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Our country's history
didn't just happen

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because of the great
figures of the time.

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But because a lot of ordinary
people got their hands dirty

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doing a lot of terrible jobs.

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'This time, being a badly-paid
garden ornament,

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the boy monkeys
who helped beat Napoleon,

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and literally going
through the mill

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to put shirts on
the nation's back.'

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Welcome to the worst jobs
of the Georgian Age.

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'The 18th century
was an age of elegance

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symbolised by genteel Bath.'

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'The newly wealthy squirearchy

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built the classical houses and
gardens we still love to visit.'

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'And it was also the Golden Age
of English Art.'

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'Gainsborough, Constable,
Turner and Joshua Reynolds

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painted portraits and landscapes
for the new moneyed classes.'

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'To get to top of the artistic tree
with paintings like these,

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meant a rigorous apprenticeship
at the Royal Academy.'

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'The training centered on drawing
and painting the human form.'

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'But the people who really
suffered for their art

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were the artists' models.'

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'This worst job meant
a chilly working life

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spent in the most
unusual positions.'

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They would be strung up
for hours and hours

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with nothing to eat or drink.

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Literally strung up on these
things. Why, Martin?

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Well, it looks like an instrument
of torture, doesn't it?

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But the idea was actually
to help the model.

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So the model could, as you say,
be there for a long time.

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And so he could keep
the pose, keep still.

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and not wobble or even fall over.

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'The Georgian artists
were sticklers for accuracy

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and were taught through
formulaic poses.'

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'But the poor artists' model

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would have to hold this pose
for several hours,

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night after night after night.'

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The thing to think about
when you are looking at Tony

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is you must think of Tony as a god.

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And, really, he is the male ideal.

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This is the perfect man, OK?

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That's what you have to think.
It's not one individual man.

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He is Apollo, he is Hercules,

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he is whatever you want him to be.

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Why were they so obsessed
by this idea

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of the classical physique?

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MARTIN: They were looking back
to the Renaissance,

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to the classical world.

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The male was...a kind of
supermodel, in a sense.

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The female wasn't regarded
in quite the same light.

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It was, in a sense, a projection
of male moral perfection too.

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So you are, in a sense, the, kind
of, focal point of all those ideas,

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and they're all coming
into play here.

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Of course, in the 18th century,

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the male models would've been

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soldiers, boxers...

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One of the most famous male models

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in the 18th century was a man
called George White, "Old George".

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Old George was famous

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because he had a great figure,
great muscles

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but he also had a big, bushy beard.

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So he could actually play
patriarchs and saints, etc.

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And...he was found
in a fever hospital.

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He was used at the academy,
he went to live with Hunter.

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He was also...used to do
anatomical demonstrations too.

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And then like most of these
people, he disappeared

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back into the...the undergrowth
and was never seen again.

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'Modelling could mean survival

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for a poverty-stricken man
like George.'

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'But it was hard-earned money.'

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- Are you still comfortable?
- I'm very cold.

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Normally, when you're cold,
the first thing you do

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is huddle your limbs together.
It's the one thing you can't do.

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And because the other thing is
that my little finger

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has gone to sleep because of
the pressure from the rope.

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This may not look a particularly
bizarre position

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but it's not one that my body
is particularly used to.

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I could do this for...half an hour.

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But EIGHT hours?

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- Eight hours is asking ..
- That would be torture.

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- Really torture.
- You'd do yourself

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a nasty injury, I think.

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'The job may have been done
by men down on their luck

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but at least it wasn't
considered shameful.'

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'For a woman, modelling was deemed

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worse than prostitution.'

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'It was like being in some
hard-core porn film,

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your degradation preserved
for all time.'

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'The fact that a woman had more
to lose by posing naked

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was reflected in the pay.'

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You got a shilling at the end

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of the evening, for two hours.

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If you are a woman, however,
if you were the female model,

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you would get half a guinea
for the evening,

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which is a big difference.

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But that was very much the idea

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that this was shame money

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because the only women who would
do it would be those

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who really were desperate
for the money.

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It was something that you did
very much as a last resort.

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And even prostitutes looked
upon it as a last resort.

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TONY: Do we know the names
of any female models?

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The women, er, were anonymous.

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There is an exception,
her name was Bette Balmanno.

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And she was a prostitute and she
worked for a brothel in London

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run by one Mrs Lobb.

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And we know this because
there's a wonderful story

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about Mrs Lobb turning
up on the doorstep

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of the sculptor Nollekens
and berating him

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because Bette Balmanno
had been posing nude

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to Nollekens for about eight hours

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without anything to eat,
anything to drink,

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and he paid her only two shillings.

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It's ironic that it was...
this perfect ideal

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and they got dossers
and prostitutes

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to recreate it for them.

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'And here he is in this
classic painting.'

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'Old George from the
fever hospital

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made immortal by Joshua Reynolds.'

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At least, if you're an artist's
model, you got all the attention.

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You were literally in the centre
of an artistic circle

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unlike another Georgian job,

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where you were paid for being
completely on your own.'

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'The Georgians lived in an age
of confidence and discovery.'

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'Anatomists pioneered our
understanding of the human body,

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while inventors like James Watt

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powered the start of the
Industrial Revolution.'

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'And in Jane Austin's
genteel Bath,

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people sipped an exotic new
Indian beverage.'

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TONY: But all this elegance
was a bit of a facade.

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Respectable Georgian society was
built on a bit of a crime wave.

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To get from London to Bath,

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you had to run the gamut
of highwaymen.

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The anatomists only got
their medical knowledge

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from the bodies that were stolen
for them by the body-snatchers.

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Even the tea the Georgians drank

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was more than likely
illegal contraband.

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Which brings me to my
next worst job,

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the riding officer.

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And as you listen
to this sorry tale,

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please don't let your
sympathy be swayed

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by the fact that he
is a distant forerunner

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of today's vat man.

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'With tax on over
2,000 imported items,

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smuggling became big business.'

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'A range of goods was brought
in from the Continent.'

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'A major item of
contraband was tea.'

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'Three quarters of it came in
through the back door.'

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'To stop the flow, the
customs and excise

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had boats patrolling the waters,

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looking for smuggling vessels.'

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'Guarding the coast,
the last line of defence

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was the riding officer.'

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TONY: A riding officer
did just that.

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He rode along the coast
looking for smugglers

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rowing out to big ships offshore.

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There was one for every 10 miles
of the English coast,

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one for every four miles
where the traffic was thickest.

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And given that smugglers
deliberately chose

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the worst nights of the year
to work for cover,

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the riding officer
had to spend all his time

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doing a night shift in the cold

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and wet and raging storms.

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And that was the easy part.

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The difficult bit started

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when he saw that telltale
light offshore.

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'There was nothing glamorous
about being one lone officer

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with only a pistol and cutlass

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against heavily-armed
criminal gangs

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supported by the whole community.'

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TONY: If our riding officer
was galloping across the rocks

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and he corners
these scurvy smugglers,

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- what would he have done?
- You've got the wrong impression.

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It's not one man and a couple of
old ladies out there smuggling.

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He'll be facing a gang - 40-50,

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perhaps, 100, more, of well-armed
smugglers armed to the teeth.

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And people wanna get
the goods away,

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and they're not gonna let
people stand in the way.

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TONY: Did smugglers use
violence on the riding officer?

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Yes. They would use violence
on anybody who got involved,

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who was likely to affect
their trade.

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So what did they do to the
riding officers?

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If they caught them, they
suffered quite severely.

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There's one example of a riding
officer who was murdered.

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Another man called May
in Cork, in Ireland,

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he has his tongue cut out
and his ears,

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one of which is nailed
on the wall of the exchange.

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He is later found dead. Murder.

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So, didn't the riding
officers have any back-up?

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They did. They had people at sea,
colleagues at sea.

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They sometimes had the
dragoons on the shore.

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But this is an age when it's
very difficult to communicate.

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You couldn't pick up
your mobile phone and say,

193
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"We need you all down here."
And the helicopter flies in.

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This is a question of really
trying to organise people

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in a really distant and murky way.

196
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But surely there must
have been times

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00:09:54,819 --> 00:09:57,059
when the authorities
put the screws on,

198
00:09:57,099 --> 00:09:59,219
and they had to deliver
some contraband.

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Yeah, but it's actually quite
difficult to gain a conviction.

200
00:10:02,579 --> 00:10:06,619
The local jury is likely to be
packed with sympathisers,

201
00:10:06,659 --> 00:10:09,699
JPs are involved, quite often,
in the whole business.

202
00:10:09,739 --> 00:10:12,059
And you've got to prosecute
at your own expense.

203
00:10:12,099 --> 00:10:14,099
It's often not worth
your while trying.

204
00:10:14,139 --> 00:10:16,219
So these aren't rosy-cheeked
villagers

205
00:10:16,259 --> 00:10:18,259
smuggling a bottle
of Spanish brandy.

206
00:10:18,299 --> 00:10:21,499
- We're talking about crime.
- This is organised crime.

