1
00:00:02,447 --> 00:00:04,487
Our nation's history has been built

2
00:00:04,487 --> 00:00:08,327
not just by leading characters
making big political decisions,

3
00:00:08,327 --> 00:00:11,847
but by a huge supporting cast
of ordinary men and women

4
00:00:11,847 --> 00:00:14,567
prepared to do some really lousy jobs.

5
00:00:14,567 --> 00:00:16,047
This time...

6
00:00:16,047 --> 00:00:19,357
Breaking your back
to quench the city's thirst.

7
00:00:20,367 --> 00:00:21,847
Oh, God!

8
00:00:21,847 --> 00:00:24,647
Burning your toes
to keep the traffic moving.

9
00:00:24,647 --> 00:00:26,247
And the utter tedium

10
00:00:26,247 --> 00:00:29,447
of making the building blocks
of the urban landscape.

11
00:00:29,447 --> 00:00:33,326
Welcome to
The Worst Jobs in the City.

12
00:00:58,487 --> 00:01:03,447
Today, 90%- of us live in cities.
It wasn't always like that.

13
00:01:03,447 --> 00:01:06,280
In the Middle Ages,
most of Britain was rural.

14
00:01:08,447 --> 00:01:12,647
Towns slowly grew as people
came together to make money by trading,

15
00:01:12,647 --> 00:01:15,366
or to earn money
by looking after the traders.

16
00:01:16,607 --> 00:01:18,647
Cities are artificial, aren't they?

17
00:01:18,647 --> 00:01:21,287
If you're in the country,
then you can live off the land,

18
00:01:21,287 --> 00:01:24,487
but in the town, everything has to be
brought in and provided for you,

19
00:01:24,487 --> 00:01:26,207
even water.

20
00:01:26,207 --> 00:01:30,767
Nowadays we get our water from the tap,
but for hundreds of years,

21
00:01:30,767 --> 00:01:34,207
thousands of people living in cities
had no running water.

22
00:01:34,207 --> 00:01:38,166
Mind you, today, most of us have a slurp
on one of these occasionally, don't we?

23
00:01:39,487 --> 00:01:40,966
And it's no problem.

24
00:01:42,447 --> 00:01:45,927
Mind you, if you've ever carried
a party pack of the stuff around,

25
00:01:45,927 --> 00:01:50,047
you'll know how bad
this next worst job can be.

26
00:01:50,047 --> 00:01:53,676
It's the back-breaking task
of being a water caddy.

27
00:01:56,087 --> 00:01:59,927
Water caddies had been around
since the 1500s,

28
00:01:59,927 --> 00:02:01,407
but by the Georgian times,

29
00:02:01,407 --> 00:02:03,807
up to a quarter of the population
had flocked to the cities,

30
00:02:03,807 --> 00:02:06,275
which still had no running water.

31
00:02:07,887 --> 00:02:10,807
18th-century Edinburgh
presented the water caddies

32
00:02:10,807 --> 00:02:12,807
with their ultimate challenge -

33
00:02:12,807 --> 00:02:15,607
its buildings
were up to eight storeys high.

34
00:02:15,607 --> 00:02:19,287
Of course, the first thing
that the water caddy had to do

35
00:02:19,287 --> 00:02:22,967
was fill up his caddy with water.

36
00:02:22,967 --> 00:02:26,287
Presumably, Liz, there must have been
loads of wells dotted all over the city.

37
00:02:26,287 --> 00:02:30,567
Well, no, there wasn't, because when
they brought water in here in 1681,

38
00:02:30,567 --> 00:02:34,367
they only put five of these wells
in the whole length of the high street.

39
00:02:34,367 --> 00:02:36,767
For how many people?
About 30,000 people.

40
00:02:36,767 --> 00:02:39,527
So this is what I carry the water
around in.

41
00:02:39,527 --> 00:02:41,927
That's right. This is what the
water caddies carried them around in.

42
00:02:41,927 --> 00:02:44,567
Can I fill it from here?
I'm afraid there's naught there anymore.

43
00:02:44,567 --> 00:02:47,247
So it's gonna be this...
It's gonna have to be that.

44
00:02:47,247 --> 00:02:48,967
Could you hold my bung?
I will indeed.

45
00:02:48,967 --> 00:02:51,487
The maths is simple.

46
00:02:51,487 --> 00:02:56,367
12 two-litre bottles of water
weighs 24 kilos, plus the barrel -

47
00:02:56,367 --> 00:03:00,804
that's over 30 kilos of weight
I've got to carry on my back.

48
00:03:01,807 --> 00:03:03,287
Right.
What do I do?

49
00:03:03,287 --> 00:03:06,127
They carried it
over their shoulders.

50
00:03:06,127 --> 00:03:09,207
Oh, blimey!
I can't even lift it off the ground!

51
00:03:09,207 --> 00:03:12,207
Oh, God!

52
00:03:12,207 --> 00:03:14,437
Gaw, I don't know how I'm gonna get up!
Now...

53
00:03:15,447 --> 00:03:17,407
(Grunts) Bloody thing!

54
00:03:17,407 --> 00:03:19,047
You alright?

55
00:03:19,047 --> 00:03:20,767
A bit further up.

56
00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:24,007
Liz, it's choking me - this leather strap.

57
00:03:24,007 --> 00:03:26,767
You have to pull the strap
away from your face.

58
00:03:26,767 --> 00:03:28,447
Is that better?
Yeah.

59
00:03:28,447 --> 00:03:30,127
How far did they go?

60
00:03:30,127 --> 00:03:33,007
Well, the high street,
the whole length of the high street,

61
00:03:33,007 --> 00:03:35,687
and then, of course,
down on either side.

62
00:03:35,687 --> 00:03:39,999
There's steep hills down on either side.
And then up the stairs at the tenements.

63
00:03:42,047 --> 00:03:44,287
Many of the caddies
were ex-soldiers,

64
00:03:44,287 --> 00:03:46,567
but this was
an equal-opportunity worst job,

65
00:03:46,567 --> 00:03:50,196
as their wives
also did this back-breaking task.

66
00:03:52,127 --> 00:03:53,606
Where now?

67
00:03:54,647 --> 00:03:56,127
Up there.

68
00:03:56,127 --> 00:03:57,685
Up here? Oh...!

69
00:03:59,647 --> 00:04:01,127
Come on, then!

70
00:04:01,127 --> 00:04:02,640
LIZ: No, no. See you later.

71
00:04:03,767 --> 00:04:05,246
Great.

72
00:04:09,847 --> 00:04:12,247
My muscles are screaming
after 10 minutes,

73
00:04:12,247 --> 00:04:16,126
but the water caddies
had to keep going for hours.

74
00:04:20,247 --> 00:04:23,527
Like me, they left
a trail of water behind.

75
00:04:23,527 --> 00:04:27,767
But it was important not to lose too much -
they were paid per barrel.

76
00:04:27,767 --> 00:04:30,847
To earn a maximum wage
of three shillings per day,

77
00:04:30,847 --> 00:04:34,283
they had to make
a staggering 36 trips.

