1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:04,440 not just because of the greatest figures of the period, 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,400 but because of ordinary people getting their hands dirty 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,560 doing a lot of very disgusting jobs. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,160 This time, the poor souls 5 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,760 who had to dish out medieval medical cures, 6 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,480 the human hamsters who made cathedrals possible, 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,120 and how walking in wee supported an entire economy. 8 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,600 These are just some of the worst jobs of the Middle Ages. 9 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,280 The Middle Ages is what we call the 500-year period 10 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:54,280 that ended just before 1500. 11 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,600 It was when the great cathedrals and castles of England were built, 12 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,000 the time of the crusades, of bishops and barons, 13 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,040 when Magna Carta was signed, 14 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:07,600 and when Robin Hood and his Merry Men terrorised Sherwood. 15 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,000 The country prospered under the wool trade, 16 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,440 then suffered the ravages of the Black Death. 17 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,840 'But above all, it was the Age of Chivalry.' 18 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:19,240 'Think saintly nobles, 19 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,160 jousting champions and pure maidens.' 20 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,480 'Think battles and bravery.' 21 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,000 'Think deeds of derring-do.' 22 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,600 'Think again.' 23 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,200 (SOUND SCREECHES TO A HALT) Whoops! 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,360 TONY: We do tend to have a rather romantic attitude 25 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,000 towards the Age of Chivalry, with knights in shining armour 26 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,480 fighting for fair damsels in a misty haze. 27 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,840 But, actually, that's got far more to do 28 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,520 with the sentimental nature of the Victorians than with reality. 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,080 So, what were knights really like? 30 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,720 What did they do? Who looked after them? 31 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,000 Well, that brings me to my first worst job, 32 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,480 because you didn't start off being a knight, 33 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,000 you started off on the very lowest rung of the ladder - 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,680 being an arming squire. 35 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,520 TONY: The arming squire was actually a combination 36 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,560 of a valet and a washerwoman. 37 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,480 To plumb the depths of the knightly hierarchy, 38 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,280 I've come to Arundel Castle in West Sussex. 39 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:28,720 Oh, look at you! Your supposed to be a knight in shining armour. 40 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,800 He looks as though he's been hit by a load of cowpats. 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,800 Could you really have look like that at the end of a battle? 42 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,680 Probably even worse than that, to be honest. 43 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:41,240 Um... this, as you see, 44 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,760 is...everyday work for myself. 45 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,600 It's pretty grimy, it's wet, it's slimy. 46 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:48,680 I've been in it for probably eight hours. 47 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:50,720 Um...I haven't had a toilet break. 48 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,560 So things are pretty hot and sweaty and smelly in here. 49 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:55,600 Gavin, your his arming squire. 50 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,080 When he comes back after eight hours on the field, 51 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,400 - what's the worst part of the job? - Taking him out of the armour. 52 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:03,440 GAVIN: He might have fallen into blood, 53 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,240 he's going to fall into where horses have been cut down. 54 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,920 TONY: So how do we get it off? GAVIN: Well, we start... 55 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,040 with the helm, just to give him a little bit of air in there. 56 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,080 What would you be doing while he was bashing away at the enemy 57 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:17,480 - for eight hours? GAVIN: If he hadn't called me 58 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,560 to be at his side on the field, I'd be at the back of the lines, 59 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,600 maybe with another piece of armour, 60 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:24,720 if something was broken, if he got caught, 61 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,800 I could be there to run in and help him out. 62 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:29,720 Would you have been trained much before you could do this? 63 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,200 Oh, very much. I mean, I started off as a page, 64 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,640 then I'll become a squire and at some point, 65 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:36,680 maybe in my late teens, early 20s, 66 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:38,720 at that point, IF I was brave enough 67 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,080 and warranted enough, then I would be knighted. 68 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:43,760 So Gavin, have you got the chance to end up like Paul, 69 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:46,160 - a full-fledged knight? - That's right, yeah. 70 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:48,360 As I have been in his service for many years, 71 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,840 so I'll be trained in the ways of the knight, the ways of chivalry... 72 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,480 He needs to carve my meat as well. TONY: Beg your pardon? 73 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,480 Carve my meat... He has to learn to carve that in a fashionable manner. 74 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,720 Basically, you're like a Formula 1 pit team. 75 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,320 GAVIN: Pretty much so. PAUL: A good team would be... 76 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,680 like a Formula 1 team. You could get in and out of it quickly. 77 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,520 The problem is, what're you gonna do once you're out of it 78 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:12,840 and some poor person has to clean your things? 79 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:16,560 And that's likely to be my squire or another attendant in the camp. 80 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,920 'There are 24 pieces of armour in a full suit, 81 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:24,360 weighing up to 27kg, supported by a leather harness 82 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,560 and worn over a hot and sweaty, padded jacket.' 