207
00:10:21,539 --> 00:10:23,819
There's a lot of money involved
and everybody

208
00:10:23,859 --> 00:10:26,619
is likely to be involved
in one way or another.

209
00:10:26,659 --> 00:10:29,299
'The riding officer
was a social pariah

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00:10:29,339 --> 00:10:32,979
met by a sullen wall of silence
when he tried to do his job.'

211
00:10:33,019 --> 00:10:35,219
'But the community
had a lot to lose.'

212
00:10:35,259 --> 00:10:37,779
'In the 18th century,
Robin Hood's Bay

213
00:10:37,819 --> 00:10:41,299
was rumoured to be the wealthiest
area in Britain for its size.'

214
00:10:41,859 --> 00:10:44,739
'This must also have been
galling for the riding officer,

215
00:10:44,779 --> 00:10:47,579
who earned not much
more than a farm labourer.'

216
00:10:48,139 --> 00:10:50,539
'And he had to pay for his horse!'

217
00:10:50,939 --> 00:10:53,739
ROBB: People who lived here
earned a living by the sea.

218
00:10:53,779 --> 00:10:56,219
They were insular, close-knit,
ship owners,

219
00:10:56,259 --> 00:10:58,379
they worked the ships, they fished.

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They were naturally
suspicious of outsiders.

221
00:11:01,219 --> 00:11:03,979
And someone like a riding
officer, who was coming in...

222
00:11:04,019 --> 00:11:07,219
to...to curtail one of
their sources of income,

223
00:11:07,259 --> 00:11:09,459
was certainly not a popular person.

224
00:11:11,619 --> 00:11:13,779
'The smugglers used their
local knowledge

225
00:11:13,819 --> 00:11:15,819
to outwit the riding officer,

226
00:11:15,859 --> 00:11:17,859
transporting goods
through a network

227
00:11:17,899 --> 00:11:19,899
of connecting tunnels
and passages.'

228
00:11:19,939 --> 00:11:22,219
'Even when the excise did
manage a seizure,

229
00:11:22,259 --> 00:11:24,179
they were outmanoeuvred.'

230
00:11:24,219 --> 00:11:26,739
'In Robin Hood's Bay, in 1779,

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00:11:26,779 --> 00:11:29,619
the riding officer,
accompanied by dragoons,

232
00:11:29,659 --> 00:11:32,819
captured over 200 casks
of brandy and gin

233
00:11:32,859 --> 00:11:35,699
with 150 chests of tea.'

234
00:11:35,739 --> 00:11:38,579
'The town called on the crew
of a smuggling vessel.'

235
00:11:38,619 --> 00:11:40,699
'After a pitched battle,
the smugglers

236
00:11:40,739 --> 00:11:42,899
seized back the contraband.'

237
00:11:42,939 --> 00:11:46,019
'So the work of the riding officer
had very little effect.'

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00:11:46,539 --> 00:11:50,739
I think it probably, at best,
stemmed the flow - at best.

239
00:11:50,779 --> 00:11:54,499
It really takes the reduction
of excise duties

240
00:11:54,539 --> 00:11:56,539
in the 19th century, really,

241
00:11:56,579 --> 00:11:59,019
to bring an end to a lot
of the smuggling.

242
00:12:01,219 --> 00:12:03,219
'They might cut a romantic figure,

243
00:12:03,259 --> 00:12:06,499
but the riding officers
were underpaid, overstretched

244
00:12:06,539 --> 00:12:10,259
and in constant danger of being
attacked by violent offenders.'

245
00:12:11,259 --> 00:12:13,259
'If they rode the cliffs alone,

246
00:12:13,299 --> 00:12:15,379
it was mainly because they
had no mates.'

247
00:12:20,899 --> 00:12:24,699
'The 18th century was also the
age of landscape art.'

248
00:12:24,739 --> 00:12:26,819
'Designers like "Capability" Brown

249
00:12:26,859 --> 00:12:29,779
changed the course of
rivers and moved mountains

250
00:12:29,819 --> 00:12:32,179
to redraw the English countryside.'

251
00:12:32,779 --> 00:12:34,779
'Now, he was at the top.'

252
00:12:34,819 --> 00:12:37,099
'At the bottom lurking
in the undergrowth,

253
00:12:37,139 --> 00:12:39,379
my next worst job.'

254
00:12:40,539 --> 00:12:43,179
I'm now a hermit putting
the finishing touch

255
00:12:43,219 --> 00:12:45,299
to this beautifully
sculptured garden.

256
00:12:45,339 --> 00:12:47,659
All I have to do
is stay in my cave

257
00:12:47,699 --> 00:12:49,899
and not speak to
anyone or have a bath

258
00:12:49,939 --> 00:12:53,899
or cut my hair or cut
my nails or have a wash.

259
00:12:53,939 --> 00:12:55,939
And at the end of seven years,

260
00:12:55,979 --> 00:12:58,979
- and only at the end
of seven years - I get paid.

261
00:12:59,019 --> 00:13:01,019
And, believe it or not, this craze

262
00:13:01,059 --> 00:13:03,619
for having a hermit at the bottom
of your posh garden

263
00:13:03,659 --> 00:13:05,619
lasted for 100 years.

264
00:13:06,779 --> 00:13:09,179
Now (BEEP) cos I'm not allowed
to speak to anyone.

265
00:13:11,299 --> 00:13:14,579
'Smelly, bearded recluses
had a strong pull

266
00:13:14,619 --> 00:13:16,619
on the 18th century imagination,

267
00:13:16,659 --> 00:13:20,219
symbolising all that was
unworldly and spiritual.'

268
00:13:20,259 --> 00:13:24,299
'Rich Georgians liked to show the
world they still had a soul.'

269
00:13:24,339 --> 00:13:26,699
'But too busy to withdraw
in contemplation,

270
00:13:26,739 --> 00:13:28,779
they hired eccentrics, romantics,

271
00:13:28,819 --> 00:13:30,819
and misfits to do it for them.'

272
00:13:31,579 --> 00:13:35,259
I'm still being a hermit. Although,
quite frankly, I don't like it.

273
00:13:35,299 --> 00:13:37,339
Mind you, at least I'm
above ground.

274
00:13:37,379 --> 00:13:39,699
One hermit was forced
to live underground.

275
00:13:39,739 --> 00:13:42,939
For some reason, he was allowed
to take his organ with him.

276
00:13:42,979 --> 00:13:45,739
Another one was told he wasn't
even allowed to speak

277
00:13:45,779 --> 00:13:48,019
to the servants who gave
him his food.

278
00:13:48,059 --> 00:13:51,099
And another was told that every
time one of the guests came by,

279
00:13:51,139 --> 00:13:53,699
he had to go like this.

280
00:13:53,739 --> 00:13:56,579
But the thing that would
have really hacked me off

281
00:13:56,619 --> 00:13:59,259
is that you had to keep on
doing all this hermity stuff

282
00:13:59,299 --> 00:14:01,299
even when the people
in the big house

283
00:14:01,339 --> 00:14:03,459
had gone away on holiday.

284
00:14:21,499 --> 00:14:23,499
'Back in the 18th century,

285
00:14:23,539 --> 00:14:26,139
taking the waters was
all the rage.'

286
00:14:26,179 --> 00:14:28,179
Thanks.

287
00:14:29,539 --> 00:14:33,499
It does taste a bit foul but
they also used to bathe in it.

288
00:14:33,539 --> 00:14:36,419
It was supposed to soothe the gout,

289
00:14:36,459 --> 00:14:38,499
help cure the pox

290
00:14:38,539 --> 00:14:41,499
and calm scrofulous skin.

291
00:14:41,539 --> 00:14:44,659
Which brings me to my
next worst Georgian job

292
00:14:44,699 --> 00:14:46,699
- the bath attendant.

293
00:14:46,739 --> 00:14:49,379
'It may look like
a glamorous workplace,

294
00:14:49,419 --> 00:14:52,259
but the bath attendants
spent their whole working day

295
00:14:52,299 --> 00:14:55,899
up to their necks in
this mineral stew.'

296
00:14:55,939 --> 00:14:58,979
'They were at the beck and call
of pox-ridden clients,

297
00:14:59,019 --> 00:15:01,179
who had to be lifted from
their sedan chairs

298
00:15:01,219 --> 00:15:03,219
into the steaming waters.'

299
00:15:03,259 --> 00:15:07,179
'But what really makes it a
worst job for me, is the uniform.'

300
00:15:07,219 --> 00:15:11,019
DR CHALUS: The idea of wearing, for
an entire day, maybe 10-12 hours,

301
00:15:11,059 --> 00:15:13,059
wearing wet canvas clothing,

302
00:15:13,099 --> 00:15:15,299
it would have been incredibly
uncomfortable.

303
00:15:15,339 --> 00:15:19,139
On their heads they wore a hat, and
from 1737, all the bath guides,

304
00:15:19,179 --> 00:15:22,339
by the bath council orders,

305
00:15:22,379 --> 00:15:25,379
had to have a tassel on their hats
so they could be noticed

306
00:15:25,419 --> 00:15:27,539
and recognised in the water.