78
00:04:39,847 --> 00:04:41,327
How's it going?

79
00:04:41,327 --> 00:04:42,807
Great.

80
00:04:42,807 --> 00:04:45,887
I've got water dripping down my back,
all my muscles are aching,

81
00:04:45,887 --> 00:04:47,407
and I've got a permanent stoop.

82
00:04:47,407 --> 00:04:50,727
You know, the caddies in Edinburgh
were recognised for a permanent stoop.

83
00:04:50,727 --> 00:04:52,487
I'm not (BLEEP) surprised, Liz.

84
00:04:52,487 --> 00:04:56,967
That will be a shilling fine
for swearing.

85
00:04:56,967 --> 00:05:01,207
Two shillings if you argued
with somebody up at the well.

86
00:05:01,207 --> 00:05:04,487
And as much as six shillings
if you made a nuisance of yourself.

87
00:05:04,487 --> 00:05:07,047
Now, I'm just going straight on.
See you later.

88
00:05:07,047 --> 00:05:11,199
Up there, round the corner.
Nearly there.

89
00:05:13,967 --> 00:05:16,767
I never thought I'd make it.

90
00:05:16,767 --> 00:05:18,247
(Sighs)

91
00:05:18,247 --> 00:05:19,807
Now, this would be
your regular route,

92
00:05:19,807 --> 00:05:22,567
because each caddy had
their same houses that they served,

93
00:05:22,567 --> 00:05:25,287
so you'd be in the habit
of coming up this steep route.

94
00:05:25,287 --> 00:05:27,207
Can I take this off now?
I'm afraid not.

95
00:05:27,207 --> 00:05:30,247
Because, you see, the poor lived
down on the ground floor,

96
00:05:30,247 --> 00:05:32,927
because it was smelly
and it was overcrowded.

97
00:05:32,927 --> 00:05:36,607
The middle classes, the people
you're bringing the water for, they lived...

98
00:05:36,607 --> 00:05:38,247
...up the stairs.

99
00:05:38,247 --> 00:05:40,607
So I'm afraid it's up the stairs
you have to go.

100
00:05:40,607 --> 00:05:43,487
Can't you just tell me that?
No.

101
00:05:43,487 --> 00:05:45,159
You've got to go.

102
00:05:55,847 --> 00:05:58,566
At least it's a bit warmer in here.

103
00:06:00,807 --> 00:06:03,446
Obviously, it is steeper here.

104
00:06:05,287 --> 00:06:07,607
(Groans)

105
00:06:07,607 --> 00:06:10,565
Never gonna get this open
with this on!

106
00:06:14,687 --> 00:06:19,847
Well, I may have risked a cricked neck
and a slipped disc and a hernia,

107
00:06:19,847 --> 00:06:24,238
but in my next worst job,
I risk death.

108
00:06:25,647 --> 00:06:28,115
(Groans) Blimey!

109
00:06:31,687 --> 00:06:36,078
Fire - for centuries,
the greatest risk to life in the city.

110
00:06:38,487 --> 00:06:42,487
With space precious and people crammed
into multi-storey buildings,

111
00:06:42,487 --> 00:06:46,527
wood, thatch and open fires
created a live-in tinderbox.

112
00:06:46,527 --> 00:06:48,807
It wasn't until the 19th century

113
00:06:48,807 --> 00:06:53,244
that people organised an official force
to fight the ultimate urban nightmare.

114
00:06:55,807 --> 00:07:00,367
If your idea of the fire service
is brave, bold heroes or heroines

115
00:07:00,367 --> 00:07:02,327
surrounded by high-tech equipment,

116
00:07:02,327 --> 00:07:03,807
think again.

117
00:07:03,807 --> 00:07:08,207
In days gone by,
fire-fighting really was a worst job.

118
00:07:08,207 --> 00:07:12,047
Smoke is one of the greatest dangers
in a blaze.

119
00:07:12,047 --> 00:07:15,198
Today's crews have
sophisticated breathing apparatus.

120
00:07:19,607 --> 00:07:22,847
Unlike the early fire-fighters,
who had to trust in a silly hat,

121
00:07:22,847 --> 00:07:26,967
a piece of hose and a colleague
known as a bellows boy.

122
00:07:26,967 --> 00:07:29,567
Is this a bellows?
Yes. A basic bellows.

123
00:07:29,567 --> 00:07:31,967
Individual outside,
called the bellows boy,

124
00:07:31,967 --> 00:07:34,567
would pump that, force air
through the hose, into the visor,

125
00:07:34,567 --> 00:07:36,567
and allow the fire-fighter
to breathe clean air.

126
00:07:36,567 --> 00:07:39,567
How do you get it on?
It's not easy.

127
00:07:39,567 --> 00:07:42,607
These two things are like
a wishbone, aren't they?

128
00:07:42,607 --> 00:07:45,807
God, it's like a torture thing!

129
00:07:45,807 --> 00:07:47,727
There I am. Yep.
Yep?

130
00:07:47,727 --> 00:07:49,607
Oh!
OK? Can you see?

131
00:07:49,607 --> 00:07:51,087
Yep.

132
00:07:51,087 --> 00:07:53,237
Can you shut my windows?
Right. We're going in.

133
00:07:55,647 --> 00:08:00,007
You know what's really horrible,
is that I can only see from here upwards.

134
00:08:00,007 --> 00:08:02,647
Below, there's just nothing.

135
00:08:02,647 --> 00:08:04,687
When you go into that smoky building...
Yeah?

136
00:08:04,687 --> 00:08:07,447
...the only sense you can
really rely on is feel.

137
00:08:07,447 --> 00:08:10,287
You can feel the heat. You need to
feel your way around the building.

138
00:08:10,287 --> 00:08:13,687
And keep as low as you possibly can -
if possible, below the smoke layer.

139
00:08:13,687 --> 00:08:15,967
We're going in?
And in you go. Keep low.

140
00:08:15,967 --> 00:08:17,727
And I'll do the bellows.

141
00:08:17,727 --> 00:08:19,683
TONY: Oh, wow.

142
00:08:20,807 --> 00:08:22,367
It's so weird in here.

143
00:08:22,367 --> 00:08:25,359
Can't see anything at all.

144
00:08:26,647 --> 00:08:30,799
This turn-of-the-century breathing system
was relatively sophisticated.

145
00:08:33,007 --> 00:08:37,247
When Captain Shaw
founded the fire service in 1865,

146
00:08:37,247 --> 00:08:39,367
his men had nothing.

147
00:08:39,367 --> 00:08:42,887
They relied on natural pluck
and big moustaches,

148
00:08:42,887 --> 00:08:45,727
which they grew
to cover their mouths.

149
00:08:45,727 --> 00:08:48,727
They'd hold their breath
and run into blazes,

150
00:08:48,727 --> 00:08:50,727
earning the title 'smoke eaters'.

151
00:08:50,727 --> 00:08:54,647
I can just make out this wall...

152
00:08:54,647 --> 00:08:56,239
...here now.