83 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,040 TONY: Dear, oh dear! If you'd been scared during the battle, 84 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:33,080 I wouldn't want to have been down here. 85 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,280 And most of it is running down my legs. 86 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,040 Yes! Alright. That's a step too far for me. 87 00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:47,440 In order to clean up the dirty armour, 88 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,560 the arming squire would have used 89 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,680 vinegar and sand... like this stuff here. 90 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,760 Occasionally, they used to include a bit of urine 91 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,800 into the mix to give added zest. 92 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:03,880 It's pretty effective although it's horrible stuff. 93 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,280 It would remove your fingerprints pretty quickly. 94 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,440 But this is just the tedium of the camp. 95 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,360 What would the actual battle have been like? 96 00:05:26,291 --> 00:05:28,291 'Before you got to clean out the armour, 97 00:05:28,331 --> 00:05:30,331 you had get to the battlefield, 98 00:05:30,371 --> 00:05:32,531 and that could be a nightmare.' 99 00:05:32,571 --> 00:05:35,091 'Take the most famous conflict of the Middle Ages - 100 00:05:35,131 --> 00:05:37,131 the Battle of Agincourt.' 101 00:05:37,171 --> 00:05:40,411 'Our squire would have marched 260 miles 102 00:05:40,451 --> 00:05:42,891 through France in 17 days, 103 00:05:42,931 --> 00:05:46,051 living outdoors in almost continuous heavy rain.' 104 00:05:46,691 --> 00:05:49,371 'Food and clean drinking water was scarce.' 105 00:05:49,891 --> 00:05:53,171 'Dysentery killed far more soldiers on the way to Agincourt 106 00:05:53,211 --> 00:05:55,171 than died on the battlefield.' 107 00:05:56,651 --> 00:05:59,531 'The English were hopelessly outnumbered, 108 00:05:59,571 --> 00:06:02,131 but the heavy rains created a quagmire 109 00:06:02,171 --> 00:06:04,731 for the French cavalry in their heavy armour.' 110 00:06:04,771 --> 00:06:06,771 'They became sitting ducks 111 00:06:06,811 --> 00:06:10,331 for the English army's mightiest weapon - the longbow.' 112 00:06:12,331 --> 00:06:15,771 In the end, it was the archers that did it. They won the battle. 113 00:06:15,811 --> 00:06:19,171 Their arrows might not have been able to pierce a suit of armour, 114 00:06:19,211 --> 00:06:21,211 but they could kill the horses. 115 00:06:21,251 --> 00:06:23,291 And they did, they DECIMATED them. 116 00:06:23,771 --> 00:06:26,091 Now, you might think that being an archer 117 00:06:26,131 --> 00:06:28,251 was one of the better medieval jobs. 118 00:06:28,291 --> 00:06:30,291 But in many ways it wasn't. 119 00:06:30,331 --> 00:06:33,451 If you got captured, you had your fingers sliced off. 120 00:06:33,491 --> 00:06:35,491 And at the end of the battle, 121 00:06:35,531 --> 00:06:38,611 it really did become one of the worst jobs in history. 122 00:06:38,651 --> 00:06:40,811 There were no doctors on the battlefield, 123 00:06:40,851 --> 00:06:43,931 no St John Ambulance running around with stretchers... 124 00:06:44,491 --> 00:06:47,011 So the archers used to wander among the carnage 125 00:06:47,051 --> 00:06:49,491 and when they found someone seriously injured, 126 00:06:49,531 --> 00:06:51,531 they put them out of their misery. 127 00:06:52,091 --> 00:06:55,131 So being a knight wasn't all it was cracked up to be. 128 00:06:55,171 --> 00:06:58,851 You could die on the battlefield and if you were severely injured, 129 00:06:58,891 --> 00:07:01,451 you'd probably get finished off by a friend. 130 00:07:01,491 --> 00:07:04,251 But if you stayed at home, you were just as likely to die 131 00:07:04,291 --> 00:07:06,291 from getting a common cold, 132 00:07:06,331 --> 00:07:09,171 particularly, given the kind of cures that were on offer. 133 00:07:11,811 --> 00:07:13,811 In the year 1348, 134 00:07:13,851 --> 00:07:16,531 the Black Death swept into England from Europe. 135 00:07:16,571 --> 00:07:20,371 It decimated the population and killed around about 2 million men, 136 00:07:20,411 --> 00:07:22,811 women and children in a couple of years. 137 00:07:22,851 --> 00:07:24,851 Understandably, people began to get 138 00:07:24,891 --> 00:07:27,291 more and more frightened of falling ill. 139 00:07:30,771 --> 00:07:33,691 'Of course, we know that they were fighting a losing battle 140 00:07:33,731 --> 00:07:36,091 against overcrowding and poor sanitation.' 141 00:07:36,651 --> 00:07:39,731 Remember, in those days, household waste and excrement 142 00:07:39,771 --> 00:07:42,451 were just chucked out of the windows into the streets 143 00:07:42,491 --> 00:07:44,491 in the towns and in the cities. 144 00:07:44,531 --> 00:07:48,211 Most people had no idea that that was the cause of their problems, 145 00:07:48,251 --> 00:07:51,051 and instead, in their panic, they began to rely on 146 00:07:51,091 --> 00:07:53,371 a whole host of bizarre remedies, 147 00:07:53,411 --> 00:07:56,731 and for us, that means lots more worst jobs. 148 00:07:57,811 --> 00:07:59,811 'Medical theories were sophisticated 149 00:07:59,851 --> 00:08:02,691 but as we now know, hopelessly misguided.' 150 00:08:02,731 --> 00:08:06,651 'Success rates were terribly low, even before the plague.' 151 00:08:06,691 --> 00:08:08,731 'So any career in medieval medicine 152 00:08:08,771 --> 00:08:10,891 was bound to be frustrating.' 153 00:08:10,931 --> 00:08:13,451 'Oh, and messy, very messy.' 154 00:08:14,451 --> 00:08:16,811 TONY: How about a few of these if you don't fancy 155 00:08:16,851 --> 00:08:19,491 walking around with a bottle of aspirin? Leeches. 156 00:08:19,531 --> 00:08:23,251 In the medieval period, these were a staple medical treatment. 157 00:08:23,291 --> 00:08:26,211 The idea was that as they suck the blood out of you, 158 00:08:26,251 --> 00:08:28,251 they'd suck the badness out as well. 159 00:08:28,291 --> 00:08:30,651 In fact, they were so popular, that it brings me 160 00:08:30,691 --> 00:08:33,171 on to my next disgusting job - 161 00:08:33,211 --> 00:08:35,171 leech collector. 162 00:08:36,651 --> 00:08:40,531 'By the 20th century, leeches were almost declared extinct.' 163 00:08:40,571 --> 00:08:44,451 'So I'm heading for one of the few spots left for a leech safari - 164 00:08:44,971 --> 00:08:48,411 Romney Marshes in Kent, with ranger Owen Leyshon.' 165 00:08:49,171 --> 00:08:51,131 TONY: Cor! It doesn't half smell! 166 00:08:52,011 --> 00:08:54,611 I'm practically up to the top of my waders in one step. 167 00:08:55,411 --> 00:08:58,051 What sort of people would've been leech-gatherers? 168 00:08:58,091 --> 00:09:00,251 OWEN: They would have been professionals, 169 00:09:00,291 --> 00:09:02,331 but they would also have been thatchers, 170 00:09:02,371 --> 00:09:04,411 who would've had leeches stuck to them 171 00:09:04,451 --> 00:09:07,451 as they were collecting all these reeds and sedges 172 00:09:07,491 --> 00:09:09,891 and they would've passed them on to dealers. 173 00:09:09,931 --> 00:09:12,331 Could have made a lot of money out of these reeds 174 00:09:12,371 --> 00:09:14,891 - if you're a thatcher? OWEN: (CHUCKLES) 175 00:09:15,451 --> 00:09:19,211 Still have a nice bit of pin money from the leeches on your feet. 176 00:09:20,411 --> 00:09:22,651 TONY: Apparently, if we jiggle around a lot, 177 00:09:22,691 --> 00:09:25,611 the leeches will think we're cows or sheep or something 178 00:09:25,651 --> 00:09:27,931 that has come down to the water to have a drink, 179 00:09:27,971 --> 00:09:31,011 and they'll come from the bottom and attach themselves to us. 180 00:09:31,051 --> 00:09:33,331 They wouldn't have waders in the Middle Ages? 181 00:09:33,371 --> 00:09:36,531 No, they would've had Scottish women in the Northern England 182 00:09:36,571 --> 00:09:38,571 Lake District and Yorkshire. 183 00:09:38,611 --> 00:09:40,651 They would've gone to good leech areas 184 00:09:40,691 --> 00:09:42,691 and they would've gone in barefoot 185 00:09:42,731 --> 00:09:45,011 into these marshy areas looking for leeches. 186 00:09:45,051 --> 00:09:47,691 TONY: What are leeches? OWEN: Worms with character. 187 00:09:47,731 --> 00:09:51,611 TONY: They really are worms? OWEN: The peak of worm evolution. 188 00:09:51,651 --> 00:09:53,731 They cross-fertilise each other 189 00:09:53,771 --> 00:09:55,851 and lay spongy cocoons 190 00:09:55,891 --> 00:09:59,091 in the root balls of the vegetation along the shoreline. 191 00:09:59,131 --> 00:10:02,491 And little leeches will emerge after several weeks. 192 00:10:03,371 --> 00:10:06,571 And as they get more and more blood meals over a season, 193 00:10:06,611 --> 00:10:10,451 they will get bigger and bigger but also move on to bigger prey items. 