,087 --> 00:46:21,717
So, you know, as part of your equipment -
truncheon, whistle...smelling salts!

751
00:46:21,767 --> 00:46:26,045
Most smelling salts had essential oils
or something in them,

752
00:46:26,087 --> 00:46:27,839
to just make it all a bit nicer.

753
00:46:27,887 --> 00:46:30,242
This is oil of lavender.

754
00:46:31,367 --> 00:46:33,358
Give it a really good shake.

755
00:46:36,327 --> 00:46:38,318
Are you ready for your first whiff?

756
00:46:38,367 --> 00:46:42,599
lmagine yourself, it's a hot day,
somebody's over-laced your corset -

757
00:46:42,647 --> 00:46:46,196
- and besides which, your boyfriend's watching.
- Oh, right!

758
00:46:48,647 --> 00:46:51,525
So you've just faked a little swoon to look lovely!

759
00:46:52,967 --> 00:46:57,677
And some kind person takes a beautifully,
beautifully presented scent bottle

760
00:46:57,727 --> 00:46:59,957
and waves it beneath your nose.

761
00:47:06,127 --> 00:47:08,846
Yeah, that's the right effect.
Oh, that's horrible!

762
00:47:08,887 --> 00:47:11,242
lt's like smelling a badly-cleaned toilet.

763
00:47:11,287 --> 00:47:14,882
However, somebody has sprayed
some lavender oil over it.

764
00:47:17,087 --> 00:47:21,080
The link between well-being
and the proper fitting of corsets

765
00:47:21,127 --> 00:47:23,846
saw what had once been
solely a fashion accessory

766
00:47:23,887 --> 00:47:25,923
become the preserve of the pharmacy.

767
00:47:38,007 --> 00:47:41,761
As apprentice,
it's Tom'sjob to disinfect the shop.

768
00:47:42,887 --> 00:47:47,597
Well, Tom,
these are pure crystals of carbolic acid.

769
00:47:48,327 --> 00:47:52,923
Extremely corrosive, but in the right dilution
a really good disinfectant.

770
00:47:52,967 --> 00:47:56,437
So we're gonna put some water in
and dissolve the crystals.

771
00:47:57,447 --> 00:48:01,326
lt's a really powerful smell.
You can feel your eyes running a bit already.

772
00:48:01,367 --> 00:48:03,676
You can see it dissolving.

773
00:48:03,727 --> 00:48:08,039
What we'd be doing before we sold this
was adding some more colorant, l think,

774
00:48:08,087 --> 00:48:10,760
just to keep it safe,
so people knew it was disinfectant,

775
00:48:10,807 --> 00:48:14,197
and also it shows you it's not just water,
you can't mistake it for water.

776
00:48:14,247 --> 00:48:17,000
You don't want to try and quench your thirst
with this stuff.

777
00:48:17,047 --> 00:48:20,278
Absolutely. You'd be in hospital
very rapidly if you did that.

778
00:48:20,327 --> 00:48:21,806
This is still very strong.

779
00:48:21,847 --> 00:48:24,998
So we're gonna dilute it down
to about 3% solution.

780
00:48:25,047 --> 00:48:28,517
We're just about ready
to put it into something bigger

781
00:48:28,567 --> 00:48:31,639
and then that's something
which we'll be able to add to a bucket.

782
00:48:31,687 --> 00:48:35,043
And then you can get on with your chores
as an apprentice.

783
00:48:35,087 --> 00:48:38,716
So we're using it in the shop
to show that you're cleaning the place.

784
00:48:38,767 --> 00:48:43,887
Hygiene was one of the most important things to
come out of this understanding of germ theory.

785
00:48:43,927 --> 00:48:47,715
And so we need to be seen to be doing it
as well as actually doing it.

786
00:48:47,767 --> 00:48:50,839
Right, should l go and get to work, then,
l suppose?

787
00:48:50,887 --> 00:48:52,366
- Absolutely.
- All right!

788
00:48:52,407 --> 00:48:54,363
Earn your keep.
Get on and do some work.