307
00:15:27,579 --> 00:15:30,499
TONY: Would the bathing attendants
have had to lower them

308
00:15:30,539 --> 00:15:32,939
- into the water?
- With some people.

309
00:15:32,979 --> 00:15:35,019
Some people were fit and
were only coming

310
00:15:35,059 --> 00:15:37,659
for social affairs and, you know,
just to have fun.

311
00:15:37,699 --> 00:15:40,699
But if you were very ill,
then you would have tried

312
00:15:40,739 --> 00:15:43,259
to be manoeuvred to someplace
where you could sit,

313
00:15:43,299 --> 00:15:46,099
or sort of stand or hold on
to one of these iron rings.

314
00:15:46,139 --> 00:15:48,139
How did you hold on to the ring

315
00:15:48,179 --> 00:15:50,619
when you've got
the water down here?

316
00:15:50,659 --> 00:15:53,659
You wouldn't have been able to do it
if it had been at that level.

317
00:15:53,699 --> 00:15:57,179
But if you look at the wall here
and see the colour of the stone,

318
00:15:57,219 --> 00:16:00,379
- this is staining from the water.
- So that was the water level?

319
00:16:00,419 --> 00:16:03,259
Yeah. So if you see the height
that you and I are standing,

320
00:16:03,299 --> 00:16:05,379
we would've been barely
above the water,

321
00:16:05,419 --> 00:16:07,699
even if we would have sat on
one of these seats.

322
00:16:07,739 --> 00:16:10,619
TONY: So your head would be just
sticking out, wouldn't it?

323
00:16:10,659 --> 00:16:13,659
Yeah. And so you can see why people
did hold on like that.

324
00:16:13,699 --> 00:16:17,299
- So was the water this colour?
- No, the water isn't that colour.

325
00:16:17,339 --> 00:16:19,379
It'd be the colour
that it is today.

326
00:16:19,419 --> 00:16:22,339
But because it's got such
a high iron content in it,

327
00:16:22,379 --> 00:16:25,339
as soon as it's here for a period
of time, it stains the walls.

328
00:16:25,379 --> 00:16:28,179
If you think about somebody who's
actually a bath guide,

329
00:16:28,219 --> 00:16:30,899
who's in this water day in day
out, day in day out,

330
00:16:30,939 --> 00:16:34,179
you can see why 18th century types
who came visiting used to say,

331
00:16:34,219 --> 00:16:36,899
"These people with
lacquered hides,"

332
00:16:36,939 --> 00:16:40,099
and describing the bath guides
as if their skin itself

333
00:16:40,139 --> 00:16:42,419
had been turned this sort
of strange orange

334
00:16:42,459 --> 00:16:44,979
as if they'd, you know,
done too much fake tanning.

335
00:16:46,299 --> 00:16:50,059
'There were only 12 guides
to look after about 60 bathers,

336
00:16:50,099 --> 00:16:52,499
in an era when
people couldn't swim.'

337
00:16:52,539 --> 00:16:55,059
'And despite the presence of
a sergeant-at-arms,

338
00:16:55,099 --> 00:16:57,379
the atmosphere was often unruly,

339
00:16:57,419 --> 00:17:00,739
with young boys dive-bombing
into the water.'

340
00:17:00,779 --> 00:17:03,139
'And the bath attendant
had to handle people

341
00:17:03,179 --> 00:17:04,819
with hideous diseases.'

342
00:17:05,379 --> 00:17:08,179
Some of the ailments would have
been particularly nasty,

343
00:17:08,219 --> 00:17:10,059
because you're dealing
with a society

344
00:17:10,099 --> 00:17:12,739
when you're looking at a mixing
of people with open sores

345
00:17:12,779 --> 00:17:15,139
and open wounds and ulcers,

346
00:17:15,179 --> 00:17:17,179
all kinds of different
skin ailments

347
00:17:17,219 --> 00:17:19,299
that would've all been
in here bathing.

348
00:17:19,339 --> 00:17:21,699
TONY: So it's a kind of gravy
of human detritus.

349
00:17:21,739 --> 00:17:24,699
Yes, exactly. And the
18th century contemporaries

350
00:17:24,739 --> 00:17:26,739
often commented on that.

351
00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:30,179
It's often talked about as having
a filthy scum on the top of it.

352
00:17:30,779 --> 00:17:35,059
The bath guides have to sort of
stay on and help clean out the pool
afterwards.

353
00:17:35,099 --> 00:17:38,659
- It's not a great job, is it?
- No. Not at all.

354
00:17:44,299 --> 00:17:47,259
I'm doing all right! I've already
been here two hours.

355
00:17:47,299 --> 00:17:51,459
I've only got another 6 years,
364 days, 22 hours to go.

356
00:17:51,499 --> 00:17:54,379
And then I'll get a pension
of  50 per year!

357
00:17:54,419 --> 00:17:57,059
I'm a bit nippy. So is my skull.

358
00:17:57,099 --> 00:17:59,219
But, at least, I'm
physically intact.

359
00:17:59,899 --> 00:18:03,459
Which is more than can be said for
the person doing my next worst job.

360
00:18:05,179 --> 00:18:07,179
'Does Robbie Williams
have a bad job?'

361
00:18:07,219 --> 00:18:09,219
'No. Nor Will Young.'

362
00:18:09,259 --> 00:18:12,459
'But the pop stars of the
18th century had a tougher time.'

363
00:18:12,499 --> 00:18:15,579
'They were superstars
of the new craze of opera.'

364
00:18:20,179 --> 00:18:22,179
'But the price of their success

365
00:18:22,219 --> 00:18:26,379
was having to undergo the
barbaric practice of castration.'

366
00:18:28,259 --> 00:18:30,659
'Dr Peter Giles
sings countertenor,

367
00:18:30,699 --> 00:18:33,939
the nearest we can get today
to the sound of the castrato.'

368
00:18:33,979 --> 00:18:36,659
'But, he admits, it's a
pale imitation.'

369
00:18:36,699 --> 00:18:38,699
TONY: Who were the castrati?

370
00:18:38,739 --> 00:18:42,139
DR PETER: They're a whole breed
of super, male singers.

371
00:18:42,499 --> 00:18:44,659
And they came from the ranks

372
00:18:44,699 --> 00:18:47,699
of usually choir boys in Italy.

373
00:18:47,739 --> 00:18:49,979
It nearly all happened in Italy.

374
00:18:50,019 --> 00:18:52,139
Why did they castrate these boys?

375
00:18:52,179 --> 00:18:55,459
Well, it stops the
normal process of puberty.

376
00:18:55,499 --> 00:18:59,139
And it's got to be done
when the boy is eight or nine,

377
00:18:59,179 --> 00:19:01,179
not much more.

378
00:19:01,219 --> 00:19:04,579
And it stops what happens,
obviously, from the testicles,

379
00:19:04,619 --> 00:19:07,059
the testosterone starts to move in

380
00:19:07,099 --> 00:19:11,019
and change the whole body
from a boy into a man.

381
00:19:11,059 --> 00:19:14,499
It's got to be done before
the boy gets too old.

382
00:19:14,539 --> 00:19:16,819
Of course, they didn't
do it to just any boy.

383
00:19:16,859 --> 00:19:20,659
The boys had to be already
singing very well.

384
00:19:20,699 --> 00:19:22,899
So castration didn't make
you a good singer?

385
00:19:22,939 --> 00:19:26,019
Oh, no! All it did was
to preserve

386
00:19:26,059 --> 00:19:28,019
that high pitch.

387
00:19:33,739 --> 00:19:35,979
TONY: Did it hurt?
(PETER LAUGHS)

388
00:19:36,019 --> 00:19:38,019
I think it did.

389
00:19:38,059 --> 00:19:40,179
There were various ways
that they did it.

390
00:19:40,219 --> 00:19:43,899
One of the ways was to put
the boy in very, very hot water.

391
00:19:44,619 --> 00:19:47,859
This was full of various
herbs and spices

392
00:19:47,899 --> 00:19:51,139
and they would be given
alcohol and drugged.

393
00:19:51,179 --> 00:19:54,659
They would then
manipulate the testicles

394
00:19:54,699 --> 00:19:56,699
until they wore down.

395
00:19:56,739 --> 00:19:59,259
- It sounds awful but...
- What do you mean, wore down?

396
00:19:59,299 --> 00:20:01,699
..they wore down, they
broke down the structure

397
00:20:01,739 --> 00:20:03,859
because they were only young.

398
00:20:04,939 --> 00:20:07,139
It just...it just...

399
00:20:07,179 --> 00:20:10,339
destroyed the...function.

400
00:20:10,379 --> 00:20:12,579
And then, of course, once
they've done it,

401
00:20:12,619 --> 00:20:15,779
they can cut the spermatic cord.