194 00:10:10,491 --> 00:10:12,491 Do we use leeches in medicine today? 195 00:10:12,531 --> 00:10:16,291 If you chopped your finger off, you take your finger to the hospital, 196 00:10:16,331 --> 00:10:18,331 and have it sewn back on. 197 00:10:18,371 --> 00:10:20,371 But then what you would have is a leech 198 00:10:20,411 --> 00:10:23,931 on the end of your finger, to draw the blood up to the tip. 199 00:10:23,971 --> 00:10:26,051 TONY: Is that one? OWEN: Oh, my gosh! Yes! 200 00:10:26,091 --> 00:10:29,891 TONY: (LAUGHS) The hunter has struck! I have leeched! 201 00:10:29,931 --> 00:10:32,291 I have caught... the leech! 202 00:10:33,851 --> 00:10:35,851 Actually, I'm copping out, aren't I? 203 00:10:35,891 --> 00:10:39,371 In the Middle Ages there would've been Glasgow girls, barelegged 204 00:10:39,411 --> 00:10:42,411 with leeches hanging off their legs, and I've got waders on. 205 00:10:42,451 --> 00:10:44,451 I will not be overshadowed, come on. 206 00:10:49,571 --> 00:10:51,651 TONY: Is it gonna hurt? OWEN: No, it won't. 207 00:10:51,691 --> 00:10:54,811 It'll leave a permanent, Y-shape scar on your leg. 208 00:10:54,851 --> 00:10:57,611 - How big? - Only the size of the mouth. 209 00:11:00,051 --> 00:11:02,051 OWEN: Here we go. 210 00:11:02,091 --> 00:11:04,051 TONY: Oh, no. It doesn't like me! 211 00:11:08,331 --> 00:11:10,291 TONY: Oh, for God's sake, do the deed! 212 00:11:11,451 --> 00:11:13,451 TONY: It has just bit me. 213 00:11:13,491 --> 00:11:15,651 OWEN: Yeah? - Definitely just bit me. 214 00:11:16,051 --> 00:11:18,051 Oh my God, he's swelling up. 215 00:11:18,091 --> 00:11:22,131 How much bigger than this will the leech get as it sucks my blood? 216 00:11:22,171 --> 00:11:24,171 That depends very much how they feed, 217 00:11:24,211 --> 00:11:27,411 but they can increase their size by about five or six times. 218 00:11:29,171 --> 00:11:31,131 We could be here for some time. 219 00:11:31,851 --> 00:11:33,931 And these guys in the Middle A... Ouch! 220 00:11:35,891 --> 00:11:38,811 These guys in the Middle Ages... It's really stinging now. 221 00:11:39,211 --> 00:11:41,291 ..when they had an illness, 222 00:11:41,331 --> 00:11:43,931 they could have 20 or 30 of these all around them? 223 00:11:43,971 --> 00:11:46,411 That's right, I mean. And can you imagine the mess 224 00:11:46,451 --> 00:11:48,451 after they've all been taken off you? 225 00:11:48,491 --> 00:11:51,011 They would have been bleeding profusely. 226 00:11:52,131 --> 00:11:54,091 TONY: Shall we take it off now? 227 00:11:58,611 --> 00:12:00,611 You can really see the blood now. 228 00:12:00,651 --> 00:12:03,811 The hirudin, the anticoagulant in the saliva of the leech, 229 00:12:03,851 --> 00:12:07,131 will keep...will open up the wound and keep it flowing of blood. 230 00:12:07,171 --> 00:12:09,171 TONY: I'm glad you shared that with me. 231 00:12:09,211 --> 00:12:12,011 Actually, leeches were only one way of making you bleed. 232 00:12:12,051 --> 00:12:14,091 In the Middle Ages, there were others, 233 00:12:14,131 --> 00:12:16,531 which brings me to my next worst job - 234 00:12:16,891 --> 00:12:18,891 the barber-surgeon. 235 00:12:18,931 --> 00:12:21,531 'In the Middle Ages, barbers were qualified 236 00:12:21,571 --> 00:12:24,851 to use a range of razors, knives and scalpels.' 237 00:12:26,811 --> 00:12:30,811 I'm really ill. I think I may possibly even be at death's door. 238 00:12:30,851 --> 00:12:34,251 So I've pulled together my last few pence 239 00:12:34,291 --> 00:12:36,931 in order to invest in this man - 240 00:12:36,971 --> 00:12:38,971 the barber-surgeon. 241 00:12:39,011 --> 00:12:41,211 Chris, how ill am I, actually? 242 00:12:41,251 --> 00:12:44,131 Well, to look at your urine sample, you are pretty ill 243 00:12:44,171 --> 00:12:46,171 otherwise you wouldn't have come to me. 244 00:12:46,211 --> 00:12:49,731 This is the first wee of the morning when colours are strongest. 245 00:12:49,771 --> 00:12:53,051 So the surgeon would be able to tell what was wrong from that. 246 00:12:53,091 --> 00:12:56,211 'The body supposedly contained four humours - 247 00:12:56,251 --> 00:12:59,331 blood, phlegm and yellow and black biles.' 248 00:12:59,371 --> 00:13:02,371 'Ill-health was caused by their imbalance.' 249 00:13:02,891 --> 00:13:05,971 'To diagnose a patient, you compared their urine 250 00:13:06,011 --> 00:13:08,011 with charts, by sight, 251 00:13:08,051 --> 00:13:11,171 smell and... Oh, God!' 252 00:13:11,211 --> 00:13:13,571 TONY: You don't need to taste any more. Really. 253 00:13:13,611 --> 00:13:15,971 I would say you're normally a choleric person. 254 00:13:16,011 --> 00:13:19,451 But it's got darker - you've got an excess of melancholy in your body. 255 00:13:19,491 --> 00:13:21,691 So you've been a bit down lately, depressed. 256 00:13:21,731 --> 00:13:23,731 That's been affecting your health. 257 00:13:23,771 --> 00:13:25,971 Bristol City aren't winning often enough! 258 00:13:26,011 --> 00:13:28,371 Oh, well! I can't cure that. 259 00:13:29,811 --> 00:13:32,211 TONY: There's nobody down there, I don't think. 260 00:13:32,251 --> 00:13:35,371 TONY: These are some fairly fierce-looking instruments. 261 00:13:35,411 --> 00:13:37,931 Well, this is a tool kit of a professional man, 262 00:13:37,971 --> 00:13:41,131 a barber-surgeon who's made a lot of money from his profession. 263 00:13:41,171 --> 00:13:44,491 These knives are for chopping off people's bits and pieces? 264 00:13:44,531 --> 00:13:46,571 CHRIS: Oh yes, this is my amputation set. 265 00:13:46,611 --> 00:13:48,771 If you're trying to take off someone's arm 266 00:13:48,811 --> 00:13:51,211 with a straight knife, just start off like that, 267 00:13:51,251 --> 00:13:54,011 and around there, and there. Then we've got to lift it up 268 00:13:54,051 --> 00:13:56,291 - and get underneath it. TONY: It's fiddly. 269 00:13:56,331 --> 00:14:00,051 - Yeah, so we have a curved knife, TONY: Yeah. 270 00:14:00,091 --> 00:14:03,171 which will fit around like that, and in one great swoop, 271 00:14:03,211 --> 00:14:06,291 it could take three-quarters of the muscle off your arm. 272 00:14:06,331 --> 00:14:08,571 And the back of the blade is sharp as well. 273 00:14:08,611 --> 00:14:11,491 So with a backstroke, you just take that bit off. 274 00:14:12,771 --> 00:14:15,891 'Just imagine having to remove somebody's limb 275 00:14:15,931 --> 00:14:18,931 when they didn't have the benefit of modern anaesthetics.' 276 00:14:18,971 --> 00:14:21,131 It wasn't something people came for often. 277 00:14:21,171 --> 00:14:23,251 They had been to real extremes before 278 00:14:23,291 --> 00:14:25,531 they'd employ you to do something like that. 279 00:14:25,571 --> 00:14:27,771 TONY: So there wasn't much money in it? 280 00:14:27,811 --> 00:14:30,451 There was a great deal of money when it was available. 281 00:14:30,491 --> 00:14:33,611 But it wasn't available very often. So I had to make a living... 282 00:14:33,651 --> 00:14:35,771 TONY: Cutting hair. - And shaving people. 283 00:14:35,811 --> 00:14:37,811 TONY: These things are pretty much like 284 00:14:37,851 --> 00:14:39,851 in the barber's shop when I was a kid. 285 00:14:39,891 --> 00:14:42,291 CHRIS: Well, their functions haven't changed. 286 00:14:42,331 --> 00:14:44,771 This is a horn comb, but it's still a comb. 287 00:14:44,811 --> 00:14:48,291 And this is a razor. It's a bit more fancy than the modern ones, 288 00:14:48,331 --> 00:14:51,171 - but it's still just a blade. TONY: Can you stop a minute? 289 00:14:51,211 --> 00:14:54,131 I want to talk about something else I've just noticed. 290 00:14:55,211 --> 00:14:59,051 - Is this what I think it might be? CHRIS: It is. 291 00:14:59,531 --> 00:15:02,571 In medieval times, they believed when you swallow medicine, 292 00:15:02,611 --> 00:15:04,771 it'll go into the stomach and be broken down 293 00:15:04,811 --> 00:15:07,771 by the heat of the liver because the stomach was like an oven, 294 00:15:07,811 --> 00:15:09,971 which will break down things through heat. 295 00:15:10,011 --> 00:15:11,971 So you have to put it in by another route. 296 00:15:12,491 --> 00:15:14,491 - Not this route. - Not that route. 297 00:15:14,531 --> 00:15:16,531 - It's a route down here? - Absolutely. 298 00:15:16,571 --> 00:15:19,291 This is a clyster, a medieval enema tube. 299 00:15:21,331 --> 00:15:23,411 It's very cold, apart from anything else. 300 00:15:23,451 --> 00:15:26,691 We can warm it. We've got to smear it...smear it well with lard, 301 00:15:27,091 --> 00:15:30,451 so it slides in smoothly because it must travel in at least 6in 302 00:15:30,491 --> 00:15:33,371 - beyond the sphincter muscles. - 6in is, what, that? 303 00:15:33,411 --> 00:15:35,491 - Yeah. - Goodness me! 304 00:15:35,931 --> 00:15:37,971 - Makes your eyes water. - It would. 305 00:15:38,011 --> 00:15:40,851 And then the...medicine is poured down in there, 306 00:15:40,891 --> 00:15:43,011 - Yeah. - and ram it down with your stick 307 00:15:43,051 --> 00:15:45,251 to make sure it all comes out at the other end. 308 00:15:45,291 --> 00:15:48,211 You see, you learn something watching this programme. 