789
00:48:59,767 --> 00:49:03,601
l imagine it'd be a really unusual smell
when it first came out.

790
00:49:05,007 --> 00:49:10,718
By using this disinfectant, it's kind of a way
of taking control of health in your own home.

791
00:49:10,767 --> 00:49:14,919
You know, you're fighting all these germs
that the doctors keep talking about

792
00:49:14,967 --> 00:49:17,242
as the new cause of disease.

793
00:49:17,287 --> 00:49:19,676
ln some ways it's empowering,
but at the same time,

794
00:49:19,727 --> 00:49:22,924
it ties you in to having to buy the disinfectant
all the time,

795
00:49:22,967 --> 00:49:25,356
so it's great for our business.

796
00:49:25,407 --> 00:49:27,557
You've got to spend your money to do it.

797
00:49:44,567 --> 00:49:47,843
Nick is keeping his appointment
with horseman Steve Ledsham

798
00:49:47,887 --> 00:49:49,878
to apply the muscle rub to his horse.

799
00:49:50,567 --> 00:49:55,482
Vet John Broberg will check
that Nick applies the embrocation correctly,

800
00:49:55,527 --> 00:49:58,087
and should be able to shed light
on some other products

801
00:49:58,127 --> 00:50:00,163
Nick has brought from the pharmacy.

802
00:50:00,207 --> 00:50:02,926
So, John, l've brought
a universal medicines chest,

803
00:50:02,967 --> 00:50:06,039
which would have been brought to farms -
it's animal medicines.

804
00:50:06,087 --> 00:50:07,918
- General farm box.
- Yeah.

805
00:50:07,967 --> 00:50:10,083
ln the absence of affordable vets,

806
00:50:10,127 --> 00:50:14,643
pharmacists sold these DlYmedicine kits
to horse and cattle owners.

807
00:50:14,687 --> 00:50:16,882
They contained a vast range of medicines.

808
00:50:16,927 --> 00:50:19,964
ln Victorian times,
there were all sorts of chemical mixtures.

809
00:50:20,007 --> 00:50:21,998
Herbal mixtures, chemical mixtures.

810
00:50:22,847 --> 00:50:25,645
lt may be the wrong shape,
but that's a horse ball.

811
00:50:26,447 --> 00:50:28,722
For the horse's general condition.

812
00:50:28,767 --> 00:50:31,235
- Was it a bit of a cure-all, really?
- Yes, yes.

813
00:50:31,287 --> 00:50:33,960
- So which end did they go in?
- Oh, these go in the front end.

814
00:50:34,007 --> 00:50:35,725
- Thank goodness for that!
- Yes.

815
00:50:35,767 --> 00:50:39,237
lf you've got hands my size
it can be more difficult, but l'll show you.

816
00:50:39,287 --> 00:50:42,518
- Are you gonna demonstrate it?
- l'll show you what was done, yes.

817
00:50:42,567 --> 00:50:44,046
Show us how it was done.

818
00:50:44,087 --> 00:50:47,636
l am quite happy with a table
between me and this enormous animal.

819
00:50:47,687 --> 00:50:50,838
Yes, he's a nice big chap.
Which means he's got a nice big mouth.

820
00:50:50,887 --> 00:50:53,242
- Oh, fantastic!
- Which suits me better!

821
00:50:56,407 --> 00:50:58,079
Come on, fella.

822
00:50:58,127 --> 00:51:00,118
You are a big chap, aren't you?

823
00:51:03,487 --> 00:51:05,876
Oh... Oh, rather you than me.

824
00:51:06,927 --> 00:51:08,963
You use the tongue as a gag.

825
00:51:09,007 --> 00:51:10,759
So you take the tongue to one side.

826
00:51:10,807 --> 00:51:15,927
Your hand goes up to the back of the mouth,
pops the ball down, and that's it.

827
00:51:16,607 --> 00:51:20,156
Not everybody would want to do that.
How many vets have ten fingers?

828
00:51:20,887 --> 00:51:22,764
Did you get danger money as a vet?