153
00:08:57,647 --> 00:09:00,687
I don't know how I would have been
able to rescue anybody,

154
00:09:00,687 --> 00:09:02,287
'cause I wouldn't have seen them.

155
00:09:02,287 --> 00:09:04,887
Think I'm gonna see
if I can get out now,

156
00:09:04,887 --> 00:09:09,207
although, to be quite honest,
I can't even see where the door is.

157
00:09:09,207 --> 00:09:12,287
That'd be a nightmare, wouldn't it,
if you were stuck in something like this

158
00:09:12,287 --> 00:09:14,005
and couldn't find your way out.

159
00:09:15,527 --> 00:09:17,404
I think this is it here.

160
00:09:18,807 --> 00:09:21,367
Oh, yeah, yeah. Here we go.
Here we go. Here we go.

161
00:09:22,767 --> 00:09:24,287
Hey!

162
00:09:24,287 --> 00:09:29,607
Do you know, that wasn't nearly as bad
as I feared it would be. Um...

163
00:09:29,607 --> 00:09:31,598
Can you get this helmet off me?

164
00:09:33,687 --> 00:09:36,487
That was actually much better
than I thought it would be.

165
00:09:36,487 --> 00:09:39,527
But there's something about
that fresh air coming all the time

166
00:09:39,527 --> 00:09:41,167
that is really reassuring.

167
00:09:41,167 --> 00:09:44,567
The big risk is, the further you go in,
the harder the bellows boy had to pump.

168
00:09:44,567 --> 00:09:46,047
Yeah.

169
00:09:46,047 --> 00:09:49,167
Any debris that falls on the hose in there
immediately cuts off your air supply.

170
00:09:49,167 --> 00:09:50,647
Yeah.

171
00:09:50,647 --> 00:09:52,967
And it's not unknown for perhaps
roofing materials to fall down,

172
00:09:52,967 --> 00:09:55,567
the bellows boy to leave the post,
and, again, your air's cut off.

173
00:09:55,567 --> 00:09:58,127
I was feeling really secure
till you told me that.

174
00:09:59,167 --> 00:10:03,957
But the high-rise city meant
the fire-fighter's job got even worse.

175
00:10:05,047 --> 00:10:07,767
If you think it was bad
walking into a smoking building

176
00:10:07,767 --> 00:10:10,487
with only a hose to prevent you
from being asphyxiated,

177
00:10:10,487 --> 00:10:13,647
imagine what it must have been like
outside the building.

178
00:10:13,647 --> 00:10:16,527
Fair enough, the fires tended
to start down the bottom,

179
00:10:16,527 --> 00:10:19,687
but as the buildings went higher,
so did the flames,

180
00:10:19,687 --> 00:10:22,567
and, unfortunately,
so did the firemen.

181
00:10:22,567 --> 00:10:24,767
When did this kind of ladder
come in?

182
00:10:24,767 --> 00:10:26,687
This is called a hook ladder, Tony,

183
00:10:26,687 --> 00:10:30,167
and it was introduced into service
in the UK from about 1900.

184
00:10:30,167 --> 00:10:32,687
First developed in France.

185
00:10:32,687 --> 00:10:35,727
Pull that out there, hook it out,

186
00:10:35,727 --> 00:10:38,607
and then you would scale
the outside of a building,

187
00:10:38,607 --> 00:10:40,447
going up one floor at a time,

188
00:10:40,447 --> 00:10:42,367
spinning that round,
smashing any windows

189
00:10:42,367 --> 00:10:44,567
to put that in the window
and hook on the sill,

190
00:10:44,567 --> 00:10:46,687
and you'd climb up each floor
progressively.

191
00:10:46,687 --> 00:10:48,927
Almost limitless.
As high as the building.

192
00:10:48,927 --> 00:10:51,327
Well, shall we have a go on this?
OK, put it down.

193
00:10:51,327 --> 00:10:53,927
We'll start from the bottom, shall we?
Alright. We've got to start properly.

194
00:10:53,927 --> 00:10:56,687
OK. We'll turn it over.
This bit's called the bill.

195
00:10:56,687 --> 00:10:58,767
Yeah.
We'll turn it over and rest it on that.

196
00:10:58,767 --> 00:11:00,247
Yep.

197
00:11:00,247 --> 00:11:02,681
OK. Come this end.
Right.

198
00:11:04,327 --> 00:11:06,847
What you have to do
is grip that with your right hand.

199
00:11:06,847 --> 00:11:08,927
This is the third round.
Just grip that under there.

200
00:11:08,927 --> 00:11:10,727
You call that a round, not a rung?
Yeah.

201
00:11:10,727 --> 00:11:13,127
They tell me bells are rung, not ladders.
And rounds are climbed.

202
00:11:13,127 --> 00:11:14,607
OK. And then lifting it up.

203
00:11:14,607 --> 00:11:16,647
You'll be pushing with that one,
pulling with this one.

204
00:11:16,647 --> 00:11:19,167
Oh! Gorblimey! It's heavy.

205
00:11:19,167 --> 00:11:20,647
OK?
Yeah.

206
00:11:20,647 --> 00:11:22,447
Keep it going, keep it going.
There we go.

207
00:11:22,447 --> 00:11:24,836
Now you've got it up,
you put it into the building.

208
00:11:26,967 --> 00:11:28,447
PETER: There you go.

209
00:11:28,447 --> 00:11:30,327
TONY: That secure?

210
00:11:30,327 --> 00:11:33,007
Let's have a look. There we are.
It stays where it can.

211
00:11:33,007 --> 00:11:36,887
PETER: Yeah. You're good to go.
TONY: Looks a bit wobbly to me.

212
00:11:36,887 --> 00:11:40,367
Right, I'll get kitted up, then.
Lovely.

213
00:11:40,367 --> 00:11:42,727
Right, Pete. I've got my rig.

214
00:11:42,727 --> 00:11:47,967
I've got my mini-camera, so you can
see the terror on my face as I go up.

215
00:11:47,967 --> 00:11:48,956
You look very safe.

216
00:11:50,007 --> 00:11:52,887
Right, you haven't enjoyed
the luxury of 16 weeks training,

217
00:11:52,887 --> 00:11:55,127
so just take it at your own speed,

218
00:11:55,127 --> 00:11:57,127
conserve your energy,
because when you get to the top,

219
00:11:57,127 --> 00:11:59,447
you may well have to bring
someone down on your shoulders.

220
00:11:59,447 --> 00:12:01,007
Sure.

221
00:12:01,007 --> 00:12:02,047
Come on!

222
00:12:02,047 --> 00:12:06,327
Just getting my leg up
isn't too easy.

223
00:12:06,327 --> 00:12:08,047
Was this actually dangerous?

224
00:12:08,047 --> 00:12:12,847
Well, up until 1956, Tony,
there were six deaths using this.

225
00:12:12,847 --> 00:12:14,487
Six deaths where?

226
00:12:14,487 --> 00:12:16,687
All in the training centre.
None operationally.

227
00:12:16,687 --> 00:12:19,487
And this is the training centre?
This is the training centre.