309 00:15:48,251 --> 00:15:50,251 It's not just medicine. If you were ill, 310 00:15:50,291 --> 00:15:52,251 they might FEED you by that method. 311 00:15:53,131 --> 00:15:55,371 - What, up the arse? - Absolutely! 312 00:15:55,411 --> 00:15:58,691 CHRIS: It didn't work, but that's what... They believed it would. 313 00:15:58,731 --> 00:16:01,371 Would give the barber-surgeon a laugh, wouldn't it? 314 00:16:01,411 --> 00:16:03,731 CHRIS: Specially with people he didn't like. 315 00:16:06,851 --> 00:16:10,731 If you couldn't afford a colonic irrigation from a barber-surgeon, 316 00:16:10,771 --> 00:16:14,651 for your day-to-day ailments you'd probably visit the "wise woman". 317 00:16:14,691 --> 00:16:17,811 And when you see the ingredients she used in her medicines, 318 00:16:17,851 --> 00:16:21,891 I think you'll understand why I have designated it a "worst job". 319 00:16:22,971 --> 00:16:27,251 'A wise woman was viewed with a mixture of fear and respect.' 320 00:16:27,291 --> 00:16:31,491 'She was an agony aunt, midwife and district nurse, all combined.' 321 00:16:31,931 --> 00:16:33,931 'The church usually turned a blind eye 322 00:16:33,971 --> 00:16:37,211 but there was always the risk of being tried for witchcraft.' 323 00:16:37,251 --> 00:16:41,211 'Remedies ranged from the common sense to the nonsensical'. 324 00:16:41,251 --> 00:16:44,731 'For instance, to cure warts, just take one eel.' 325 00:16:45,371 --> 00:16:47,971 - Now, which bit do we want? - It's this bit here. 326 00:16:48,011 --> 00:16:51,811 OK? And the idea is that to use it as a wart cure, 327 00:16:51,851 --> 00:16:54,011 - Yeah. - you have to rub it on the wart... 328 00:16:54,051 --> 00:16:57,731 - Yeah. - Oops! ..on the affected area, 329 00:16:57,771 --> 00:17:01,371 and then, obviously, once you've done that, you then take this out 330 00:17:01,411 --> 00:17:04,171 and you bury it, and as this rots away, 331 00:17:04,211 --> 00:17:06,211 your wart will disappear, sir. 332 00:17:06,251 --> 00:17:10,131 - Does it work? - Apparently so, apparently so. 333 00:17:10,171 --> 00:17:13,411 TONY: Why have we got a load of worms and bits of string? 334 00:17:13,851 --> 00:17:17,531 Well, apparently, this is quackery medicine at its best. 335 00:17:18,011 --> 00:17:21,291 If you go to a...a physician who isn't properly trained, 336 00:17:21,331 --> 00:17:23,851 then what would happen is, if you had a sore throat, 337 00:17:23,891 --> 00:17:27,371 they would suggest, depending on the severity of the sore throat, 338 00:17:27,411 --> 00:17:31,251 whether or not you would have one, two, ten or even 20 worms 339 00:17:31,291 --> 00:17:33,811 on a cord tied around your neck, 340 00:17:33,851 --> 00:17:35,851 alive, as these are, 341 00:17:35,891 --> 00:17:39,611 and then the idea was that when these died and stopped wriggling, 342 00:17:39,651 --> 00:17:41,651 your sore throat would be cured. 343 00:17:41,691 --> 00:17:44,251 So I just...put them on like this? 344 00:17:44,291 --> 00:17:47,531 That's right. And they're supposed to go to... next to your skin. 345 00:17:47,571 --> 00:17:49,571 So they go inside your shirt. (LAUGHS) 346 00:17:49,611 --> 00:17:51,731 TONY: Well, you hold that. WISE WOMAN: OK. 347 00:17:54,331 --> 00:17:56,331 Here we go. 348 00:17:56,371 --> 00:17:58,571 They're rather cold and clammy, I'm afraid. 349 00:17:58,611 --> 00:18:01,051 WISE WOMAN: Are we in? TONY: No, got it in my mouth! 350 00:18:01,091 --> 00:18:03,731 Sorry. Well, that's always one of the dangers. 351 00:18:03,771 --> 00:18:07,091 - I think my sore throat's better. - We shall take this off then, sir. 352 00:18:09,011 --> 00:18:12,211 'Wise women tended to be paid by barter.' 353 00:18:12,251 --> 00:18:15,131 'So they'd have traded their cures in return for a service 354 00:18:15,171 --> 00:18:18,611 like having a roof fixed or a supply of food.' 355 00:18:18,651 --> 00:18:20,731 'This was medicine for the poor.' 356 00:18:20,771 --> 00:18:24,371 'But natural herbs and ingredients often had healing properties.' 357 00:18:24,971 --> 00:18:27,691 - What other cures have you got? - Well, we have nettles. 358 00:18:29,131 --> 00:18:32,051 Nettles are particularly good for arthritic joints. 359 00:18:32,411 --> 00:18:36,811 And the idea is that you whack... the joint...with the nettles. 360 00:18:36,851 --> 00:18:41,211 And, obviously, the stinging of the nettles stimulates blood flow. 361 00:18:41,251 --> 00:18:44,611 But the problem is that you also have the sting of the nettle. 362 00:18:44,651 --> 00:18:49,571 Now, to counteract the sting of the nettle, you bruise nettle tips - 363 00:18:49,611 --> 00:18:51,771 and I have some here - 364 00:18:51,811 --> 00:18:55,131 and you basically just... keep squishing them like that. 365 00:18:55,171 --> 00:18:57,931 Because you've bruised them, it's safe to pick them up. 366 00:18:57,971 --> 00:19:01,931 Then you rub that on the back of the joint. It takes away the sting. 367 00:19:01,971 --> 00:19:03,971 - That really works? - It does work. 368 00:19:04,011 --> 00:19:07,011 - Come on then, give us a sting. - Ohhh! Right, OK. 369 00:19:08,891 --> 00:19:11,411 - OK? - Yeah. Oh, blimey! Day sting, 370 00:19:11,451 --> 00:19:13,411 - not night sting. - (LAUGHS) 371 00:19:13,851 --> 00:19:16,291 - OK. Now, is that stinging? - YES! It's stinging. 372 00:19:16,331 --> 00:19:18,291 Right. OK, OK. Right. 373 00:19:19,491 --> 00:19:21,491 Have to rub it quite vigorously. 374 00:19:21,531 --> 00:19:24,251 - That really hurt! - I'm sorry, I do apologise. 375 00:19:26,971 --> 00:19:29,291 - OK? - All around there, yeah. 376 00:19:30,131 --> 00:19:33,211 So you won't be troubled with arthritic joints this weekend. 377 00:19:34,811 --> 00:19:36,971 - You might, if this doesn't work. - (LAUGHS) 378 00:19:37,771 --> 00:19:39,931 How's that feeling? 379 00:19:39,971 --> 00:19:41,971 My hand still stings like hell! 380 00:19:42,011 --> 00:19:46,051 WISE WOMAN: Well, in that case, I think a pick-me-up is called for. 381 00:19:46,091 --> 00:19:50,331 - I'll have a pick-me-up. - OK, I have some by the fire, 382 00:19:50,971 --> 00:19:53,131 which is bubbling away quite nicely, 383 00:19:53,171 --> 00:19:55,131 um...and it's worm stew. 384 00:19:56,251 --> 00:19:58,531 - It is WORM STEW! - Worm stew. 385 00:19:58,571 --> 00:20:02,171 - How do you make it? - Well, take your "fresh vermes," 386 00:20:02,211 --> 00:20:05,371 which we have in the pot. I've started to cook some of them down. 387 00:20:06,251 --> 00:20:09,251 We've mixed in bread, a selection of herbs, 388 00:20:09,291 --> 00:20:11,251 some water and some butter. 389 00:20:13,091 --> 00:20:15,491 'We know now that the worms would've provided 390 00:20:15,531 --> 00:20:19,051 the benefits of protein to an otherwise sparse diet.' 391 00:20:19,091 --> 00:20:23,171 'But boiling up weird ingredients could be construed as witchcraft, 392 00:20:23,571 --> 00:20:26,971 and if she was accused, there could be a high price to pay.' 393 00:20:27,571 --> 00:20:31,651 You would be arrested, you would have trials by ordeal. 394 00:20:31,691 --> 00:20:34,931 You would possibly have an open grate with an iron bar in 395 00:20:34,971 --> 00:20:37,611 and be made to pick it up and walk across a room 396 00:20:37,651 --> 00:20:39,651 and set it down without dropping it. 397 00:20:39,691 --> 00:20:42,171 And then your hands would be tied with bandages. 398 00:20:42,211 --> 00:20:45,851 They would be checked after three days, and if they were festering, 399 00:20:45,971 --> 00:20:49,371 and showing no signs of healing, then you were convicted as guilty. 400 00:20:49,411 --> 00:20:52,451 Because God would intervene if you were innocent! 401 00:20:52,491 --> 00:20:55,171 TONY: Your soup's bubbling. It's not burning, is it? 402 00:20:55,211 --> 00:20:57,211 WISE WOMAN: No, no, no, no. It's fine. 403 00:20:57,251 --> 00:20:59,331 I should think it's probably ready by now. 404 00:21:00,011 --> 00:21:02,891 It looks a bit black, but that's how it's supposed to look. 405 00:21:02,931 --> 00:21:04,931 There you go, have a try of that. 406 00:21:04,971 --> 00:21:08,891 - Oh, I saw little lumps in it! - That's the worms. 407 00:21:09,731 --> 00:21:13,011 - It's supposed to look like that. TONY: It's quite hot as well. 408 00:21:14,051 --> 00:21:16,691 WISE WOMAN: Go on, you'll feel wonderful after it. 409 00:21:23,571 --> 00:21:25,531 I wish I was dead! 410 00:21:26,091 --> 00:21:28,091 It tastes like phlegm... 411 00:21:28,131 --> 00:21:30,411 that's slightly flavoured with chicken. 412 00:21:30,451 --> 00:21:32,771 Yes, it does taste a bit like chicken and snot. 413 00:21:37,011 --> 00:21:39,531 Would you like me to take that back off you? (LAUGHS) 414 00:21:40,971 --> 00:21:44,331 'The wise woman and other miserable medical careers 415 00:21:44,371 --> 00:21:46,491 have been swept away by modern science.' 416 00:21:47,051 --> 00:21:49,611 'We've still got medieval architecture, though.' 