829
00:51:23,647 --> 00:51:27,845
You probably adjusted your fee
according to the beast.

830
00:51:28,607 --> 00:51:32,236
Constitution Balls are still administered
to horses today,

831
00:51:32,287 --> 00:51:36,326
often with the safer balling gun method,
similar to this Victorian model.

832
00:51:37,007 --> 00:51:41,717
So this, you just push it,
basically a tube with a stick in the middle.

833
00:51:41,767 --> 00:51:46,158
l'm not gonna put it up him but you can see
that will reach to the back of his mouth.

834
00:51:46,207 --> 00:51:48,960
- Pop it in.
- Amazingly trusting horse.

835
00:51:49,007 --> 00:51:51,601
lf l was that horse,
l wouldn't let you near me again.

836
00:51:51,647 --> 00:51:56,163
As with humans, there's,
erm, two ends you can get medicines in.

837
00:51:56,207 --> 00:51:59,722
We've looked at the front end.
l gather there's an alternative.

838
00:51:59,767 --> 00:52:01,405
- Yes.
- This is the the other end?

839
00:52:01,447 --> 00:52:02,436
Yeah.

840
00:52:02,487 --> 00:52:05,797
What would they insert
into the backside of a horse?

841
00:52:05,847 --> 00:52:08,600
Er, simple enema,
if you thought the horse was bunged up.

842
00:52:08,647 --> 00:52:10,126
So that goes up the back end.

843
00:52:10,167 --> 00:52:13,682
- Shall l turn him round now, John?
- l'm not gonna bother, actually.

844
00:52:13,727 --> 00:52:15,399
l haven't got any stuff with me.

845
00:52:17,367 --> 00:52:20,040
Steve, we've got some embrocation
that was made earlier.

846
00:52:20,087 --> 00:52:22,317
- Fire away.
- Yeah.

847
00:52:22,367 --> 00:52:23,846
- Let's get stuck in.
- Yeah.

848
00:52:23,887 --> 00:52:26,321
This is a test of Nick's credibility.

849
00:52:26,367 --> 00:52:30,679
He needs to impress if his new line
of veterinary medicines is to succeed.

850
00:52:30,727 --> 00:52:33,036
Here we have some of the finest embrocation.

851
00:52:33,087 --> 00:52:35,078
- Right.
- Where am l putting it on?

852
00:52:35,127 --> 00:52:38,437
- We want to rub it all round this shoulder area.
- This shoulder area.

853
00:52:38,487 --> 00:52:41,559
- Let's have a go.
- Put it on and have a bit of a rub around.

854
00:52:42,367 --> 00:52:44,244
That's it.

855
00:52:44,927 --> 00:52:47,839
- lt just goes straight into the hair, doesn't it?
- Yeah.

856
00:52:47,887 --> 00:52:50,082
No, it'll work its way through to the skin.

857
00:52:50,127 --> 00:52:54,996
Just to warm the skin, increase blood flow,
then warm the muscles underneath,

858
00:52:55,047 --> 00:52:57,038
again, increasing blood flow.

859
00:52:57,087 --> 00:53:01,160
- And it's massaging the muscle as well.
- Yeah, it all helps, yeah, yeah.

860
00:53:01,207 --> 00:53:04,517
Lovely. There you are.
You're ready for work tomorrow.

861
00:53:12,727 --> 00:53:17,278
Having finished his cleaning duties,
Tom has returned to electrotherapy.

862
00:53:18,007 --> 00:53:21,443
He's changed some parts around
and uncovered the problem.

863
00:53:27,007 --> 00:53:28,679
How's it going?

864
00:53:28,727 --> 00:53:31,082
- Finally got it working.
- Oh, really?

865
00:53:31,127 --> 00:53:33,163
- Yeah.
- What was wrong with it?

866
00:53:33,207 --> 00:53:35,277
A really silly mistake.

867
00:53:35,327 --> 00:53:39,115
You know we attached them there?
Well, it was the wrong one.

868
00:53:40,047 --> 00:53:41,560
We needed to do it to that one.