228
00:12:19,487 --> 00:12:23,927
But rest assured that if you use this
in anger, for rescue purposes,

229
00:12:23,927 --> 00:12:26,047
you were more or less assured
of a medal.

230
00:12:26,047 --> 00:12:28,767
I think I'd rather do without.

231
00:12:28,767 --> 00:12:31,687
One medal winner was George Swain.

232
00:12:31,687 --> 00:12:36,007
In 1916, he not only got to the top floor
of a burning building in East London,

233
00:12:36,007 --> 00:12:39,447
he carried two children out alive
on one of these ladders.

234
00:12:39,447 --> 00:12:41,887
Lift the ladder up off the sill
so you clear the hook.

235
00:12:41,887 --> 00:12:44,047
Yeah.
Right. Now turn the ladder outwards.

236
00:12:44,047 --> 00:12:45,527
Yeah.

237
00:12:45,527 --> 00:12:48,287
And now, gradually ease it up
to the next floor.

238
00:12:48,287 --> 00:12:50,967
My God, it's heavy. (Groans)

239
00:12:50,967 --> 00:12:54,087
That's it. Take it out from the building.
That's it. Keep going.

240
00:12:54,087 --> 00:12:55,887
All the way.
(Groans)

241
00:12:55,887 --> 00:12:58,567
Once you're clear of the sill,
swing the hook back in

242
00:12:58,567 --> 00:13:00,527
and let the ladder
rest on the sill.

243
00:13:00,527 --> 00:13:02,727
Well done.
That it?

244
00:13:02,727 --> 00:13:05,167
Now ease yourself round
to the front of the ladder

245
00:13:05,167 --> 00:13:07,920
and put your left foot on the round
above your right.

246
00:13:09,727 --> 00:13:11,399
Oh, my God.

247
00:13:13,367 --> 00:13:16,518
It'll do that until you've got your weight
centre on the ladder, Tony.

248
00:13:17,727 --> 00:13:19,887
Just take it nice and easy.
Yeah.

249
00:13:19,887 --> 00:13:22,047
Just keep coming round.

250
00:13:22,047 --> 00:13:24,247
That's it.
No, down a bit, down a bit.

251
00:13:24,247 --> 00:13:27,247
That's it. You're there.
Oh, frig.

252
00:13:27,247 --> 00:13:28,407
OK?
Yep.

253
00:13:28,407 --> 00:13:32,400
Right, off we go again.
Nice and slowly.

254
00:13:34,127 --> 00:13:36,087
Oh!

255
00:13:36,087 --> 00:13:37,759
I wish this was over.

256
00:13:38,887 --> 00:13:40,847
Oh!

257
00:13:40,847 --> 00:13:42,439
That's it. A couple more.

258
00:13:43,807 --> 00:13:46,927
Now, from that point, left leg,
swing it into the building.

259
00:13:46,927 --> 00:13:48,967
Right.
Over the sill.

260
00:13:48,967 --> 00:13:51,887
That wasn't what I was
supposed to do. (Sighs)

261
00:13:51,887 --> 00:13:54,447
I'm there!
We got there, Tony. Well done.

262
00:13:54,447 --> 00:13:59,527
Now I've got to rescue someone
from a blazing building,

263
00:13:59,527 --> 00:14:04,287
when, actually, all I feel like doing
is having a nice lie-down.

264
00:14:04,287 --> 00:14:06,207
Cor.

265
00:14:06,207 --> 00:14:10,927
But firemen didn't have
the riskiest jobs in the city. Dockers did.

266
00:14:10,927 --> 00:14:14,007
Our major cities grew
because of trade,

267
00:14:14,007 --> 00:14:17,087
made possible by access
to big rivers and the sea.

268
00:14:17,087 --> 00:14:19,396
At the heart of this trade
were the docks.

269
00:14:20,727 --> 00:14:24,007
By 1900, the busiest of them all
were in London.

270
00:14:24,007 --> 00:14:26,207
A fifth of all Londoners worked

271
00:14:26,207 --> 00:14:28,516
keeping this heart
of the British Empire beating.

272
00:14:29,927 --> 00:14:32,007
But at a cost.

273
00:14:32,007 --> 00:14:36,967
After mining and deep-sea fishing,
dockers had the most industrial injuries.

274
00:14:36,967 --> 00:14:40,087
Danger came in many forms,
like the grain porters,

275
00:14:40,087 --> 00:14:45,247
who risked suffocation as they worked
in grain stores and ship's holds.

276
00:14:45,247 --> 00:14:49,367
You probably can't see it, but there's
actually two articulated vehicles

277
00:14:49,367 --> 00:14:53,287
and a load of lads working
up the far end of this warehouse.

278
00:14:53,287 --> 00:14:55,127
But they're practically invisible.

279
00:14:55,127 --> 00:14:58,647
It's like a London smog here
because of all the dust that's kicking up.

280
00:14:58,647 --> 00:15:00,167
Very much so.

281
00:15:00,167 --> 00:15:03,607
You can imagine how dusty
it would have been on a bulk grain ship,

282
00:15:03,607 --> 00:15:06,167
where most cargoes were
being discharged by hand,

283
00:15:06,167 --> 00:15:08,927
or using old mechanical
sort of grab elevators

284
00:15:08,927 --> 00:15:11,207
and later on, of course,
suction elevators.

285
00:15:11,207 --> 00:15:14,887
The whole dust just being blown up,
will get in your eyes, get in your hair,

286
00:15:14,887 --> 00:15:16,887
get down your throat in particular.

287
00:15:16,887 --> 00:15:20,407
Very, very sort of difficult cargoes
to work. You were working against time.

288
00:15:20,407 --> 00:15:22,407
You're working with cargoes
that were not only dusty,

289
00:15:22,407 --> 00:15:24,727
but very, very hot
by nature as well.

290
00:15:24,727 --> 00:15:27,007
Hot? Is this stuff hot?
Come and have a feel.

291
00:15:27,007 --> 00:15:30,407
I mean, you know, this is, I think,
probably malted barley. It smells like it.

292
00:15:30,407 --> 00:15:31,927
Put your hand in.

293
00:15:31,927 --> 00:15:33,407
It is! It's really nice.

294
00:15:33,407 --> 00:15:35,207
Gone up about 10 degrees in there.
Yeah.

295
00:15:35,207 --> 00:15:36,967
You'll also notice
that we're sinking as well.

296
00:15:36,967 --> 00:15:38,767
So if you're working down in a hold,

297
00:15:38,767 --> 00:15:41,927
it was very hard to climb up
in the hold of a ship.

298
00:15:41,927 --> 00:15:44,447
It's like walking on
very, very soft sand.

299
00:15:44,447 --> 00:15:46,527
Yeah.
You could sink up to your waist.

300
00:15:46,527 --> 00:15:48,687
So the guys who worked
on board ship

301
00:15:48,687 --> 00:15:52,487
usually wrapped sacking
from their knees round their feet.

302
00:15:52,487 --> 00:15:54,247
They were called toe rags.