417 00:21:49,651 --> 00:21:52,131 'But THAT was only built on the strained backs 418 00:21:52,171 --> 00:21:55,491 of a lot more people doing a lot more worse jobs.' 419 00:22:02,593 --> 00:22:06,393 When Richard The Lionheart set off for the crusades in 1189, 420 00:22:06,433 --> 00:22:09,553 he thought that by fighting a holy war for Christianity, 421 00:22:09,593 --> 00:22:11,793 he'd be saving his soul. 422 00:22:11,833 --> 00:22:13,833 In the Middle Ages, money could buy you 423 00:22:13,873 --> 00:22:15,993 the love of God and a place in heaven. 424 00:22:16,633 --> 00:22:20,073 Crusading was one way to get these spiritual brownie points. 425 00:22:20,113 --> 00:22:24,273 Another was by building something big and bold for the church - 426 00:22:24,313 --> 00:22:26,273 like a cathedral. 427 00:22:27,553 --> 00:22:30,193 'There are 24 medieval cathedrals in Britain.' 428 00:22:30,233 --> 00:22:32,433 'They took generations to construct.' 429 00:22:32,913 --> 00:22:35,433 'Building sites became home to whole communities 430 00:22:35,473 --> 00:22:39,273 of craftsmen and labourers, who devoted their working lives 431 00:22:39,313 --> 00:22:41,593 to these monuments of medieval faith.' 432 00:22:43,313 --> 00:22:46,033 Fortunately for us, we can get a bit of an idea 433 00:22:46,073 --> 00:22:49,113 of what working on a medieval cathedral would've been like 434 00:22:49,153 --> 00:22:52,873 because the tower of St Edmundsbury is still under construction today. 435 00:22:57,793 --> 00:23:00,153 'Here in 21st century Bury St Edmunds, 436 00:23:00,473 --> 00:23:02,473 there's plenty of mechanised help.' 437 00:23:02,513 --> 00:23:05,713 '700 years ago, everything was done by hand, 438 00:23:05,753 --> 00:23:08,273 or rather, by thousands of hands.' 439 00:23:08,313 --> 00:23:10,553 'Building a cathedral in a city 440 00:23:10,593 --> 00:23:13,553 was like bringing a new car plant to an area today.' 441 00:23:13,593 --> 00:23:16,153 'It provided hundreds of jobs, high and low.' 442 00:23:17,153 --> 00:23:20,673 'But even prestigious workers like stone masons had it tough.' 443 00:23:20,713 --> 00:23:23,073 'Before they even started building, 444 00:23:23,113 --> 00:23:26,153 they had the hellish tasks of quarrying and cutting 445 00:23:26,193 --> 00:23:28,593 and carting the raw stone to the building site.' 446 00:23:35,273 --> 00:23:38,153 'Andre Vrona is the most sought-after stone mason 447 00:23:38,193 --> 00:23:41,713 in the country, and the master mason at Bury St Edmunds.' 448 00:23:41,753 --> 00:23:44,633 'He's brought me to Ketton quarry, near Peterborough, 449 00:23:44,673 --> 00:23:47,113 to look for just the RIGHT piece of limestone 450 00:23:47,153 --> 00:23:49,233 for the St Edmundsbury tower.' 451 00:23:50,233 --> 00:23:53,593 TONY: Have people used the stone around here for building for long? 452 00:23:53,633 --> 00:23:56,873 ANDRE: Oh, it's been recorded as being used...from this area 453 00:23:57,553 --> 00:24:00,913 extensively since the 15th century, certainly, 454 00:24:00,953 --> 00:24:03,873 to build manor houses, cathedrals, 455 00:24:04,313 --> 00:24:06,713 mainly ecclesiastical buildings in... 456 00:24:06,753 --> 00:24:09,713 north of here, south of here and East Anglia. 457 00:24:09,753 --> 00:24:11,793 TONY: How would they have dug a piece out? 458 00:24:12,513 --> 00:24:15,273 ANDRE: (SIGHS) Well, you can guess that these guys 459 00:24:15,313 --> 00:24:18,793 wedged and levered it and drove pins in. 460 00:24:19,233 --> 00:24:23,353 They would've got into the natural strata of the stone underneath it, 461 00:24:23,393 --> 00:24:26,633 and raised it, just a small amount. 462 00:24:31,073 --> 00:24:34,753 TONY: Nowadays, transporting big pieces of stone is pretty easy, 463 00:24:34,793 --> 00:24:37,873 but in the Middle Ages, it was a REAL problem. 464 00:24:38,273 --> 00:24:40,353 Basically, you had two alternatives. 465 00:24:40,393 --> 00:24:43,793 You could either use water, if there was a river nearby, 466 00:24:43,833 --> 00:24:45,833 or else you could use a cart, 467 00:24:45,873 --> 00:24:49,393 which was incredibly slow and very expensive. 468 00:24:49,433 --> 00:24:52,873 In fact, the cost of transporting the stone 469 00:24:52,913 --> 00:24:56,673 could be four times as much as the value of the stone in the quarry. 470 00:24:56,713 --> 00:24:59,113 And when you think that a lot of the stones 471 00:24:59,153 --> 00:25:01,553 in the English cathedrals came from Normandy, 472 00:25:01,593 --> 00:25:04,873 you can imagine how much the costs really escalated. 473 00:25:06,993 --> 00:25:10,193 'So to save money on transport, there was a team of people 474 00:25:10,233 --> 00:25:13,673 whose entire day was spent cleaving the stone.' 475 00:25:14,073 --> 00:25:16,153 Andre, you've got modern technology 476 00:25:16,193 --> 00:25:19,593 but how would the lads have cut these blocks in the Middle Ages? 477 00:25:19,633 --> 00:25:22,913 Well, it's called "delving" and using plug and feathers... 478 00:25:22,953 --> 00:25:24,953 - What's plug and feathers? - Are these. 479 00:25:25,953 --> 00:25:28,233 Feathers...and a plug... 480 00:25:28,273 --> 00:25:32,113 that's tapered... It applies pressure and it splits. 481 00:25:32,153 --> 00:25:34,153 Go on then, show me how to delve. 482 00:25:38,473 --> 00:25:42,113 'In medieval times, these holes were laboriously drilled 483 00:25:42,153 --> 00:25:44,153 with a hammer and spike.' 484 00:25:44,633 --> 00:25:47,993 - That one is tight enough, Tony. - You can hear the different noise. 485 00:25:48,033 --> 00:25:50,913 Yeah, completely different. So if you'd like to have a go? 486 00:25:50,953 --> 00:25:53,113 - Yeah. - A couple of taps on each one. 487 00:25:53,153 --> 00:25:55,873 Yeah. Oh... missed it! 488 00:25:57,233 --> 00:26:00,153 ANDRE: Keep going, one more big one... There... 489 00:26:00,193 --> 00:26:03,233 TONY: Oh look at that, look at that! Oh my God, it's opening up! 490 00:26:03,273 --> 00:26:06,193 That's extraordinary. That was like a little earthquake! 491 00:26:06,233 --> 00:26:08,753 You just felt the whole stone move! 492 00:26:08,793 --> 00:26:11,433 - I hardly hit that at all. - It's a simple thing. 493 00:26:11,473 --> 00:26:13,713 It's not a strength thing, it's the pressure. 494 00:26:14,353 --> 00:26:16,433 It's relatively simple and easy. 495 00:26:17,033 --> 00:26:19,113 TONY: Have a look, look at this! 496 00:26:19,153 --> 00:26:21,193 Look, it's gone right down to the bottom! 497 00:26:21,233 --> 00:26:23,353 That's amazing! It's so simple, isn't it? 498 00:26:23,393 --> 00:26:26,953 It is, yeah. It's basically the form of splitting stone 499 00:26:26,993 --> 00:26:29,593 to get these dimensional shapes up the quarry 500 00:26:29,633 --> 00:26:32,633 to save them carting waste from the quarry to the site. 501 00:26:32,673 --> 00:26:34,633 And this is how they did it. 502 00:26:36,913 --> 00:26:38,993 TONY: A medieval cathedral building site 503 00:26:39,033 --> 00:26:41,073 would've been a fantastic place. 504 00:26:41,113 --> 00:26:43,513 No one would ever have seen anything of this size 505 00:26:43,553 --> 00:26:46,913 and grandeur before, and it would've been absolutely teeming 506 00:26:46,953 --> 00:26:49,913 with workmen - setters, hewers, 507 00:26:49,953 --> 00:26:53,673 layers, wallers and of course, the stone masons. 508 00:26:54,153 --> 00:26:56,433 Higher wages, better paid, 509 00:26:56,793 --> 00:26:59,513 but it would've still been a job with plenty of dangers. 510 00:27:03,473 --> 00:27:05,553 The master mason at Canterbury Cathedral 511 00:27:05,593 --> 00:27:07,593 was a Frenchman called William. 512 00:27:07,633 --> 00:27:10,953 He was working on the scaffolding one day at this kind of height, 513 00:27:11,233 --> 00:27:13,913 when suddenly the whole scaffolding collapsed 514 00:27:13,953 --> 00:27:15,913 and he went plummeting down. 515 00:27:16,433 --> 00:27:20,233 Masonry and timber and scaffolding fell on top of him. 516 00:27:20,273 --> 00:27:23,033 He was so badly damaged, he couldn't do his job any more. 517 00:27:23,073 --> 00:27:25,953 They had to send him home, and an Englishman took over. 518 00:27:27,993 --> 00:27:31,353 Andre, it's amazing when you look down there. Look down, right down... 519 00:27:31,873 --> 00:27:34,353 here. That is SO vertical. 520 00:27:34,833 --> 00:27:37,873 Andre, do you think that the masons in the medieval period 521 00:27:37,913 --> 00:27:40,433 would've been able to make pillars this straight? 522 00:27:40,873 --> 00:27:43,793 There's no doubt that in some cases they would, but largely 523 00:27:44,113 --> 00:27:47,753 ecclesiastical medieval buildings didn't achieve that. 524 00:27:47,793 --> 00:27:50,593 TONY: Why not? - Because over such a long period 525 00:27:50,633 --> 00:27:54,193 they were built, there would be varying skill levels to the masons. 526 00:27:54,233 --> 00:27:56,913 And different people. You've built this whole thing. 527 00:27:56,953 --> 00:27:59,513 ANDRE: In two or three years. They were 80-90 years. 