869
00:53:41,607 --> 00:53:43,723
- Yeah.
- Oops!

870
00:53:44,487 --> 00:53:46,239
- Do you want to try it?
- Yeah, go on.

871
00:53:46,287 --> 00:53:48,562
Hang on.
What do l do, hold them in each hand?

872
00:53:48,607 --> 00:53:50,165
Make sure you hold it tight.

873
00:53:50,207 --> 00:53:52,357
- OK, go on.
- And tell me if it's too...

874
00:54:04,047 --> 00:54:06,197
- Hold it tight.
- l am, l am!

875
00:54:06,287 --> 00:54:08,482
Anything?

876
00:54:11,247 --> 00:54:13,238
Argh!

877
00:54:13,287 --> 00:54:15,278
(Laughs)

878
00:54:18,167 --> 00:54:19,156
Yes!

879
00:54:24,967 --> 00:54:29,597
By the late 1 860s, huge advances
in the scientific grasp of illnesses

880
00:54:29,647 --> 00:54:33,879
enabled the pharmacy to come up with products
that didn't just claim to cure,

881
00:54:33,927 --> 00:54:36,760
but were actually proven to kill germs dead.

882
00:54:37,687 --> 00:54:41,236
The pharmacy was progressing towards
a more professional era.

883
00:54:41,287 --> 00:54:45,519
Blind trust was being replaced
by scientific certainty.

884
00:54:45,567 --> 00:54:50,766
What's been amazing is the growth
of scientific knowledge during this period,

885
00:54:50,807 --> 00:54:54,322
and how the chemists and druggists
have picked it up and been applying it.

886
00:54:54,367 --> 00:54:58,918
Start of the 1 850s, some of them
were borderlining on quackery, really.

887
00:54:58,967 --> 00:55:00,764
They didn't know what they were doing.

888
00:55:00,807 --> 00:55:03,526
But the chemists and druggists
had taken their knowledge,

889
00:55:03,567 --> 00:55:05,603
been able to apply it to their medicines,

890
00:55:05,647 --> 00:55:10,880
and really begin to make things
which are much more likely to work.

891
00:55:10,927 --> 00:55:17,036
That feeling of giving a customer a product you
really believed worked must have been great.

892
00:55:17,087 --> 00:55:21,126
l imagine that many pharmacists
felt a real boost of confidence, you know?

893
00:55:21,167 --> 00:55:23,522
A slightly stronger position in the community.

894
00:55:23,567 --> 00:55:28,083
And that must have helped them to expand out
into a whole new range of products.

895
00:55:29,847 --> 00:55:32,680
But one thing the Victorians understood
above all else

896
00:55:32,727 --> 00:55:35,924
was that no matter how great the advances
of science and medicine,

897
00:55:35,967 --> 00:55:39,039
the best way to draw a crowd
was good marketing.

898
00:55:41,327 --> 00:55:46,401
At last Tom will reveal his new-fangled marvel,
the dog-powered pestle and mortar,

899
00:55:47,167 --> 00:55:50,682
giving Nick a chance
to catch up with his cure-all customers.

900
00:55:51,367 --> 00:55:54,837
lf they say the worse a medicine tastes
the better it does,

901
00:55:54,887 --> 00:55:57,560
l should be really fighting fit, because it was vile.

902
00:55:57,607 --> 00:56:01,043
- l didn't think they were too bad, actually.
- They weren't very nice.

903
00:56:01,087 --> 00:56:03,282
A little bit tart, but they went down OK.

904
00:56:03,327 --> 00:56:06,558
Don't you think a Victorian medicine
should taste a bit nasty?

905
00:56:06,647 --> 00:56:08,763
lt probably should taste nasty. Yes.

906
00:56:08,807 --> 00:56:12,004
- Have you got a sore throat now?
- No. lt hasn't come back.

907
00:56:12,047 --> 00:56:14,720
lt shows they're fantastic.
They work for everyone.

908
00:56:14,767 --> 00:56:17,520
- That's healed. This nearly has.
- lt's improving.