303
00:15:54,247 --> 00:15:57,807
They did that to stop the grain
getting into their trousers.

304
00:15:57,807 --> 00:15:59,647
Some of it was very spiky.

305
00:15:59,647 --> 00:16:01,287
Toe rags?
Toe rags, yeah.

306
00:16:01,287 --> 00:16:04,087
That's what we used to call thieves
when I was a kid in London.

307
00:16:04,087 --> 00:16:07,207
It feels up here as though you could
just be sucked down into it.

308
00:16:07,207 --> 00:16:09,607
Well, you could - you had to be
very careful where you're working,

309
00:16:09,607 --> 00:16:11,087
obviously, in ships' holds,

310
00:16:11,087 --> 00:16:14,007
especially if the pneumatic
sort of elevator's sucking out the grain

311
00:16:14,007 --> 00:16:17,407
very, very rapidly through
very large-diameter sort of hoses.

312
00:16:17,407 --> 00:16:19,287
If you weren't very careful,

313
00:16:19,287 --> 00:16:22,567
you could find that the area around you
was being sort of sucked away

314
00:16:22,567 --> 00:16:26,527
and, rather like being sort of
caught in an undercurrent in the sea,

315
00:16:26,527 --> 00:16:28,127
you could be sucked under

316
00:16:28,127 --> 00:16:31,727
and the grain around you
could topple in on you.

317
00:16:31,727 --> 00:16:34,447
So there was a danger
of sort of suffocation.

318
00:16:34,447 --> 00:16:38,527
So, not always a nice cargo
to work with.

319
00:16:38,527 --> 00:16:43,527
I tell you what, the one thing that I noticed
more than anything else about this job

320
00:16:43,527 --> 00:16:45,127
is this flipping dust.

321
00:16:45,127 --> 00:16:47,407
We've only been doing it
for about a couple of minutes,

322
00:16:47,407 --> 00:16:50,567
and already it's in my eyes,
in my throat.

323
00:16:50,567 --> 00:16:53,967
I want to have a good cough-up.

324
00:16:53,967 --> 00:16:57,516
This is not a job
that I would recommend.

325
00:17:07,167 --> 00:17:10,207
In fact, the port threw up
plenty of worst jobs -

326
00:17:10,207 --> 00:17:14,007
whether it was carrying rotting meat, or
bales of sugar that rubbed your skin raw.

327
00:17:14,007 --> 00:17:18,876
Unpleasant cargoes like lamp black
could turn you black for a fortnight.

328
00:17:21,407 --> 00:17:23,247
If that wasn't enough,

329
00:17:23,247 --> 00:17:27,127
many dockers risked being crushed
by falling cargo.

330
00:17:27,127 --> 00:17:32,967
But strangely, one of the most dangerous
jobs was also one of the most skilled.

331
00:17:32,967 --> 00:17:35,287
And it was a job that was around
down the docks

332
00:17:35,287 --> 00:17:37,087
until the middle of the 20th century.

333
00:17:37,087 --> 00:17:40,087
Ron, you were a deal porter
when you were a lad, weren't you?

334
00:17:40,087 --> 00:17:41,567
When I was 20, yes.

335
00:17:41,567 --> 00:17:43,527
What was deal,
and how did you port it?

336
00:17:43,527 --> 00:17:47,127
Deal is timber that's shipped in
on the boats, yeah,

337
00:17:47,127 --> 00:17:51,367
and once it's on the quays,
we took it from A to B.

338
00:17:51,367 --> 00:17:53,447
So you just lifted this up?
Yeah, lift it up.

339
00:17:53,447 --> 00:17:56,527
How did you carry it?
I carried it on my shoulder.

340
00:17:56,527 --> 00:17:58,007
Yeah.

341
00:17:58,007 --> 00:17:59,647
Wear this.
Yeah.

342
00:17:59,647 --> 00:18:01,807
So this is really
what you'd have worn?

343
00:18:01,807 --> 00:18:04,007
Yes, this is a backing hat.
A what hat?

344
00:18:04,007 --> 00:18:06,247
A backing hat.
Backing hat.

345
00:18:06,247 --> 00:18:07,847
Backing hat.
Yeah.

346
00:18:07,847 --> 00:18:09,327
And it would have
protected your shoulder

347
00:18:09,327 --> 00:18:11,727
and stopping all the sawdust
going down inside your neck.

348
00:18:11,727 --> 00:18:15,087
Go on, then. Show us how you do it.
Right.

349
00:18:15,087 --> 00:18:16,607
How high do you want it?

350
00:18:16,607 --> 00:18:19,440
High as my shoulder. I'll bend down.
Yeah.

351
00:18:20,887 --> 00:18:24,327
Then if you hadn't got the middle,
you'd just push it forward like that.

352
00:18:24,327 --> 00:18:26,487
Push it forward, yeah.
And then you run up the...

353
00:18:26,487 --> 00:18:27,967
Oh, we have to run?
Yes.

354
00:18:27,967 --> 00:18:31,516
This is how you would do it, actually.

355
00:18:32,727 --> 00:18:34,927
But you'd have been carrying
more than one, yeah?

356
00:18:34,927 --> 00:18:37,607
Oh, more than one. About three.
Yeah. Oh!

357
00:18:37,607 --> 00:18:40,087
And you go up...
Nearly had my head off there.

358
00:18:40,087 --> 00:18:41,767
Oh. (Chuckles)

359
00:18:41,767 --> 00:18:45,247
Of course, the docks would have been
much more crowded in those days.

360
00:18:45,247 --> 00:18:47,522
Oh, yes. Bustling.

361
00:18:48,847 --> 00:18:51,407
What was so dangerous about it?

362
00:18:51,407 --> 00:18:53,087
Well...

363
00:18:53,087 --> 00:18:55,237
...if you missed your...

364
00:18:57,407 --> 00:18:59,847
...missed your footing, you'd fall,

365
00:18:59,847 --> 00:19:05,007
and it wouldn't be on the flat,
like this is.

366
00:19:05,007 --> 00:19:07,407
Yeah.
It would be...

367
00:19:07,407 --> 00:19:11,327
You'd have a series
of what they call horses, trestles...

368
00:19:11,327 --> 00:19:12,807
Yeah.

369
00:19:12,807 --> 00:19:17,767
...going up, low, going up and up
until you got up to the top.

370
00:19:17,767 --> 00:19:21,287
So you'd go right the way up
to the top of something like that?

371
00:19:21,287 --> 00:19:23,207
As high as those over there, yes.

372
00:19:23,207 --> 00:19:25,327
So how many of those
do you reckon

373
00:19:25,327 --> 00:19:27,847
you would have been
likely to carry at a time?

374
00:19:27,847 --> 00:19:30,247
It would have been about...

375
00:19:30,247 --> 00:19:35,687
...as many as the chap who's holding
it up, as many as he could hold up,

376
00:19:35,687 --> 00:19:39,287
at ease, then you'd
carry it on your shoulder.

377
00:19:39,287 --> 00:19:43,599
The deal porters carried
up to 40 kilos of timber at a time.