528 00:27:59,553 --> 00:28:02,793 TONY: The problems might get lost. That's something a bit dodgy. 529 00:28:02,833 --> 00:28:05,953 ANDRE: Yeah. Whereas you can be forgiven years ago for an inch, 530 00:28:05,993 --> 00:28:08,633 pull it back on line, but we're not allowed a quarter. 531 00:28:08,673 --> 00:28:11,553 You're saying medieval masons might've done a botch job. 532 00:28:11,593 --> 00:28:13,633 Yeah, often they did, often they did. 533 00:28:17,273 --> 00:28:21,273 'The St Edmundsbury project is using a medieval mortar of lime.' 534 00:28:21,553 --> 00:28:23,713 'When it's mixed, it's harmless enough, 535 00:28:23,753 --> 00:28:27,433 but in the middle ages, making lime was a high risk process 536 00:28:27,473 --> 00:28:29,873 for the lime burner, and believe it or not, 537 00:28:29,913 --> 00:28:32,753 the mortal danger came from chalk.' 538 00:28:35,193 --> 00:28:38,153 Michael, why do you need chalk to make cathedrals? 539 00:28:38,593 --> 00:28:41,553 I need chalk so that I've got something to make lime from. 540 00:28:41,593 --> 00:28:44,873 By heating the chalk up, if I can heat the chalk up to red heat 541 00:28:44,913 --> 00:28:46,873 and hold it at red heat for a while, 542 00:28:47,113 --> 00:28:49,593 it'll change to quite a different chemical, 543 00:28:49,633 --> 00:28:52,233 - though it'll look the same. - What does the lime do? 544 00:28:52,513 --> 00:28:54,873 Lime, I think, holds the whole thing together. 545 00:28:55,553 --> 00:28:58,473 It binds together the grains of sand 546 00:28:58,953 --> 00:29:02,233 to make a mortar and the mortar holds the stones apart 547 00:29:02,273 --> 00:29:04,273 in a gentle cushioning sort of way. 548 00:29:04,313 --> 00:29:07,393 I'm going to put a few pieces of chalk into the bottom of this. 549 00:29:07,433 --> 00:29:09,673 'The first stage was making quick lime, 550 00:29:09,713 --> 00:29:11,673 a highly caustic alkali.' 551 00:29:11,873 --> 00:29:14,273 'This is a small scale version of the process 552 00:29:14,313 --> 00:29:17,673 that medieval lime burners used in their giant kilns.' 553 00:29:17,713 --> 00:29:19,713 'It was potentially deadly.' 554 00:29:19,753 --> 00:29:21,913 Keeping the lime kiln happy 555 00:29:21,953 --> 00:29:24,633 means watching it day and night 556 00:29:24,673 --> 00:29:26,633 for perhaps 48 hours. 557 00:29:26,873 --> 00:29:28,913 MICHAEL: If the burning isn't effective, 558 00:29:29,273 --> 00:29:31,233 they can create carbon monoxide. 559 00:29:31,673 --> 00:29:33,873 - What does that do to you? - It's horrible. 560 00:29:34,153 --> 00:29:36,433 It paralyses you first and then kills you. 561 00:29:36,473 --> 00:29:39,313 It poisons your blood, stops your blood taking in oxygen. 562 00:29:40,233 --> 00:29:42,513 MICHAEL: During the process of the burn, 563 00:29:42,833 --> 00:29:45,433 it's not unknown for people to fall in the kiln 564 00:29:46,313 --> 00:29:49,153 and not be able to get out again, so they roast as well. 565 00:29:49,873 --> 00:29:52,233 'Driving off the oxygen in the kilns 566 00:29:52,273 --> 00:29:55,113 was dangerous enough, that was only half the job.' 567 00:29:55,513 --> 00:29:57,953 'The resulting quick lime was added to water 568 00:29:57,993 --> 00:30:00,953 to make slaked lime used for making mortar.' 569 00:30:01,233 --> 00:30:03,193 'And it was a very risky business.' 570 00:30:03,713 --> 00:30:05,953 MICHAEL: I'll show you that on a bigger scale. 571 00:30:06,313 --> 00:30:09,113 I've brought lumps of quick lime. Very dangerous stuff. 572 00:30:09,633 --> 00:30:12,873 It's why I'm wearing gloves - it'll eat through my hands in no time. 573 00:30:12,913 --> 00:30:14,873 I'm gonna try a Roman technique 574 00:30:15,113 --> 00:30:17,913 to imitate the sort of lime that we're using on the site. 575 00:30:17,953 --> 00:30:19,953 TONY: Like this... 576 00:30:19,993 --> 00:30:22,313 Powdered form of lime is safer than quick lime. 577 00:30:22,433 --> 00:30:24,873 TONY: This is the powder you make the mortar with? 578 00:30:24,913 --> 00:30:27,113 But how do you get that into powder? 579 00:30:27,513 --> 00:30:30,913 By adding water. That does not sound likely, but that's the case. 580 00:30:30,953 --> 00:30:32,953 - It's dangerous. - Why is it dangerous? 581 00:30:32,993 --> 00:30:35,713 It could spit like nobody's business. 582 00:30:35,753 --> 00:30:38,153 So how did that affect the lime burners? 583 00:30:38,193 --> 00:30:42,353 It was nasty. The caustic action of this on their skin was dreadful. 584 00:30:42,833 --> 00:30:45,153 When it go in to their eyes and their mouths, 585 00:30:45,793 --> 00:30:47,753 they were in real trouble. 586 00:30:51,353 --> 00:30:53,553 - Wow, it really goes! - I'm gonna put that 587 00:30:53,593 --> 00:30:55,553 - in that to make it bit safer. - Yeah. 588 00:30:55,793 --> 00:30:57,873 But can you see how that lump has crumbled? 589 00:30:57,913 --> 00:30:59,913 TONY: Yes. 590 00:30:59,953 --> 00:31:01,953 That was like fireworks! 591 00:31:01,993 --> 00:31:03,953 Quick lime is very thirsty material. 592 00:31:04,673 --> 00:31:07,913 If any of that got on your skin, it could be very painful. 593 00:31:07,953 --> 00:31:10,433 TONY: And they'd be handling this stuff every day, 594 00:31:11,593 --> 00:31:14,193 and the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, 595 00:31:14,233 --> 00:31:18,313 and the quarrying, and the long nights, and the dust... 596 00:31:18,353 --> 00:31:21,553 MICHAEL: They didn't live too long. It was...over quickly. 597 00:31:42,913 --> 00:31:46,633 'Some cathedrals towered up to 14 storeys high.' 598 00:31:47,673 --> 00:31:49,673 'Without the benefit of the modern hoist 599 00:31:49,953 --> 00:31:52,673 just lifting the huge blocks of stone to the top 600 00:31:53,433 --> 00:31:56,153 would've presented massive problems for the masons.' 601 00:31:57,033 --> 00:31:59,033 'As a result, they had to develop 602 00:31:59,073 --> 00:32:01,433 state-of-the-art lifting machinery.' 603 00:32:02,633 --> 00:32:05,873 Imagine what it would have been like walking mile after mile 604 00:32:05,913 --> 00:32:08,953 after mile after mile after mile... 605 00:32:09,313 --> 00:32:11,313 and getting absolutely nowhere. 606 00:32:11,353 --> 00:32:14,153 That's what it would've been like for the poor workers 607 00:32:14,193 --> 00:32:16,193 trapped inside that... 608 00:32:16,233 --> 00:32:19,833 Which brings me to my next worst job, the treadmill worker. 609 00:32:21,393 --> 00:32:23,913 'I've travelled all the way to Normandy in France 610 00:32:23,953 --> 00:32:26,313 to see this replica, which has been designed 611 00:32:26,353 --> 00:32:28,713 using medieval illustrations as a guide.' 612 00:32:29,793 --> 00:32:32,153 'It was the treadmill that provided the power 613 00:32:32,193 --> 00:32:35,913 for the medieval crane, so if you're the one doing the treading, 614 00:32:35,953 --> 00:32:37,953 it was a pretty menial task, 615 00:32:37,993 --> 00:32:40,193 but it was crucially important. 616 00:32:40,233 --> 00:32:42,993 The medieval crane builders had two alternatives. 617 00:32:43,033 --> 00:32:45,073 They could either build the small wheel, 618 00:32:45,113 --> 00:32:47,913 which was pulled around from the outside, 619 00:32:47,953 --> 00:32:50,113 or else they could make a much bigger wheel, 620 00:32:50,153 --> 00:32:52,633 which was powered by two people inside. 621 00:32:52,673 --> 00:32:55,273 The bigger wheels could lift the larger loads. 622 00:32:55,433 --> 00:32:58,913 But this was new technology, the cranes were really experimental, 623 00:32:58,953 --> 00:33:01,793 and there was always the danger that they might collapse. 624 00:33:01,913 --> 00:33:04,953 So working inside that wheel could be really dangerous. 625 00:33:07,513 --> 00:33:10,273 'The treadmill workers were the unwitting guinea pigs 626 00:33:10,313 --> 00:33:12,473 at the centre of a technological marvel.' 627 00:33:12,993 --> 00:33:15,353 'The cranes were built by trial and error, 628 00:33:15,393 --> 00:33:18,913 often breaking and killing people, then being modified and rebuilt.' 629 00:33:19,793 --> 00:33:21,793 'But they must've been effective, 630 00:33:21,833 --> 00:33:24,193 or the buildings wouldn't have been possible.' 631 00:33:25,593 --> 00:33:27,833 Medieval illustrations seem to suggest 632 00:33:28,033 --> 00:33:31,193 that the crane was actually lifted onto the top of the cathedral 633 00:33:31,233 --> 00:33:33,873 as it was being built. So, the craftsmen 634 00:33:33,913 --> 00:33:37,353 must have had some sort of way of lifting the crane up in pieces, 635 00:33:37,393 --> 00:33:40,633 maybe using smaller cranes or possibly a windlass. 636 00:33:41,033 --> 00:33:44,793 Here at Hambye, you can see that the walls are absolutely peppered 637 00:33:44,833 --> 00:33:48,353 with these little holes which would've been for scaffolding. 638 00:33:48,513 --> 00:33:51,633 So, as the walls got higher, so the scaff went higher, 639 00:33:51,673 --> 00:33:53,713 and the crane went up and up and up, 640 00:33:53,753 --> 00:33:56,833 until it was right on the very top of the cathedral itself. 