909
00:56:17,567 --> 00:56:19,523
- So you had a sty on your eye?
- Yes, l did.

910
00:56:19,567 --> 00:56:21,717
- Do you still have it?
- l do.

911
00:56:21,767 --> 00:56:23,519
Can you see?

912
00:56:23,567 --> 00:56:25,922
- Did your back get better?
- My back did get better.

913
00:56:25,967 --> 00:56:28,197
- Fantastic.
- But l didn't take the tablets.

914
00:56:28,247 --> 00:56:29,726
(Laughs) Really?

915
00:56:29,767 --> 00:56:32,964
The thing that it did do
is give me a bit of extra flatulence.

916
00:56:33,007 --> 00:56:34,520
Oh, yes! Oh, really?

917
00:56:35,367 --> 00:56:38,962
Fortunately,
Nick has other products he can turn to,

918
00:56:39,007 --> 00:56:41,316
including Ruth's Macassar hair oil.

919
00:56:42,807 --> 00:56:44,479
Just put a bit on your hand.

920
00:56:46,647 --> 00:56:49,286
- And how long does this take?
- Oh...

921
00:56:49,327 --> 00:56:51,363
Well, l don't think we're working in minutes.

922
00:56:55,647 --> 00:56:59,765
lt's Tom's moment to impress the public -
and his boss.

923
00:56:59,807 --> 00:57:02,685
- Your big moment, Tilly.
- This is it, the big night.

924
00:57:06,407 --> 00:57:08,762
Oh, go on, Tilly, just for us.

925
00:57:08,807 --> 00:57:11,446
Watch it. She'll get it
out of your hand any second.

926
00:57:11,487 --> 00:57:13,921
- Go on, Tilly.
- Come on.

927
00:57:13,967 --> 00:57:15,446
- Come on.
- Go on, Tilly.

928
00:57:15,487 --> 00:57:18,763
Oh, come on, you know you like cheese.
You liked cheese before.

929
00:57:18,807 --> 00:57:22,038
No, you're actually bored of cheese now.
You don't want any cheese.

930
00:57:22,087 --> 00:57:25,045
Tom's first PR stunt has drawn a crowd.

931
00:57:25,087 --> 00:57:27,396
And the pestle is finally turning.

932
00:57:29,287 --> 00:57:30,686
Ooh!

933
00:57:30,727 --> 00:57:33,525
But it's not being driven by Tilly the dog.

934
00:57:33,567 --> 00:57:36,445
This is not quite as it was planned,
l think, was it?

935
00:57:36,487 --> 00:57:39,001
- No, not entirely.
- Not quite.

936
00:57:39,047 --> 00:57:41,038
Not entirely, Nick, no.

937
00:57:41,087 --> 00:57:44,682
Now, as an apprentice
you've got a lot to learn, clearly.

938
00:57:44,727 --> 00:57:48,276
You don't think dog-powered pestle and mortars
have got a future?

939
00:57:48,327 --> 00:57:52,320
Er...l think if we work on it a bit
we could get it going.

940
00:57:52,367 --> 00:57:55,245
But...folks, thank you very much for coming.

941
00:57:55,287 --> 00:58:01,760
l'd like to show you this, the first
dog-powered pestle and mortar prototype.

942
00:58:01,807 --> 00:58:04,162
Thank you very much for coming, everyone!

943
00:58:07,087 --> 00:58:10,796
As the team look forward to the next phase
of their pharmacy adventure,

944
00:58:10,847 --> 00:58:15,125
trial and error finally gives way
to real scientific understanding.

945
00:58:15,167 --> 00:58:16,964
- There you go!
- Wow!

946
00:58:17,007 --> 00:58:18,998
Next time on Victorian Pharmacy,

947
00:58:19,047 --> 00:58:24,440
Nick, Ruth and Tom will face an era
of new laws and new inventions.

948
00:58:24,487 --> 00:58:26,842
And it will all go off with a bang.

949
00:58:26,887 --> 00:58:28,206
(Bang)

950
00:58:28,247 --> 00:58:30,158
(Cheering and laughter)