402
00:20:15,819 --> 00:20:17,939
There are clippers
and all sorts of things

403
00:20:17,979 --> 00:20:20,219
that they used to use.
It was just awful.

404
00:20:20,259 --> 00:20:23,499
'18th century observers didn't
care about the downsides

405
00:20:23,539 --> 00:20:25,539
of being a castrato.'

406
00:20:25,579 --> 00:20:28,459
'They raved about them having
the voices of angels.'

407
00:20:29,219 --> 00:20:31,219
The variety of it was incredible.

408
00:20:31,259 --> 00:20:33,259
And a lot of the most important music

409
00:20:33,299 --> 00:20:36,859
which we associate now,
perhaps, with female voices,

410
00:20:37,939 --> 00:20:40,619
was actually written not
for female voices at all

411
00:20:40,659 --> 00:20:42,859
but for castrati.

412
00:20:42,899 --> 00:20:46,899
The big period for it was
between 1650 and 1750.

413
00:20:46,939 --> 00:20:49,819
But it went on and on and on.
And I bet you don't realise

414
00:20:49,859 --> 00:20:52,419
when the last one died - 1922.

415
00:20:52,459 --> 00:20:54,579
- Really?
- 1922.

416
00:20:55,779 --> 00:20:57,939
'Alessandro Moreschi.'

417
00:20:57,979 --> 00:21:01,739
'He was the last castrato of
the Sistine Chapel.'

418
00:21:04,579 --> 00:21:07,739
'It's not a very good recording,
Moreschi was past it

419
00:21:07,779 --> 00:21:09,819
and was never of the
first rank anyway.'

420
00:21:09,859 --> 00:21:12,819
'But it does give you an idea
of the unearthly quality

421
00:21:12,859 --> 00:21:14,819
of the castrato.'

422
00:21:26,899 --> 00:21:29,739
Back in the 18th century,
they would shout out,

423
00:21:29,779 --> 00:21:32,979
"Evviva il coltello!"
Long live the knife!

424
00:21:33,019 --> 00:21:35,979
They would...because they
just couldn't believe

425
00:21:36,019 --> 00:21:38,259
how wonderful these singers were.

426
00:21:39,099 --> 00:21:42,139
'But only the top castrati
had fame and fortune.'

427
00:21:42,179 --> 00:21:44,979
'Out of 4,000 boys
castrated every year,

428
00:21:45,019 --> 00:21:47,019
perhaps one per cent made it,

429
00:21:47,059 --> 00:21:50,259
99 percent were sad failures.'

430
00:21:50,299 --> 00:21:52,899
'Worse still, they looked
like freaks.'

431
00:21:53,659 --> 00:21:56,659
'Castrati tended
to be abnormally tall,

432
00:21:56,699 --> 00:21:59,059
obese and with no body hair.'

433
00:21:59,099 --> 00:22:02,139
DR PETER: Some of them were
absolutely wonderful singers,

434
00:22:02,179 --> 00:22:05,579
others were ordinary and others
were total failures and some died.

435
00:22:05,619 --> 00:22:07,619
A really bad deal.

436
00:22:07,659 --> 00:22:11,259
You couldn't have a normal,
ordinary family life, of course.

437
00:22:11,299 --> 00:22:14,939
You run the risk of disease,
premature disease.

438
00:22:14,979 --> 00:22:18,419
You could be very badly deformed.

439
00:22:18,939 --> 00:22:22,259
You had all sorts of difficulties,
of that sort.

440
00:22:22,299 --> 00:22:26,099
But musically, if you were of the
top, you know, top drawer,

441
00:22:26,219 --> 00:22:28,219
you were laughing.

442
00:22:28,259 --> 00:22:32,179
When you were a choir boy,
if you were a good soloist,

443
00:22:32,219 --> 00:22:34,659
- and showed aptitude,
- (SINGS) Paaa, pum!

444
00:22:34,699 --> 00:22:37,819
you might have been one of those
boys back in the 18th century,

445
00:22:37,859 --> 00:22:40,019
as I might have been.

446
00:22:40,059 --> 00:22:43,099
Luckily, we didn't live in
that period and in Italy.

447
00:22:43,139 --> 00:22:45,179
What an intense relief!
(DR PETER LAUGHS)

448
00:22:47,659 --> 00:22:50,579
£ Like as the heart

449
00:22:50,619 --> 00:22:53,979
£ desireth the water brooks

450
00:22:54,019 --> 00:22:57,499
£ so longeth my soul

451
00:22:57,539 --> 00:23:00,139
£ after thee

452
00:23:00,179 --> 00:23:02,539
£ O, God! £

453
00:23:03,179 --> 00:23:05,259
And I've still got my testicles!

454
00:23:11,539 --> 00:23:14,259
I'm not being a hermit
any more, I've retired.

455
00:23:14,299 --> 00:23:16,339
The job was so dreadful and lonely

456
00:23:16,379 --> 00:23:18,939
that despite the promise of
a lot of money at the end,

457
00:23:18,979 --> 00:23:20,979
very few people
lasted their contract.

458
00:23:21,019 --> 00:23:24,379
In fact, there was one hermit
who only lasted three weeks

459
00:23:24,419 --> 00:23:27,379
before he was sacked for
being caught in his local pub.

460
00:23:27,939 --> 00:23:30,539
But however dreadful a job it was,

461
00:23:30,579 --> 00:23:34,259
people would have volunteered in
their thousands for no money at all

462
00:23:34,299 --> 00:23:38,059
if the only alternative was to be
press-ganged into the royal navy.

463
00:23:47,714 --> 00:23:51,354
'Britain really did rule
the waves in Georgian times,

464
00:23:51,394 --> 00:23:54,274
thanks to Nelson's
victory at Trafalgar.'

465
00:23:54,314 --> 00:23:56,794
'As we continued to fight
France and Spain,

466
00:23:56,834 --> 00:23:59,234
the contemporary song,
Rule Britannia,

467
00:23:59,274 --> 00:24:02,434
summed up Britain's determination
never to be slaves.'

468
00:24:02,914 --> 00:24:04,874
'Others weren't so lucky.'

469
00:24:06,314 --> 00:24:09,114
'This was also the time
of the slave trade.'

470
00:24:09,154 --> 00:24:11,154
'Thousands of captured Africans

471
00:24:11,194 --> 00:24:14,434
were shipped in horrifying
conditions across the Atlantic

472
00:24:14,474 --> 00:24:16,674
via ports like Liverpool and Bristol

473
00:24:16,714 --> 00:24:19,154
to work in the
American plantations.'

474
00:24:19,194 --> 00:24:22,074
We can't do
justice to their lives.

475
00:24:22,114 --> 00:24:25,274
Worst jobs implies at least some
element of freedom

476
00:24:25,314 --> 00:24:27,314
and, of course, they had none.

477
00:24:27,354 --> 00:24:29,354
But we can see where
some of them ended up,

478
00:24:29,394 --> 00:24:31,954
because when the British
came to their senses

479
00:24:31,994 --> 00:24:33,994
and abolished slavery,

480
00:24:34,034 --> 00:24:36,314
the British navy was sent
into the Atlantic

481
00:24:36,354 --> 00:24:40,154
to try to intercept some of the
French and Spanish slave ships.

482
00:24:41,154 --> 00:24:44,514
'Some of the liberated slaves ended
up enlisting in the ships

483
00:24:44,554 --> 00:24:46,594
that had saved them.'

484
00:24:46,634 --> 00:24:49,754
'Once aboard, they joined
sailors from many different races

485
00:24:49,794 --> 00:24:51,794
and also a number of women.'

486
00:24:51,834 --> 00:24:53,834
'Most of them can't have known

487
00:24:53,874 --> 00:24:56,154
what they were letting
themselves in for.'

488
00:24:56,194 --> 00:24:58,234
'Although nothing was as
bad as slavery,

489
00:24:58,274 --> 00:25:00,914
Britannia's rule of the waves
was maintained

490
00:25:00,954 --> 00:25:04,754
by a whole host of terrible jobs
in ships like this.'

491
00:25:04,794 --> 00:25:07,754
'Life was so tough
that British recruits

492
00:25:07,794 --> 00:25:10,434
had to be dragged on board
by the press gang

493
00:25:10,474 --> 00:25:12,994
and captains were frequently
offered prisoners,

494
00:25:13,034 --> 00:25:15,034
debtors and patients.'

495
00:25:15,074 --> 00:25:17,514
Richard, if I was a raw recruit
fresh on your ship,

496
00:25:17,554 --> 00:25:19,594
what kind of tasks would you
give me to do?

497
00:25:19,634 --> 00:25:22,034
The press gang isn't giving
me the seamen I want

498
00:25:22,074 --> 00:25:24,074
and the quota acts are pulling
in every vagrant

499
00:25:24,114 --> 00:25:26,674
and ne'er-do-well from all
corners of the kingdom.

500
00:25:26,714 --> 00:25:28,954
- You look like a landsman.
- I'm a landsman.