378
00:19:47,807 --> 00:19:49,487
20 feet above ground,

379
00:19:49,487 --> 00:19:53,607
precariously balancing on a plank
the size of a gymnast's beam,

380
00:19:53,607 --> 00:19:55,687
one slip or gust of wind

381
00:19:55,687 --> 00:19:58,565
meant a fall straight onto
the concrete below.

382
00:19:59,647 --> 00:20:01,207
Here we go.

383
00:20:01,207 --> 00:20:04,367
Oh, the turn isn't too easy.

384
00:20:04,367 --> 00:20:05,847
Up we go.

385
00:20:05,847 --> 00:20:07,927
Many dockers worked
as casual labour.

386
00:20:07,927 --> 00:20:10,327
But deal porters had to be trained.

387
00:20:10,327 --> 00:20:14,487
Even a single plank at low level
requires skill and concentration.

388
00:20:14,487 --> 00:20:16,047
Eh!

389
00:20:16,047 --> 00:20:18,287
But without the risky job
of deal porting,

390
00:20:18,287 --> 00:20:22,360
the city would have been starved of
one of the essentials of the building trade.

391
00:20:23,607 --> 00:20:25,087
Drop.

392
00:20:25,087 --> 00:20:27,601
Pretty good for a first go, I think!

393
00:20:29,567 --> 00:20:35,647
The 18th century saw the industrial
revolution transform Britain's landscape.

394
00:20:35,647 --> 00:20:39,607
A huge building boom
turned villages into cities

395
00:20:39,607 --> 00:20:42,287
as a million people moved
from country to town.

396
00:20:42,287 --> 00:20:46,326
This expansion
needed a cheap building material.

397
00:20:48,327 --> 00:20:50,007
Bricks were cheap,

398
00:20:50,007 --> 00:20:53,367
but the process of making them
was far from cheerful.

399
00:20:53,367 --> 00:20:56,807
The 18th century was the heyday
of the poor old pugger-

400
00:20:56,807 --> 00:21:00,607
the lowest of the low in
the tedious business of brick production.

401
00:21:00,607 --> 00:21:03,567
How did they use to
make these things, Mike?

402
00:21:03,567 --> 00:21:07,527
Well, one at a time in a box mould,
with soft, squidgy clay

403
00:21:07,527 --> 00:21:10,167
that they would just fling
into the mould, dry it and fire it.

404
00:21:10,167 --> 00:21:12,087
One at a time?
One at a time, yes.

405
00:21:12,087 --> 00:21:15,447
But during the expansion of the big cities
in the 18th and 19th centuries,

406
00:21:15,447 --> 00:21:17,647
they must have needed
thousands of these.

407
00:21:17,647 --> 00:21:19,807
Oh, millions.
Millions upon millions.

408
00:21:19,807 --> 00:21:23,247
I mean, it is the staple
of British building, a brick,

409
00:21:23,247 --> 00:21:26,167
because it's an easy thing to make,
an easy thing to handle.

410
00:21:26,167 --> 00:21:28,367
So, what kind of clay was it
that they used?

411
00:21:28,367 --> 00:21:32,087
Oh, mud. Soft mud like clay.
Like that stuff over there.

412
00:21:32,087 --> 00:21:38,007
They'd dig it up in the fields, lay it down
like that in the late summer, autumn,

413
00:21:38,007 --> 00:21:40,967
the winter would get at it
and the frost would break it down

414
00:21:40,967 --> 00:21:45,127
and make it into
a soft, mud-like consistency.

415
00:21:45,127 --> 00:21:47,367
They'd then take it into...
under some cover

416
00:21:47,367 --> 00:21:51,567
and make it into the finer clay
that we want to throw into the mould.

417
00:21:51,567 --> 00:21:53,047
Is this pugging?

418
00:21:53,047 --> 00:21:55,527
Pugging is the preparation
of the clay, yes,

419
00:21:55,527 --> 00:21:57,967
and the final part
is actually treading it,

420
00:21:57,967 --> 00:22:04,407
a rather laborious thing of treading it,
to get it into a nice... muddy state.

421
00:22:04,407 --> 00:22:06,527
He's gonna teach me
to be a little pugger.

422
00:22:06,527 --> 00:22:08,199
That's right!

423
00:22:11,807 --> 00:22:13,527
Right. Do I jump in?

424
00:22:13,527 --> 00:22:16,647
Well, we don't jump in. We just sort of...
Try and tread it out.

425
00:22:16,647 --> 00:22:19,807
So march up and down,
rather than dance around frantically.

426
00:22:19,807 --> 00:22:22,607
So I think we would want to try
and get some order in this.

427
00:22:22,607 --> 00:22:24,687
Oh, it's cold, isn't it?!
Yes, alright.

428
00:22:24,687 --> 00:22:27,767
Come on.
Oh, wow. Oh!

429
00:22:27,767 --> 00:22:29,767
Gorblige, it's cold!

430
00:22:29,767 --> 00:22:31,567
But, you see, we are mixing it up.

431
00:22:31,567 --> 00:22:34,487
This... this is fairly late stage
we're doing this now.

432
00:22:34,487 --> 00:22:36,287
Who were the people
who would have done this?

433
00:22:36,287 --> 00:22:38,287
Well, the chaps would have done this,
the labourers.

434
00:22:38,287 --> 00:22:39,767
Yeah.

435
00:22:39,767 --> 00:22:42,327
They'd have the body weight
to make it worthwhile.

436
00:22:42,327 --> 00:22:48,407
You wouldn't want anybody frail doing it,
and slight, like children or small women.

437
00:22:48,407 --> 00:22:51,567
Mainly women
worked on the moulding side.

438
00:22:51,567 --> 00:22:56,367
They were throwing the clay
into the moulds.

439
00:22:56,367 --> 00:22:58,327
And would the children
have done any work?

440
00:22:58,327 --> 00:23:02,967
And the children would probably be taking
large lumps of clay to those women,

441
00:23:02,967 --> 00:23:08,167
so they'd be carrying up to
six or seven kilos, perhaps even more.

442
00:23:08,167 --> 00:23:11,407
Very hard, long hours,

443
00:23:11,407 --> 00:23:14,167
and certainly as far as
children are concerned,

444
00:23:14,167 --> 00:23:16,087
bit of exploitation there, I think.

445
00:23:16,087 --> 00:23:18,407
Shall we say this is done?
I think so.

446
00:23:18,407 --> 00:23:20,247
I think that's pretty well formed.

447
00:23:20,247 --> 00:23:22,487
I think the circulation's
completely stopped in my feet!

448
00:23:22,487 --> 00:23:25,407
Absolutely. Yeah.
Oh!

449
00:23:25,407 --> 00:23:26,967
And roll it.

450
00:23:26,967 --> 00:23:28,487
Just like... like...
Like that.

451
00:23:28,487 --> 00:23:30,367
After all that pugging,

452
00:23:30,367 --> 00:23:33,367
the clay was thrown into moulds
and the brick formed.