641 00:33:58,393 --> 00:34:01,953 This was technology that had been around since the Greeks and Romans. 642 00:34:01,993 --> 00:34:05,473 But it had been completely lost in Western Europe until the Normans 643 00:34:05,513 --> 00:34:08,833 and the French went over to Constantinople and brought it back. 644 00:34:09,113 --> 00:34:11,633 In fact, it was these machines alone 645 00:34:11,673 --> 00:34:14,593 that enabled the great medieval cathedrals to be built, 646 00:34:14,633 --> 00:34:17,473 because they were the only way that people of that time had 647 00:34:17,633 --> 00:34:20,993 of lifting massive blocks of stone the size of a car. 648 00:34:22,593 --> 00:34:25,073 And in fact, it's this car that we're gonna lift. 649 00:34:25,473 --> 00:34:27,433 Michel, Frank... Allez! 650 00:34:27,873 --> 00:34:31,313 - How does this work? - This crane works very easily. 651 00:34:31,353 --> 00:34:35,593 (FRENCH ACCENT) You know, the rope is driving by the big wheels, 652 00:34:35,633 --> 00:34:39,593 but the rope is attached to the axle of the wheels. 653 00:34:40,193 --> 00:34:42,433 'The way the crane works is pretty simple.' 654 00:34:42,913 --> 00:34:46,073 'The rope is attached to the axle in the middle of the treadmill, 655 00:34:46,113 --> 00:34:48,713 and in order to lift the car just 1m, 656 00:34:48,753 --> 00:34:51,473 the axle has to turn at least two or three times.' 657 00:34:52,073 --> 00:34:55,113 'Because the diameter of the treadmill is much greater, 658 00:34:55,153 --> 00:34:58,073 the amount of effort you have to put in to get the car to budge 659 00:34:58,113 --> 00:35:00,233 is spread out over a longer distance.' 660 00:35:00,753 --> 00:35:03,593 'It's like using a low gear to peddle a bike uphill.' 661 00:35:04,113 --> 00:35:06,313 TONY: These guys are ready. Shall we get in? 662 00:35:06,353 --> 00:35:08,513 ROLAND: Yes. TONY: Are you ready, guys? 663 00:35:08,553 --> 00:35:11,673 (SHOUTS INSTRUCTIONS IN FRENCH) Vous pouvez montez dans la voiture! 664 00:35:11,713 --> 00:35:13,793 TONY: They're getting in while it goes up. 665 00:35:13,833 --> 00:35:15,913 Will it be able to take that weight as well? 666 00:35:15,953 --> 00:35:17,953 ROLAND: Yeah, oh, easily. 667 00:35:17,993 --> 00:35:22,353 This crane can take twice weight than we have actually, you know? 668 00:35:22,513 --> 00:35:24,713 TONY: It can take two tons? ROLAND: Oh, yeah. 669 00:35:24,753 --> 00:35:27,593 - Which way, this way? - OK, to lift, we go this way. 670 00:35:27,633 --> 00:35:29,993 TONY: All right. RONALD: We don't have to rush. 671 00:35:31,113 --> 00:35:33,793 RONALD: Working slowly, we'll do the job anyway. 672 00:35:36,673 --> 00:35:38,993 It's going now, look. It's really going up now. 673 00:35:40,993 --> 00:35:44,193 TONY: Who were the people who would've been doing this treading? 674 00:35:44,953 --> 00:35:47,353 Most of the time they used blind people. 675 00:35:47,393 --> 00:35:49,393 TONY: Blind people? - YES. 676 00:35:49,433 --> 00:35:51,833 TONY: Why was that? - To secure the whole process 677 00:35:52,153 --> 00:35:54,713 because if you turn inside too much, 678 00:35:55,113 --> 00:35:58,353 you will feel some kind of attraction for the emptiness. 679 00:35:58,473 --> 00:36:01,513 You mean if you're blind you don't look down 300 foot 680 00:36:01,553 --> 00:36:03,873 and see the terrible fall that awaited. 681 00:36:03,913 --> 00:36:06,073 That's very sympathetic of them, isn't it? 682 00:36:06,113 --> 00:36:09,513 Yeah, it was one way to... they can serve the community. 683 00:36:09,553 --> 00:36:12,393 TONY: Do you think... ROLAND: They were working for God, 684 00:36:12,433 --> 00:36:15,473 - you know, building cathedrals. - They worked bare foot? 685 00:36:15,513 --> 00:36:18,513 ROLAND: Oh yes! Because they didn't have shoes at the time. 686 00:36:20,153 --> 00:36:22,153 TONY: It's going up now. Look at that. 687 00:36:22,193 --> 00:36:24,953 TONY: See. You can feel the tug. 688 00:36:24,993 --> 00:36:28,273 You can feel there's more weight on it, but it's not too difficult. 689 00:36:28,313 --> 00:36:30,353 TONY: Shall we stop now? 690 00:36:30,393 --> 00:36:32,753 TONY: So we turn around and put them down again? 691 00:36:32,793 --> 00:36:35,393 ROLAND: No. Cut the rope. Faster. TONY: (LAUGHS) 692 00:36:37,193 --> 00:36:39,153 TONY: Oh, this is no problem. 693 00:36:40,233 --> 00:36:42,193 ROLAND: Yeah, slowly. 694 00:36:42,993 --> 00:36:45,553 ROLAND: Uh, we stop! Small problem here. 695 00:36:45,993 --> 00:36:47,993 'Everything seems so safe and easy 696 00:36:48,033 --> 00:36:49,993 until this apparently solid machine 697 00:36:50,153 --> 00:36:52,353 suddenly began to come apart at the axle.' 698 00:36:52,673 --> 00:36:54,713 TONY: So the axle... comes out and... 699 00:36:54,833 --> 00:36:57,513 - the wheel drops out. - Yes, and we can't go down 700 00:36:57,553 --> 00:36:59,993 to the 30m...down. 701 00:37:00,473 --> 00:37:05,593 'I got an inkling of what being a treadmill worker must've been like' 702 00:37:05,633 --> 00:37:08,953 'Imagine being 200 foot up in the air and blind, 703 00:37:08,993 --> 00:37:11,953 and suddenly realising things are starting to fall apart.' 704 00:37:15,033 --> 00:37:16,993 This all may seem pretty safe 705 00:37:17,113 --> 00:37:19,113 like hamsters going around in a wheel. 706 00:37:19,153 --> 00:37:22,073 But when you're in here, it doesn't feel like that at all. 707 00:37:22,113 --> 00:37:24,113 You have no control over this thing. 708 00:37:24,153 --> 00:37:26,153 You can't stop it and break it. 709 00:37:26,193 --> 00:37:28,793 You can't just put your hand out to stop it either, 710 00:37:28,833 --> 00:37:31,953 because you're frightened that as it whips past these things, 711 00:37:31,993 --> 00:37:34,233 it's gonna slice your fingers off. 712 00:37:34,273 --> 00:37:36,633 And when you try to bring it to a halt, 713 00:37:36,673 --> 00:37:39,433 the damn thing just keeps moving and moving and moving. 714 00:37:39,473 --> 00:37:41,473 And it's wet and it's slippy. 715 00:37:41,513 --> 00:37:43,513 So when it's just going along fine... 716 00:37:43,553 --> 00:37:46,833 that's like you're on holiday, but as soon as there's a problem... 717 00:37:46,873 --> 00:37:49,193 - Is this OK now? - Yeah. Now it's pretty safe. 718 00:37:49,313 --> 00:37:51,753 - We can finish the jobs. - OK. Let's get down. 719 00:37:51,793 --> 00:37:53,793 ROLAND: We're going down that way. 720 00:37:53,833 --> 00:37:56,553 - Keeping my hands in my pocket. - After you, gentleman. 721 00:37:56,673 --> 00:37:58,673 I feel really nervous now. 722 00:37:58,713 --> 00:38:01,073 - Really? - I can hear the creaking! 723 00:38:01,113 --> 00:38:03,073 No! Come on. 724 00:38:03,393 --> 00:38:07,113 OK. It's the safest machine we have ever made, 725 00:38:07,553 --> 00:38:10,193 - but we made only one. - Thank you for that! 726 00:38:15,793 --> 00:38:18,673 'Finding out about some of these jobs has been bad enough, 727 00:38:18,833 --> 00:38:20,993 but which job's on the very lowest rung?' 728 00:38:21,153 --> 00:38:23,113 'Could I actually do it?' 729 00:38:24,713 --> 00:38:27,273 Well, the Middle Ages certainly had its fair share 730 00:38:27,313 --> 00:38:29,393 of dangerous and disgusting work. 731 00:38:29,873 --> 00:38:32,473 Being an arming squire could be menial, 732 00:38:32,513 --> 00:38:34,473 dirty, unhygienic... 733 00:38:34,913 --> 00:38:36,913 and you could get killed! 734 00:38:36,953 --> 00:38:39,553 'But it was a job that could lead to fame and fortune.' 735 00:38:39,953 --> 00:38:42,673 'Having been bitten, I can tell you leech-collecting 736 00:38:42,713 --> 00:38:44,673 sounds worse than it is.' 737 00:38:44,913 --> 00:38:47,433 'And practising medieval medicine, though messy, 738 00:38:47,753 --> 00:38:49,793 was at least better than being a patient.' 739 00:38:50,193 --> 00:38:52,193 'Building cathedrals had its hazards, 740 00:38:52,233 --> 00:38:54,793 though your handiwork would outlive your lifetime 741 00:38:54,833 --> 00:38:56,793 by up to a hundred decades.' 742 00:38:56,993 --> 00:39:00,033 But for me the very worst job is one which comes 743 00:39:00,073 --> 00:39:02,993 from the main industry of the middle ages - the wool trade. 744 00:39:03,433 --> 00:39:05,673 If your name's Fuller it's highly likely 745 00:39:05,713 --> 00:39:07,833 that at sometime in the dim and distant past 746 00:39:08,073 --> 00:39:11,433 one of your ancestors was involved in the job of fulling. 747 00:39:11,633 --> 00:39:14,513 And if manual labour's something you do with your hands, 748 00:39:14,553 --> 00:39:18,313 then fulling is pedal labour cos you did it with your feet. 749 00:39:18,513 --> 00:39:21,033 And "P" is the operative word. 750 00:39:21,233 --> 00:39:23,833 Because in order to make wool soft and malleable 751 00:39:24,193 --> 00:39:26,793 it had to be trodden for at least two hours 752 00:39:26,913 --> 00:39:29,553 underfoot in stale urine. 