501
00:25:28,994 --> 00:25:30,994
So what did you do
when you were ashore?

502
00:25:31,034 --> 00:25:33,034
I'm an actor, a writer,
a television...

503
00:25:33,074 --> 00:25:35,154
- So you can read and write?
- Oh, yeah.

504
00:25:35,194 --> 00:25:37,394
We could turn you into a
surgeon's assistant

505
00:25:37,434 --> 00:25:39,434
and start you off
as a loblolly boy.

506
00:25:39,474 --> 00:25:41,434
- Where do I go for that?
- Down below.

507
00:25:42,514 --> 00:25:44,514
'The Historical Maritime Society

508
00:25:44,554 --> 00:25:46,794
has developed a unique way
of demonstrating

509
00:25:46,834 --> 00:25:49,394
the primitive nature
of surgery at sea

510
00:25:49,434 --> 00:25:51,714
using fake blood and pork belly.'

511
00:25:51,754 --> 00:25:55,554
'For the loblolly boy, having to
witness these barbaric operations

512
00:25:55,594 --> 00:25:58,434
must have been one of the
worst parts of the job.'

513
00:25:58,474 --> 00:26:01,274
- Carl's a loblolly boy, isn't he?
- He is.

514
00:26:01,314 --> 00:26:04,594
He is. Effectively, he's a manual
assistant to the surgeon.

515
00:26:05,194 --> 00:26:08,674
His main task is, as you can see
now, is to hold the patient steady,

516
00:26:08,714 --> 00:26:11,594
while I'm trying to remove
this musket ball from him.

517
00:26:11,634 --> 00:26:15,074
- What do you want me to do?
- I'd like you to hold his legs.

518
00:26:15,114 --> 00:26:17,954
I think the pain may bite
in fairly shortly.

519
00:26:17,994 --> 00:26:21,474
- What's this op?
- Trying to locate a musket ball.

520
00:26:21,514 --> 00:26:23,514
The patient's hit on the front

521
00:26:23,554 --> 00:26:25,634
and the ball just
travelled through.

522
00:26:25,674 --> 00:26:29,554
I can feel it. Just can't
get hold of the ball.

523
00:26:29,594 --> 00:26:32,994
I'm trying my best to get the
ball out with my fingers.

524
00:26:33,114 --> 00:26:35,274
I can feel it just below
the line here.

525
00:26:35,314 --> 00:26:37,394
But I'm trying to avoid the spine.

526
00:26:37,434 --> 00:26:39,954
Why is a loblolly boy
called a loblolly?

527
00:26:39,994 --> 00:26:43,194
It's an allusion to the
colloquial name or slang name

528
00:26:43,234 --> 00:26:45,834
for what we call "portable soup".

529
00:26:47,194 --> 00:26:49,434
- It's derived from that.
- It's not soup.

530
00:26:49,834 --> 00:26:52,394
No, it's a lozenge, it's
a rounded lozenge

531
00:26:52,434 --> 00:26:55,074
of animal matter mixed
with vegetal matter.

532
00:26:55,514 --> 00:26:59,314
- Smells like a rancid Oxo cube.
- Absolutely. It keeps for years.

533
00:26:59,354 --> 00:27:02,954
So basically what you're doing
is feeding the sick consomme.

534
00:27:02,994 --> 00:27:05,874
- Exactly, yeah.
- How are you getting on?

535
00:27:05,914 --> 00:27:07,914
Yeah, it's a struggle.

536
00:27:07,954 --> 00:27:09,994
It's coming. Hold him!

537
00:27:11,274 --> 00:27:14,234
TONY: He's really twitching now.
Hang on, Carl!

538
00:27:14,914 --> 00:27:17,754
Woah! There we've got him!

539
00:27:17,794 --> 00:27:19,834
Hang on! He's rolling
around on the floor.

540
00:27:20,514 --> 00:27:24,474
Blimey! I thought he was
a tiny little bullet.

541
00:27:24,874 --> 00:27:27,394
No wonder you were having
problems getting it out.

542
00:27:27,434 --> 00:27:29,874
I don't know if he's laughing
but he's shaking,

543
00:27:29,914 --> 00:27:32,194
I think you've cured him.
You all right?

544
00:27:32,234 --> 00:27:34,354
(GROANS IN PAIN)

545
00:27:34,394 --> 00:27:36,394
He's got a case of very bad acting.

546
00:27:36,434 --> 00:27:38,394
Could you make yourself useful?

547
00:27:38,954 --> 00:27:41,674
'The loblolly boy also got
the job of rounding up

548
00:27:41,714 --> 00:27:44,234
the amputated limbs and
tossing them overboard.'

549
00:27:44,874 --> 00:27:47,754
'But though his job must have
been bloody and depressing,

550
00:27:47,794 --> 00:27:51,514
at least he avoided some of the
other horrors of life on deck.'

551
00:27:52,954 --> 00:27:55,034
- What're you going to do now?
- You tell me.

552
00:27:55,074 --> 00:27:57,234
It's about time we turned you
into a topman.

553
00:27:57,274 --> 00:27:59,394
- What's that?
- They are important members

554
00:27:59,594 --> 00:28:02,114
of the ship's crew.
All the manoeuvring on the ship

555
00:28:02,154 --> 00:28:04,154
requires handling the ropes,

556
00:28:04,194 --> 00:28:07,794
heaving the braces, trimming the
sheets. A lot of it's done aloft!

557
00:28:08,154 --> 00:28:10,274
- Aloft means up there?
RICHARD: Up there.

558
00:28:10,314 --> 00:28:12,314
I think we've got to
show you the ropes.

559
00:28:12,354 --> 00:28:14,434
- That's what the expression means?
- Yes.

560
00:28:14,474 --> 00:28:18,194
You should go up to the main top,
see how you get on up the rigging.

561
00:28:18,234 --> 00:28:20,874
You gotta start by climbing
up on the carronade,

562
00:28:20,914 --> 00:28:23,514
- over the hammock netting.
- Hang on. Onto here?

563
00:28:23,554 --> 00:28:25,554
RICHARD: Yeah.
TONY: Yeah?

564
00:28:25,594 --> 00:28:28,514
RICHARDS: Over the hammock netting
and into the shrouds,

565
00:28:29,234 --> 00:28:31,274
Those thin ropes are the ratlins.

566
00:28:32,114 --> 00:28:35,514
Up you go! All the way up
to the main top above you.

567
00:28:37,074 --> 00:28:39,154
- What, to that platform!
- That's right.

568
00:28:39,194 --> 00:28:42,514
RICHARD: When you get to the top,
there are two ways of handling it.

569
00:28:42,554 --> 00:28:45,634
One, you can go through the
lubber's hole close to the mast.

570
00:28:45,674 --> 00:28:48,554
That's a bit dishonourable,
but it's your first time.

571
00:28:48,594 --> 00:28:50,594
Or you can go over the futtocks,

572
00:28:50,634 --> 00:28:54,034
which means climbing out backwards
and hanging out over the deck

573
00:28:54,074 --> 00:28:57,514
- and going round the outside.
- I'll miss out on the futtocks.

574
00:28:58,314 --> 00:29:00,794
TONY: This is for real?
RICHARD: This is for real.

575
00:29:00,834 --> 00:29:03,514
RICHARD: Good luck!
- I don't know if I can do this.

576
00:29:03,554 --> 00:29:05,514
RICHARD: Yes, you can.

577
00:29:06,994 --> 00:29:09,714
'I had it a bit easier
than in the 18th century.'

578
00:29:09,754 --> 00:29:12,714
'I got to climb up the rope ladder
rather than the ratlins.'

579
00:29:13,274 --> 00:29:15,234
'It was still precarious.'

580
00:29:15,634 --> 00:29:18,594
TONY: I know the sensible thing
is not to look down

581
00:29:18,634 --> 00:29:22,714
but the problem is...you
get your feet jammed

582
00:29:22,754 --> 00:29:25,394
on...on the bits of rope.

583
00:29:27,634 --> 00:29:30,954
And so you're forced to look down
but every time you look down,

584
00:29:30,994 --> 00:29:34,474
you can see quite how...
Oh, God, all that way.

585
00:29:34,514 --> 00:29:38,234
Less than halfway,
Oh! I'm slowing down now.

586
00:29:41,674 --> 00:29:43,794
It's not tiredness, it's just fear.

587
00:29:47,914 --> 00:29:51,474
Hard to believe that when
they used to do this,

588
00:29:51,514 --> 00:29:53,474
they'd be on a grog ration

589
00:29:54,234 --> 00:29:57,234
of...something like...

590
00:29:58,474 --> 00:30:01,194
..half a pint of rum
mixed with water.

591
00:30:01,234 --> 00:30:03,314
So they'd be climbing up like this

592
00:30:03,874 --> 00:30:06,914
on the equivalent...oh, God!

593
00:30:06,954 --> 00:30:10,474
..of...about 12 rum and Cokes.

594
00:30:14,674 --> 00:30:16,114
Oh, I don't like this bit.