453
00:23:33,367 --> 00:23:35,327
And... now what?
Vertically down.

454
00:23:35,327 --> 00:23:37,487
Oh, chuck it in here?
Yeah.

455
00:23:37,487 --> 00:23:40,087
MICHAEL: That's exactly right.
BOTH: Yeah.

456
00:23:40,087 --> 00:23:41,567
Lift it off to see what you've...

457
00:23:41,567 --> 00:23:43,367
Every brick was made like this,

458
00:23:43,367 --> 00:23:46,567
and it took 40,000 of them
to build one house.

459
00:23:46,567 --> 00:23:49,527
TONY: Oh, that's not bad, is it?
MICHAEL: That's not bad.

460
00:23:49,527 --> 00:23:52,727
That would have been put out
in the field for about six weeks,

461
00:23:52,727 --> 00:23:56,007
let the sun and the air
and the wind dry it off.

462
00:23:56,007 --> 00:24:00,127
We'd have put it in the kiln then.
Fire it for a week or so.

463
00:24:00,127 --> 00:24:05,207
Fire would go out, and at the end
of the day, we'd have a brick like that.

464
00:24:05,207 --> 00:24:08,527
Actually, very similar, 'cause we've got
that corner knocked off that one.

465
00:24:08,527 --> 00:24:12,447
It wasn't just me - they did it too.
What a relief to know that!

466
00:24:12,447 --> 00:24:15,405
I reckon my great-grandfather
did that one.

467
00:24:18,447 --> 00:24:21,484
Making bricks meant
getting your feet mucky for a living.

468
00:24:25,287 --> 00:24:29,883
But it was still better than a job dedicated
to keeping people's shoes clean.

469
00:24:37,607 --> 00:24:41,727
Cities didn't stop growing
after the industrial revolution.

470
00:24:41,727 --> 00:24:44,007
London's population quadrupled,

471
00:24:44,007 --> 00:24:47,967
from a million in 1800
to 4.5 million in 1880.

472
00:24:47,967 --> 00:24:50,287
It wasn't just the biggest city
in Britain,

473
00:24:50,287 --> 00:24:53,767
it was the biggest
the world had ever seen.

474
00:24:53,767 --> 00:24:56,247
And it wasn't just
teeming with humans.

475
00:24:56,247 --> 00:24:59,447
There was only one form of horsepower
for transport,

476
00:24:59,447 --> 00:25:02,367
and that was... well, a horse.

477
00:25:02,367 --> 00:25:05,837
Or, rather, thousands
and thousands of horses.

478
00:25:08,327 --> 00:25:11,527
And, of course, every horse
had its own active bowels,

479
00:25:11,527 --> 00:25:14,447
which meant there was
loads of poo all over the place.

480
00:25:14,447 --> 00:25:17,287
So you weren't just dodging
the horse and carts,

481
00:25:17,287 --> 00:25:19,847
you were dodging all the stuff
that they left behind them.

482
00:25:19,847 --> 00:25:23,967
You can imagine what the state
of the streets would have been.

483
00:25:23,967 --> 00:25:26,407
It would have been
virtually impossible to get across,

484
00:25:26,407 --> 00:25:28,887
particularly
if you'd got nice clothes on,

485
00:25:28,887 --> 00:25:33,567
if you were a fine lady
with a long coat and a long dress.

486
00:25:33,567 --> 00:25:38,887
So the city threw up another worst job,
which was crossing sweeper.

487
00:25:38,887 --> 00:25:40,567
So, am I allowed to do this?

488
00:25:40,567 --> 00:25:44,807
Absolutely. But in order to maintain your
right to do so, you have to do it regularly.

489
00:25:44,807 --> 00:25:49,727
Some people actually managed to claim
a single crossing for 10, 20, 30 years

490
00:25:49,727 --> 00:25:51,687
and to make a good living out of it.

491
00:25:51,687 --> 00:25:54,647
Well, this is my first morning,
so I'll clear a path for you,

492
00:25:54,647 --> 00:25:57,287
and then off you go, alright?

493
00:25:57,287 --> 00:25:58,767
What sort of people did this?

494
00:25:58,767 --> 00:26:00,607
The poorest of the poor.

495
00:26:00,607 --> 00:26:04,407
Mainly the elderly, and young children,
a lot of disabled people,

496
00:26:04,407 --> 00:26:08,167
a lot of people who couldn't
get any other kind of work.

497
00:26:08,167 --> 00:26:10,607
It really was
on the edge of begging.

498
00:26:10,607 --> 00:26:14,247
One group who were regularly
identified as crossing sweepers

499
00:26:14,247 --> 00:26:18,887
were black refugees
from the American Revolution -

500
00:26:18,887 --> 00:26:20,767
ex-slaves who ended up in London

501
00:26:20,767 --> 00:26:23,887
with no settlement, no place to go
and no employment.

502
00:26:23,887 --> 00:26:25,447
It's mainly young people?

503
00:26:25,447 --> 00:26:28,927
They ran across
the whole gamut of ages,

504
00:26:28,927 --> 00:26:31,727
from 12-year-olds
through 90-year-olds.

505
00:26:31,727 --> 00:26:37,047
Someone typical might be someone like
William Donovan, who was 19 years old,

506
00:26:37,047 --> 00:26:39,927
lived in a common lodging house
with 98 other people

507
00:26:39,927 --> 00:26:41,967
in Macklin Street in London.

508
00:26:41,967 --> 00:26:45,047
He would have earned
just a few pence a day,

509
00:26:45,047 --> 00:26:48,687
taking care of, owning,
a particular crossing.

510
00:26:48,687 --> 00:26:50,837
Alright, darling, over you come.

511
00:26:52,847 --> 00:26:54,767
TONY: Pretty good, I think,
for a first time.

512
00:26:54,767 --> 00:26:56,647
TIM: Absolutely.
Thank you, young man.

513
00:26:56,647 --> 00:26:59,207
How much did I get for this?
Cheers, love.

514
00:26:59,207 --> 00:27:02,127
A farthing, a ha'pence, a penny.
I got a penny.

515
00:27:02,127 --> 00:27:04,127
If you were lucky,
you got something.

516
00:27:04,127 --> 00:27:06,287
But the important thing is
you couldn't actually ask for it.

517
00:27:06,287 --> 00:27:08,367
It had to be in the form of a tip.

518
00:27:08,367 --> 00:27:11,567
If you asked for it, that became begging
and you were subject to vagrancy laws.

519
00:27:11,567 --> 00:27:13,367
So I couldn't advertise?

520
00:27:13,367 --> 00:27:18,767
Well, you could advertise by, for example,
writing signs in the manure itself

521
00:27:18,767 --> 00:27:21,007
or perhaps making
little sculptures in it.

522
00:27:21,007 --> 00:27:22,487
What sort of signs?

523
00:27:22,487 --> 00:27:26,207
Well, the 19th-century equivalent of
"Hungry and homeless, please help."

524
00:27:26,207 --> 00:27:29,087
You could say, "God bless the poor,"
or, "God bless the Queen."