753 00:39:36,820 --> 00:39:40,220 'In the Middle Ages, wool became the country's biggest export.' 754 00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:43,460 'By 1300, there were 15 million sheep - 755 00:39:43,740 --> 00:39:45,940 almost three times the human population.' 756 00:39:46,300 --> 00:39:48,820 'So fullers would've been thick on the ground, too - 757 00:39:49,020 --> 00:39:52,420 a vital link between weavers, dyers and cloth merchants.' 758 00:39:52,900 --> 00:39:55,980 'You could earn up to three times as much as a field labourer.' 759 00:39:56,260 --> 00:39:58,260 'But the work was so unpleasant 760 00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:00,300 that this must've been little comfort.' 761 00:40:00,900 --> 00:40:03,060 'When raw wool's spun and woven 762 00:40:03,100 --> 00:40:05,820 into a lose weave fabric, it's left dirty.' 763 00:40:05,860 --> 00:40:08,580 'The grease is needed to ease the weaving process.' 764 00:40:08,820 --> 00:40:11,180 'It's after that the fuller has to turn 765 00:40:11,220 --> 00:40:13,700 this rough cloth into something more usable.' 766 00:40:13,900 --> 00:40:16,220 This is fine. Why don't they just put this on? 767 00:40:17,100 --> 00:40:19,100 Well, if you... 768 00:40:19,380 --> 00:40:21,380 ...you need to finish it. 769 00:40:21,420 --> 00:40:23,420 This is, when you cut this, it will fray. 770 00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:25,460 TONY: Yeah. RUTH: And it's greasy. 771 00:40:25,500 --> 00:40:28,380 TONY: It is pretty greasy. RUTH: You can make it better. 772 00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:31,580 It's a felting process. It closes the fibres together. 773 00:40:32,140 --> 00:40:34,140 TONY: You can see that they are actually 774 00:40:34,180 --> 00:40:36,860 - widely apart here. - Can see daylight through that. 775 00:40:36,900 --> 00:40:38,860 TONY: Whereas here... 776 00:40:40,180 --> 00:40:43,140 smooth and... just smells like cloth. 777 00:40:43,180 --> 00:40:46,580 - It's much cleaner. - So how does this fulling work? 778 00:40:46,940 --> 00:40:49,940 You need water, you need something to take the grease out 779 00:40:49,980 --> 00:40:52,420 and you walk about on it a lot. Want to have a go? 780 00:40:52,460 --> 00:40:55,060 I'll definitely have a go. I'm really up for this. 781 00:40:58,180 --> 00:41:00,180 OK. This is the upside. 782 00:41:00,220 --> 00:41:03,100 I get this nice vaguely amusing costume to wear. 783 00:41:03,420 --> 00:41:05,420 And the basic job of fulling is OK. 784 00:41:05,540 --> 00:41:08,300 It's just a bit boring. Just marching up and down, 785 00:41:08,340 --> 00:41:12,140 up and down in a VAT for seven or eight hours at a time. 786 00:41:12,660 --> 00:41:16,140 The downside is that I am marching up and down 787 00:41:16,180 --> 00:41:18,180 in...this. 788 00:41:18,220 --> 00:41:21,500 This is genuine human urine. 789 00:41:21,900 --> 00:41:24,060 This isn't a television trick or anything. 790 00:41:24,100 --> 00:41:26,380 It's not orange juice or dyed water. 791 00:41:26,620 --> 00:41:30,260 It's about 20 litres of stale urine here. 792 00:41:30,300 --> 00:41:33,940 If this was petrol, it'd be enough to get me from here to Newcastle. 793 00:41:34,180 --> 00:41:36,500 And it's been kindly donated 794 00:41:36,540 --> 00:41:40,060 by our production team over the last couple of weeks. 795 00:41:40,100 --> 00:41:43,620 Thank you very much, guys, for your help with the experiment. 796 00:41:44,380 --> 00:41:46,340 - You're ready, Ruth? - I think so. 797 00:41:46,900 --> 00:41:48,860 TONY: Then, let's get into it. 798 00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:59,300 RUTH: Smells bad? TONY: OH! Ehhh! 799 00:41:59,340 --> 00:42:01,660 - God, that smells! - Thanks for keeping that. 800 00:42:01,700 --> 00:42:03,660 It's like raw meat. 801 00:42:08,700 --> 00:42:11,100 I'm really not looking forward to this very much. 802 00:42:12,780 --> 00:42:14,740 (RETCHES) Every time you breathe in... 803 00:42:15,420 --> 00:42:17,420 Makes your eyes water. 804 00:42:17,460 --> 00:42:19,420 The flies are starting to gather around. 805 00:42:24,860 --> 00:42:26,820 It is quite disgusting, isn't it? 806 00:42:29,580 --> 00:42:32,700 Well, I suppose we'd better... take our shoes off. 807 00:42:33,580 --> 00:42:35,940 I've got my shoes off. I have to tuck my skirt up. 808 00:42:35,980 --> 00:42:38,580 - I think you should, love. - It's not going in there. 809 00:42:39,380 --> 00:42:41,940 Every time you get a deep breath of it... 810 00:42:42,060 --> 00:42:45,260 you forget what you're doing. You breathe in deep and woof! 811 00:42:45,300 --> 00:42:48,180 It hits the base of your stomach and you wanna chuck. 812 00:42:48,220 --> 00:42:50,220 RUTH: Yeah. Let's go. It's cold! 813 00:42:50,260 --> 00:42:52,500 Uhh! They could've warmed it up for us! 814 00:42:53,060 --> 00:42:55,420 Was there a special technique involved in this? 815 00:42:55,660 --> 00:42:58,900 Well, the important thing is to get as much movement as possible. 816 00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:01,780 So dancing is probably more effective than walking. 817 00:43:01,900 --> 00:43:05,020 But um...basically you keep moving... 818 00:43:05,060 --> 00:43:08,020 and every now and then, you have to stop and move the cloth. 819 00:43:08,060 --> 00:43:10,220 The important thing is not to breathe! 820 00:43:11,500 --> 00:43:14,580 - It's pretty vile. - It is quite disgusting! 821 00:43:16,100 --> 00:43:18,100 'The reason they used urine 822 00:43:18,140 --> 00:43:21,340 is that when it had been left for a week or two it decomposed 823 00:43:21,460 --> 00:43:23,420 to produce a rich source of ammonia, 824 00:43:23,540 --> 00:43:25,660 which is perfect for removing the grease.' 825 00:43:26,220 --> 00:43:28,220 'They didn't have public loos at the time 826 00:43:28,340 --> 00:43:30,340 so part of the job would have involved 827 00:43:30,380 --> 00:43:32,340 collecting it from door to door.' 828 00:43:34,380 --> 00:43:37,220 How long did they have to this for? Seven or eight hours? 829 00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:39,740 It depends very much on the size of the cloth. 830 00:43:40,020 --> 00:43:42,260 But it can, yes, I mean it can take a long time 831 00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:44,260 if you want a really heavy finish. 832 00:43:44,540 --> 00:43:46,580 The faster you move, the warmer you'd get. 833 00:43:47,580 --> 00:43:49,860 I don't know what you do about upset stomachs. 834 00:43:49,900 --> 00:43:52,100 Trouble is, when you start to move fast, 835 00:43:52,140 --> 00:43:54,100 you start to breathe more heavily! 836 00:43:55,180 --> 00:43:57,540 Do you think it's changing the colour of the cloth? 837 00:43:57,580 --> 00:43:59,580 It's changing the colour of the liquid. 838 00:43:59,620 --> 00:44:02,580 You can see the grease is coming out, it's gone cloudy. 839 00:44:02,620 --> 00:44:04,580 It has taken the grease out. 840 00:44:05,180 --> 00:44:07,180 The lines in it are going. 841 00:44:07,220 --> 00:44:09,900 TONY: It's a bizarre version of a washing powder. 842 00:44:09,940 --> 00:44:12,060 RUTH: The threads are actually closing up. 843 00:44:12,420 --> 00:44:14,780 I mean that...have hardly been at that at all, 844 00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:17,020 and you can see it's already different. 845 00:44:18,460 --> 00:44:21,820 - It gets your toenails very clean! TONY: I'm losing the will to live. 846 00:44:22,980 --> 00:44:24,940 This really is the worst job. 847 00:44:25,980 --> 00:44:28,620 Mind you, in a strange kind of perverted way 848 00:44:28,660 --> 00:44:30,620 I think I'm getting used to the smell. 849 00:44:33,740 --> 00:44:35,900 Only another seven hours, 59 minutes. 850 00:44:35,940 --> 00:44:37,940 (SPLISH...SPLASH) 851 00:44:39,380 --> 00:44:42,180 After all these miserable hours of urine treading, 852 00:44:42,220 --> 00:44:44,620 you'd end up with this, which would've been used 853 00:44:44,660 --> 00:44:48,260 to make something like this... worn by the knights and squires 854 00:44:48,380 --> 00:44:52,100 and King Henry at Agincourt and the bishops in their cathedrals. 855 00:44:52,460 --> 00:44:54,500 In fact, without this worst job 856 00:44:54,540 --> 00:44:57,980 the big players in the middle ages, would've been stark naked. 857 00:44:58,620 --> 00:45:01,860 Join me again next time as I slide down the career ladder 858 00:45:01,900 --> 00:45:04,420 once again in order to look at some of the worst jobs 859 00:45:04,540 --> 00:45:06,500 of the Tudor period. 860 00:45:07,140 --> 00:45:10,500 'Heads roll as I try out the messy job of executioner...' 861 00:45:10,540 --> 00:45:12,780 EEYEAH! Oh, look at that! 862 00:45:12,820 --> 00:45:15,380 '...find myself on the sharp end of pinmaking, 863 00:45:17,300 --> 00:45:19,300 and experience equal opportunities 864 00:45:19,340 --> 00:45:21,300 Tudor style!' 865 00:45:25,700 --> 00:45:27,660 ITFC Subtitles