595
00:30:16,154 --> 00:30:18,674
I can't get my foot in the...rung.

596
00:30:21,714 --> 00:30:23,874
This feels like I'm not
very secure at all

597
00:30:24,074 --> 00:30:26,034
I feel very sick...

598
00:30:28,114 --> 00:30:30,074
..and shaky.

599
00:30:34,314 --> 00:30:37,834
It swings out here
every time you do a step.

600
00:30:40,954 --> 00:30:42,954
Oh, lordy, lordy, lordy,
lordy!

601
00:30:42,994 --> 00:30:44,954
It's so steep.

602
00:30:48,594 --> 00:30:51,474
I don't quite know how...to get on.

603
00:30:53,914 --> 00:30:57,234
Oh! I've done it!
(GASPS)

604
00:30:59,314 --> 00:31:02,674
That is by far the most frightening
thing I've ever done in my life.

605
00:31:02,714 --> 00:31:04,714
I'm bloody glad I've done it, though.

606
00:31:06,434 --> 00:31:10,274
It's extraordinary to think that
the guys who were doing that

607
00:31:10,314 --> 00:31:12,274
could have been
doing it in a storm,

608
00:31:12,754 --> 00:31:14,754
with the boat pitching and tossing

609
00:31:14,794 --> 00:31:17,274
and...tossing and pitching.

610
00:31:17,314 --> 00:31:19,274
And then, when they got up here,

611
00:31:19,954 --> 00:31:22,234
they might well be asked,

612
00:31:22,274 --> 00:31:25,434
"Do you see that thing
over there, that yardarm?"

613
00:31:25,954 --> 00:31:28,114
They would have been asked
to go along there

614
00:31:28,154 --> 00:31:30,994
in order to furl
or unfurl something.

615
00:31:31,034 --> 00:31:34,154
In fact, my legs are shaking so
much. I'm gonna sit down for a bit.

616
00:31:37,034 --> 00:31:39,074
That was bloody scary.

617
00:31:41,274 --> 00:31:44,754
'In reality, a topman would have had
to get up there in under a minute.'

618
00:31:45,274 --> 00:31:47,394
'I took five times that,
getting down

619
00:31:47,434 --> 00:31:50,234
and I didn't have to untie
and haul up the rigging.'

620
00:31:50,714 --> 00:31:53,514
'After that, I really needed
my grog ration.'

621
00:31:55,994 --> 00:31:59,354
The good news about the food
is that there's plenty of it.

622
00:31:59,394 --> 00:32:03,194
You have it in this square thing,
so you actually get a square meal.

623
00:32:03,234 --> 00:32:05,234
And the drink

624
00:32:05,274 --> 00:32:08,154
is this half-rum, half-water
cocktail,

625
00:32:08,194 --> 00:32:11,634
which is...remarkably good.

626
00:32:12,034 --> 00:32:14,034
Er...the meat on this plate

627
00:32:14,074 --> 00:32:16,274
is THIS stuff,
which is salt pork,

628
00:32:16,914 --> 00:32:20,274
which you soak to get rid
of all the salt

629
00:32:20,314 --> 00:32:22,594
and then cook it up.

630
00:32:24,634 --> 00:32:26,594
That's very, very, very salty.

631
00:32:27,514 --> 00:32:30,114
but...it's bearable.

632
00:32:30,154 --> 00:32:33,834
And the biscuit to go with it
- it's not that nice, actually -

633
00:32:33,874 --> 00:32:35,834
is this thing.

634
00:32:37,234 --> 00:32:40,714
It really is hardtack and the real
problem with it is...

635
00:32:40,754 --> 00:32:42,994
Can you see those little
holes in there?

636
00:32:43,034 --> 00:32:45,594
After a while, when you've been
at sea a few months,

637
00:32:46,034 --> 00:32:48,394
it gets riddled with
these little beetles.

638
00:32:48,434 --> 00:32:50,434
You can just about see one there.

639
00:32:50,474 --> 00:32:54,074
You can see them... This food
really is quite disgusting.

640
00:32:54,434 --> 00:32:57,114
You can see...the beetles

641
00:32:57,874 --> 00:32:59,874
crawling around in there.

642
00:32:59,914 --> 00:33:01,954
And the biscuit is so hard

643
00:33:01,994 --> 00:33:04,674
that you have to soak it
in this gravy.

644
00:33:04,714 --> 00:33:07,474
Actually, there's not much gravy.
It's all, kind of,

645
00:33:07,514 --> 00:33:09,634
congealed fat

646
00:33:09,674 --> 00:33:11,634
and god knows what.

647
00:33:12,714 --> 00:33:14,874
And, then, take a bite and...

648
00:33:19,914 --> 00:33:23,354
..I think I've got about
17 beetles in here.

649
00:33:23,394 --> 00:33:25,874
It's quite disgusting!

650
00:33:30,034 --> 00:33:31,994
This is not nice at all.

651
00:33:33,394 --> 00:33:35,394
Two! Six! Heave!

652
00:33:35,434 --> 00:33:38,434
'At one time, the Navy
was fighting the Spanish,

653
00:33:38,474 --> 00:33:41,034
the Dutch, the Russians
and the Americans.'

654
00:33:41,074 --> 00:33:43,074
'So action stations was the cue

655
00:33:43,114 --> 00:33:46,274
for an even worse job in the Navy
- the gunner.'

656
00:33:46,314 --> 00:33:48,514
'British gun crews were pushed hard.'

657
00:33:48,554 --> 00:33:51,514
'They had to fire at three times
the rate of the opposition.'

658
00:33:52,274 --> 00:33:54,674
'This made them more
vulnerable to accidents

659
00:33:54,714 --> 00:33:56,914
causing horrific injuries and death.'

660
00:33:56,954 --> 00:33:59,154
What other dangers were
there in the battle?

661
00:33:59,194 --> 00:34:02,434
One of the most dangerous things
would be a ball hitting the side.

662
00:34:02,474 --> 00:34:04,514
When that happens, the
inside of the ship

663
00:34:04,554 --> 00:34:08,194
erupts in a great shower of
splinters, some of them 6ft long.

664
00:34:08,474 --> 00:34:10,914
So far more injuries
caused by that

665
00:34:10,954 --> 00:34:13,794
than by a cannon ball
itself hitting you.

666
00:34:13,834 --> 00:34:16,554
The splinters were the
real dangerous things.

667
00:34:18,474 --> 00:34:21,234
If any of these ropes were severed,
one of these cannons

668
00:34:21,274 --> 00:34:24,874
could break loose. And if there's a
heavy sea, that could be a problem.

669
00:34:24,914 --> 00:34:28,194
That would be lethal. I've seen what
a dead weight these things are.

670
00:34:28,234 --> 00:34:30,674
That's the origin of the
phrase "a loose cannon"

671
00:34:30,714 --> 00:34:34,074
because that would cause so much
damage rolling inside the ship.

672
00:34:37,034 --> 00:34:40,314
'During a naval battle, this would
have been a terrible place.'

673
00:34:40,354 --> 00:34:43,274
'Ships often used to fight
yardarm to yardarm,

674
00:34:43,314 --> 00:34:46,434
and pound each other so the
cannonballs would be smashing

675
00:34:46,474 --> 00:34:48,434
right into the opposite gun room.'

676
00:34:52,354 --> 00:34:54,354
What could be worse
than being a man

677
00:34:54,394 --> 00:34:57,714
doing this kind of backbreaking
job at the height of battle

678
00:34:57,754 --> 00:34:59,754
on a deck drenched in blood?

679
00:34:59,794 --> 00:35:03,154
Well, being a boy, doing pretty
much the same thing, I suppose.

680
00:35:03,194 --> 00:35:06,554
Believe it or not, there were boys
as young as six or seven

681
00:35:06,594 --> 00:35:09,154
doing one of the most dangerous
jobs of all on a ship,

682
00:35:09,194 --> 00:35:11,194
being a "powder monkey".

683
00:35:11,234 --> 00:35:13,234
But it wasn't just boys, was it?

684
00:35:13,274 --> 00:35:16,234
No, there were women on board
and anyone who wasn't involved

685
00:35:16,274 --> 00:35:18,794
in the actual manning of the guns
would be helping,

686
00:35:18,834 --> 00:35:20,834
running the powder from
the magazines.

687
00:35:20,874 --> 00:35:22,874
- Come and show me what they did.
- OK.

688
00:35:25,034 --> 00:35:27,474
TONY: So what did the powder
monkeys actually do?

689
00:35:27,514 --> 00:35:30,034
You need to carry the powder
from the magazine,

690
00:35:30,074 --> 00:35:33,074
which is down the bottom of the
ship, as fast as possible,

691
00:35:33,114 --> 00:35:35,114
up to the guns and the gun crews.

692
00:35:35,154 --> 00:35:37,594
- Were there many powder monkeys?
- Quite a few.

693
00:35:37,634 --> 00:35:41,034
But you have to do it in relays so
there would be continual stream

694
00:35:41,074 --> 00:35:43,594
coming down to the magazine
and up to the guns.

695
00:35:43,634 --> 00:35:46,794
- They'd be carrying it in this?
- Yes, a powder keg.

696
00:35:46,834 --> 00:35:49,434
TONY: And this presumably protects
it from sparks.

697
00:35:49,474 --> 00:35:52,914
JEN: Yeah. If there's a spark
anywhere, it will explode.

698
00:35:52,954 --> 00:35:55,794
And so you're not trailing
gunpowder through the ship.

699
00:35:55,834 --> 00:35:59,874
And when you get there, it's
secure until you need the powder.

700
00:35:59,914 --> 00:36:02,834
- Where were they running from?
- From the powder magazine.

701
00:36:02,874 --> 00:36:04,834
- Down here?
- Yeah.

702
00:36:06,594 --> 00:36:08,834
TONY: It's quite away, isn't it?
JEN: It is.

703
00:36:09,794 --> 00:36:12,714
Here's the powder keg. You need
to go and get that filled up.

704
00:36:12,754 --> 00:36:15,274
- There's a bloke down here.
- Yes, that's a marine,

705
00:36:15,314 --> 00:36:19,034
and he's there to stop unauthorised
people coming into the magazine.

706
00:36:19,074 --> 00:36:20,874
- But, I'm authorised?
- Oh, yes.

707
00:36:20,914 --> 00:36:22,874
Morning.

708
00:36:27,874 --> 00:36:31,274
TONY: Right, what do I do?
- Come in. Put that down.

709
00:36:34,714 --> 00:36:38,554
I'm gonna refill that. Start filling
that up with the cartridges.

710
00:36:38,594 --> 00:36:41,354
- Why are these walls copper-lined?
- For two reasons,

711
00:36:41,394 --> 00:36:44,194
First of all, moisture. We're below
the water line here.

712
00:36:44,234 --> 00:36:46,114
We need to avoid moisture getting in.

713
00:36:46,154 --> 00:36:49,594
Water and black powder don't mix,
it stops black powder functioning.

714
00:36:49,634 --> 00:36:52,594
Secondly, to avoid sparks.
copper doesn't spark like iron.

715
00:36:52,634 --> 00:36:55,234
A spark in here and we'd all
end up in heaven quickly.

716
00:36:55,274 --> 00:36:57,834
TONY: Well, I'm full.
- OK, get back up to those guns.

717
00:36:59,514 --> 00:37:02,674
'During the Battle of the Nile,
one French ship, The Orient,

718
00:37:02,714 --> 00:37:05,954
was blown to kingdom come
when a red-hot cannonball

719
00:37:05,994 --> 00:37:07,954
rolled into the powder room.'

720
00:37:09,074 --> 00:37:11,954
'For the powder monkey, speed
was of the essence,

721
00:37:11,994 --> 00:37:14,154
not easy during a battle
when the deck

722
00:37:14,194 --> 00:37:16,394
would have been sanded
to soak up the blood.'

723
00:37:16,434 --> 00:37:19,074
'There are stories of naval
engagements where blood

724
00:37:19,114 --> 00:37:21,434
was literally pouring out
of the scuppers.'

725
00:37:22,674 --> 00:37:25,514
'At the Battle of Trafalgar,
one in five of the crew

726
00:37:25,554 --> 00:37:27,514
was either killed or wounded.'

727
00:37:29,394 --> 00:37:31,394
'It's carrying deadly gun powder

728
00:37:31,434 --> 00:37:34,194
that could kill everyone
amidst the carnage of battle

729
00:37:34,234 --> 00:37:37,034
that makes powder monkey
the worst job for me.'

730
00:37:39,514 --> 00:37:41,514
That was just one cannon going off.

731
00:37:41,554 --> 00:37:44,274
Imagine, if they were all
going off at once.

732
00:37:44,314 --> 00:37:46,994
And imagine if you were an
eight-year-old raw recruit

733
00:37:47,034 --> 00:37:49,274
and this was your
first time in battle.

734
00:37:49,314 --> 00:37:53,354
Mind you, if they did win and
manage capture an enemy boat,

735
00:37:53,394 --> 00:37:56,194
then the powder monkey's
got a share in the prize money.

736
00:37:56,234 --> 00:37:59,154
I reckon it is that perk
rather than patriotism

737
00:37:59,194 --> 00:38:01,234
that made the Royal Navy great.

738
00:38:01,554 --> 00:38:03,514
FIRE!

739
00:38:07,394 --> 00:38:10,954
'I have set myself the task
of actually doing the worst job

740
00:38:10,994 --> 00:38:12,994
in every era of history.'

741
00:38:13,034 --> 00:38:15,234
'But which was it
for the Georgians?'

742
00:38:16,314 --> 00:38:20,234
'Cleaning out a giant bath was
messy but relatively safe.'

743
00:38:22,834 --> 00:38:26,234
'Riding officers and powder monkeys
may have had risky lives,

744
00:38:26,274 --> 00:38:29,474
but at least they had the glory
of fighting for king and country.'

745
00:38:31,314 --> 00:38:33,914
'And even the shame
of being an artist's model

746
00:38:33,954 --> 00:38:35,914
could lead to immortality.'

747
00:38:39,994 --> 00:38:43,754
No. For me, the very worst job
started every morning

748
00:38:43,794 --> 00:38:46,154
right here, at 6am.

749
00:38:46,194 --> 00:38:50,034
And as you can see from the size of
the beds, it was done by children.

750
00:38:50,074 --> 00:38:52,074
It was actually two to a bed here.

751
00:38:52,114 --> 00:38:55,594
And these kids could only ever
dream of becoming powder monkeys.

752
00:38:56,034 --> 00:38:59,234
The 18th century saw the birth
of the Industrial Revolution

753
00:38:59,274 --> 00:39:01,274
that changed Britain forever.

754
00:39:01,314 --> 00:39:03,354
But it would never have
got off the ground

755
00:39:03,394 --> 00:39:06,554
if it hadn't been for worst jobs
like the mule scavenger.

756
00:39:13,314 --> 00:39:15,474
'Mills like Quarry Bank
near Manchester

757
00:39:15,514 --> 00:39:18,954
were technological marvels,
using first water

758
00:39:18,994 --> 00:39:22,074
and then the new medium of steam
to power cotton production.'

759
00:39:26,674 --> 00:39:29,834
'But they weren't so
forward-thinking about employment.'

760
00:39:29,874 --> 00:39:32,954
'The mill owners here, though
by no means the worst,

761
00:39:32,994 --> 00:39:36,354
used to buy - yes, buy - children
as young as six

762
00:39:36,394 --> 00:39:38,914
from the workhouse
for a couple of quid

763
00:39:38,954 --> 00:39:40,914
to be apprentices.'

764
00:39:42,514 --> 00:39:44,514
'For not more than board
and lodging,

765
00:39:44,554 --> 00:39:47,274
they worked at least 12hrs a day.'

766
00:39:48,714 --> 00:39:51,514
The very worst job in a factory,

767
00:39:51,554 --> 00:39:54,114
right at the bottom of the
hierarchy of the mill,

768
00:39:54,714 --> 00:39:56,674
was the little scavenger.

769
00:39:56,794 --> 00:39:59,434
They were mostly the
youngest children.

770
00:39:59,474 --> 00:40:02,954
And what they had to do was to go
underneath this machine.

771
00:40:02,994 --> 00:40:05,754
TONY: What, right through to
the back here?

772
00:40:05,794 --> 00:40:07,794
- Ooh! Didn't see the wipers,
- Yeah.

773
00:40:07,834 --> 00:40:10,794
Right under that machine there,
while it was working,

774
00:40:10,834 --> 00:40:14,194
and clean away all the bits of
loose cotton that had fallen down.

775
00:40:14,234 --> 00:40:17,794
- It must have been quite dangerous.
- It was incredibly dangerous.

776
00:40:17,834 --> 00:40:22,754
If you think about it, the early
mules couldn't be stopped.

777
00:40:22,794 --> 00:40:25,754
You couldn't stop the
machine to clean them.

778
00:40:25,794 --> 00:40:30,074
And, in any case, the spinners
were paid by the piece.

779
00:40:30,114 --> 00:40:32,554
So they had no interest
in stopping the machine.

780
00:40:32,594 --> 00:40:34,594
And I suppose the thing about kids

781
00:40:34,634 --> 00:40:38,074
is that they tend not to
concentrate, and muck about.

782
00:40:38,114 --> 00:40:41,514
Absolutely. Kids and machinery
just don't mix.

783
00:40:41,554 --> 00:40:45,754
And after 12 hours of working
in this place, you can imagine,

784
00:40:45,794 --> 00:40:48,274
that children would be tired
and inattentive,

785
00:40:48,314 --> 00:40:52,314
and it only required
one second of inattention

786
00:40:52,354 --> 00:40:54,514
to get a finger caught in
one of these wheels

787
00:40:55,234 --> 00:40:57,554
or to even get...squeezed

788
00:40:57,594 --> 00:41:00,794
between the carriage
and the back of the machinery.

789
00:41:02,194 --> 00:41:04,194
'There was only one
thing for it.'

790
00:41:04,234 --> 00:41:06,594
'Time to put on my calico trousers

791
00:41:06,634 --> 00:41:09,714
and get started on my career
as a scavenger.'

792
00:41:17,041 --> 00:41:19,761
So I'm all kitted up,
no shirt, as you can see.

793
00:41:19,801 --> 00:41:22,801
It's really hot in here.
It can't be much cooler

794
00:41:22,841 --> 00:41:26,241
because otherwise
these threads can snap.

795
00:41:26,281 --> 00:41:28,481
And no shoes either

796
00:41:28,521 --> 00:41:31,481
cos normally, they'd have worn
clogs with metal studs.

797
00:41:31,521 --> 00:41:34,921
But if your clog hits part
of this machinery,

798
00:41:34,961 --> 00:41:37,721
it can cause a spark,
and, as you can see,

799
00:41:37,761 --> 00:41:41,361
there's lots of little bits
of fluff in here.

800
00:41:41,401 --> 00:41:44,001
And if a spark hit one
of those, then woof!

801
00:41:44,041 --> 00:41:47,041
The whole thing could go
up in flames.

802
00:41:47,081 --> 00:41:49,321
So Peter, I'm ready to go.
What do I need to do?

803
00:41:49,721 --> 00:41:52,241
OK. Here's your
scavenger's brush.

804
00:41:52,281 --> 00:41:55,081
- Yeah.
- And here's your scavenger's sack.

805
00:41:55,601 --> 00:42:00,161
What you've got to do is get into
this space under the machine.

806
00:42:00,761 --> 00:42:03,481
And basically - the job's
pretty simple -

807
00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:06,321
you've gotta brush up all
of this waste cotton.

808
00:42:06,361 --> 00:42:08,881
There's a load of muck up here
as well, isn't there?

809
00:42:08,921 --> 00:42:10,921
It's all stuck all over
the machine.

810
00:42:10,961 --> 00:42:13,681
That's your job too. You've got to
brush all that down

811
00:42:14,321 --> 00:42:17,841
and make sure that it's not going
to contaminate the cotton.

812
00:42:17,881 --> 00:42:20,441
It's incredibly dusty actually,
isn't it?

813
00:42:20,481 --> 00:42:22,961
PETER: It is.
TONY: Chris! can you start it up?

814
00:42:23,001 --> 00:42:25,001
TONY: Just want to see how...

815
00:42:25,041 --> 00:42:27,801
PETER: You could imagine how
dangerous it would be

816
00:42:27,841 --> 00:42:30,001
to be cleaning off these
wheels as well,

817
00:42:30,041 --> 00:42:32,041
and the ropes and the machinery.

818
00:42:32,081 --> 00:42:34,481
TONY: It would be if your
concentration shifted.

819
00:42:35,601 --> 00:42:39,401
'For 12 hours a day, the scavenger
needed incredible agility.'

820
00:42:39,881 --> 00:42:42,801
'Today, there's an emergency
button to stop the machine.'

821
00:42:42,841 --> 00:42:44,801
'But even so, I still had
to watch out.'

822
00:42:48,161 --> 00:42:51,041
'Losing your concentration
could be fatal.'

823
00:42:51,081 --> 00:42:53,601
'As the memorandum book
for the mill records

824
00:42:53,641 --> 00:42:55,641
for one accident
in Georgian times.'

825
00:42:56,321 --> 00:42:59,641
"A very melancholy accident befell
a lad named Joseph Foden,

826
00:42:59,681 --> 00:43:01,641
about 13 years of age."

827
00:43:02,361 --> 00:43:04,361
"While engaged sweeping
under a mule,

828
00:43:04,401 --> 00:43:07,401
his head was caught between
the roller beam and the carriage

829
00:43:07,921 --> 00:43:10,601
as the latter was putting up,
and completely smashed,

830
00:43:11,441 --> 00:43:13,601
death being instantaneous."

831
00:43:22,161 --> 00:43:24,121
PETER: Be careful!

832
00:43:26,041 --> 00:43:28,441
It would really take your feet off,
wouldn't it,

833
00:43:28,481 --> 00:43:32,241
if you're concentrating over here
and you got your foot down there?

834
00:43:32,281 --> 00:43:34,241
PETER: Feet, fingers.

835
00:43:36,961 --> 00:43:39,441
You know, the real problem is

836
00:43:39,481 --> 00:43:41,441
that there's no even rhythm.

837
00:43:42,001 --> 00:43:44,161
It starts off really slowly,

838
00:43:44,201 --> 00:43:46,521
and when it gets to the top,
there's this...

839
00:43:47,521 --> 00:43:49,481
..rather unnerving pause.

840
00:43:50,561 --> 00:43:53,441
And you're just, kinda, waiting
for it to start again.

841
00:43:53,481 --> 00:43:57,201
And you're trying to do as much
work as you can to get in position.

842
00:43:57,241 --> 00:44:00,881
It starts to roll back quite slowly
and then gets faster and faster.

843
00:44:00,921 --> 00:44:03,361
Did you see how that last bit
was a real sprint?

844
00:44:03,401 --> 00:44:07,041
So, because
there's no...steady rhythm,

845
00:44:07,481 --> 00:44:11,041
it's hard to work out
a steady strategy

846
00:44:11,081 --> 00:44:13,681
so that you're always
in the right place.

847
00:44:15,041 --> 00:44:18,161
And your feet feel incredibly
vulnerable...

848
00:44:19,961 --> 00:44:21,961
..for when it comes back behind you.

849
00:44:22,001 --> 00:44:25,601
You don't know if you're gonna
whack them on..on this thing.

850
00:44:27,081 --> 00:44:30,441
So it's actually much more
knackering than you'd think it is.

851
00:44:47,241 --> 00:44:50,961
It's so knackering,
I'll tell you what it is.

852
00:44:51,561 --> 00:44:55,641
If it was a rhythm, you could
work out how you were gonna do it.

853
00:44:55,681 --> 00:45:00,601
But because it's in such jerks,
it's like driving a car off-road

854
00:45:00,641 --> 00:45:03,041
that you're constantly
having to concentrate.

855
00:45:03,081 --> 00:45:05,761
You know, I imagine what
it must have been like for kids

856
00:45:05,801 --> 00:45:09,041
because the moment you let
the concentration stop,

857
00:45:09,961 --> 00:45:11,961
you lose sync with the rhythm of it.

858
00:45:12,001 --> 00:45:15,481
And it's actually the backing out.
Backing out through here is a doddle.

859
00:45:15,521 --> 00:45:17,681
As long as you know you can go
straight back,

860
00:45:17,721 --> 00:45:20,281
even if you got bumped over the
head, you'd come out.

861
00:45:20,321 --> 00:45:22,641
But get stuck in this stuff here,

862
00:45:22,681 --> 00:45:24,681
you try...there is nowhere to go!

863
00:45:24,721 --> 00:45:27,841
So for a kid...a hell of a job.
PETER: Very dangerous.

864
00:45:31,681 --> 00:45:35,201
'After 12 hours of backbreaking work
on their hands and knees,

865
00:45:35,241 --> 00:45:37,921
the children returned
to the apprentice house,

866
00:45:37,961 --> 00:45:40,761
where they'd be rewarded
with a supper of thin gruel

867
00:45:40,801 --> 00:45:43,001
and chores before bedtime.'

868
00:45:43,041 --> 00:45:46,481
'Then it was up again at six
for another day's scavenging.'

869
00:45:48,561 --> 00:45:52,401
Our modern Industrial Age was born
in places like Quarry Bank,

870
00:45:52,441 --> 00:45:54,441
and if it hadn't been
for young workers

871
00:45:54,481 --> 00:45:57,881
like the doffers and piecers
and scavengers

872
00:45:57,921 --> 00:46:01,441
doing all the worst jobs, the whole
thing would have ground to a halt.

873
00:46:01,481 --> 00:46:04,641
And if you think things can only
get better, you'd be wrong.

874
00:46:05,321 --> 00:46:07,881
Join me next time
on the bottom rung

875
00:46:07,921 --> 00:46:09,881
of the Victorian jobs' ladder.

876
00:46:10,841 --> 00:46:13,041
'I'll be showing Raitrack,
what you can do

877
00:46:13,081 --> 00:46:16,241
with two litres of beer
and a kilo of meat.'

878
00:46:16,281 --> 00:46:19,121
'Having my hands full
as a rat-catcher.'

879
00:46:20,201 --> 00:46:22,201
'And experiencing what may be

880
00:46:22,241 --> 00:46:24,241
the worst job of all time.'

881
00:46:24,281 --> 00:46:26,241
Oh, God!

882
00:46:27,081 --> 00:46:29,041
ITFC SUBTITLES