525
00:27:29,087 --> 00:27:33,487
There are examples of people
creating anchors and flowers.

526
00:27:33,487 --> 00:27:35,047
Oh, well, that's very nice, isn't it?

527
00:27:35,047 --> 00:27:37,847
Although, I have to be honest,
it wasn't that difficult a job.

528
00:27:37,847 --> 00:27:40,407
That's what made it so good
for the disabled.

529
00:27:40,407 --> 00:27:44,527
There are instances of crossing sweepers
missing both legs.

530
00:27:44,527 --> 00:27:47,447
There are characters like Joe
in Dickens's 'Bleak House'

531
00:27:47,447 --> 00:27:49,007
that is actually mentally retarded

532
00:27:49,007 --> 00:27:52,716
but could still make a living, a very
meagre living, as a crossing sweeper.

533
00:27:54,007 --> 00:27:55,967
There you are. Little smiley face.

534
00:27:55,967 --> 00:27:59,527
Although it does look little bit more
like a death's head, I think.

535
00:27:59,527 --> 00:28:01,607
So, what was the downside?

536
00:28:01,607 --> 00:28:04,567
You really needed the crossing sweeper
when it was cold,

537
00:28:04,567 --> 00:28:06,687
when it was wet,
when it was miserable.

538
00:28:06,687 --> 00:28:09,167
And you didn't want to be
on the streets yourself.

539
00:28:09,167 --> 00:28:11,047
If you were in rags,
you were freezing.

540
00:28:11,047 --> 00:28:13,927
Something else they did
was tumbling.

541
00:28:13,927 --> 00:28:18,007
Young boys, in particular,
would tumble across a crossing

542
00:28:18,007 --> 00:28:20,327
in advance of the person
they were leading across.

543
00:28:20,327 --> 00:28:23,007
So, in combination with your advertising
and a bit of tumbling, perhaps...

544
00:28:23,007 --> 00:28:26,487
I think I'll just stick with the drawing
for the moment.

545
00:28:26,487 --> 00:28:28,247
I did do a pretty good job.

546
00:28:28,247 --> 00:28:31,603
Absolutely. I'd cross on that.
Come on, then.

547
00:28:36,327 --> 00:28:39,247
But it wasn't just horse poo
that provided a living

548
00:28:39,247 --> 00:28:41,124
for those at the bottom of the heap.

549
00:28:42,287 --> 00:28:44,967
Then, as now,
people in cities kept dogs,

550
00:28:44,967 --> 00:28:48,287
and there was dog poo
all over the place.

551
00:28:48,287 --> 00:28:51,207
You wouldn't have thought, would you,
that there'd be a job

552
00:28:51,207 --> 00:28:55,207
where you could make good money
collecting up this stuff,

553
00:28:55,207 --> 00:28:58,167
but there was in the 19th century.

554
00:28:58,167 --> 00:29:02,047
It was called the 'pure collector'.

555
00:29:02,047 --> 00:29:03,807
Why pure?

556
00:29:03,807 --> 00:29:05,807
Well, it's a bit of a joke. It's ironic.

557
00:29:05,807 --> 00:29:10,367
I mean, there's nothing particularly pure
about this muck, is there?

558
00:29:10,367 --> 00:29:16,407
The dog muck was sold to tanners,

559
00:29:16,407 --> 00:29:21,007
where it became basic
in the tanning process.

560
00:29:21,007 --> 00:29:24,527
And the pure collectors
were usually elderly women,

561
00:29:24,527 --> 00:29:29,607
who could make six or seven shillings
a day doing this.

562
00:29:29,607 --> 00:29:33,167
Someone's trod in this bit.

563
00:29:33,167 --> 00:29:36,047
Mind you, if you were really lucky,

564
00:29:36,047 --> 00:29:39,447
you could get a contract
with a local dog kennel,

565
00:29:39,447 --> 00:29:43,201
in which case, you could make
up to 10 bob a day.

566
00:29:45,607 --> 00:29:48,247
I think I've just
trod in some of it, actually.

567
00:29:48,247 --> 00:29:50,363
Let's call this a day, shall we?

568
00:29:55,527 --> 00:30:00,047
The rise of Britain's cities
also created whole new lifestyles.

569
00:30:00,047 --> 00:30:03,247
People worked different hours
to their country cousins,

570
00:30:03,247 --> 00:30:06,887
and they didn't always want
to go home when it got dark.

571
00:30:06,887 --> 00:30:11,167
In the back streets, gambling dens,
seedy drinking establishments

572
00:30:11,167 --> 00:30:13,317
and brothels flourished.

573
00:30:14,527 --> 00:30:19,447
The 18th century also saw the rise
of paid entertainment for the masses.

574
00:30:19,447 --> 00:30:23,607
But being an entertainer
in Georgian Britain, especially a woman,

575
00:30:23,607 --> 00:30:25,887
was a tough, sordid business.

576
00:30:25,887 --> 00:30:29,402
People wanted cheap thrills
and violence.

577
00:30:33,047 --> 00:30:35,127
A night out for the urban poor

578
00:30:35,127 --> 00:30:38,527
often meant watching two people beating
the living daylights out of each other.

579
00:30:38,527 --> 00:30:41,047
But these weren't just
Mike Tyson look-alikes.

580
00:30:41,047 --> 00:30:44,807
Welcome to the worst job
of the fighting woman.

581
00:30:44,807 --> 00:30:46,847
Terry, where did these women fight?

582
00:30:46,847 --> 00:30:50,327
Well, they usually tried to avoid
the city fathers, shall we say,

583
00:30:50,327 --> 00:30:53,247
by fighting outside the city walls -
Blackfriars, the stairs -

584
00:30:53,247 --> 00:30:56,967
anywhere where the actual councillors
couldn't get to touch them,

585
00:30:56,967 --> 00:30:59,007
stop them
carrying out their activities.

586
00:30:59,007 --> 00:31:01,167
And what sort of fighting
did they do?

587
00:31:01,167 --> 00:31:04,567
Brutal - swords, axes,
two-hand swords,

588
00:31:04,567 --> 00:31:06,487
bare-knuckle boxing, wrestling.

589
00:31:06,487 --> 00:31:08,407
Quite some fearsome ladies.

590
00:31:08,407 --> 00:31:10,847
Can you show me a few of the moves?
Not personally, no.

591
00:31:10,847 --> 00:31:14,157
But I know a lady that can.
Peta, this way, please.

592
00:31:27,567 --> 00:31:29,807
Can you just put your arms
through there, please, Tony?

593
00:31:29,807 --> 00:31:32,487
Is that really the kind of clothes
they would have worn?

594
00:31:32,487 --> 00:31:33,967
Absolutely, yes.

595
00:31:33,967 --> 00:31:37,007
I mean, there was an advert
from the early 18th century

596
00:31:37,007 --> 00:31:38,567
describing just such clothes.

597
00:31:38,567 --> 00:31:42,727
Would have fought in a petticoat, which
wasn't an undergarment in those days.

598
00:31:42,727 --> 00:31:44,767
It was actually part
of the day-to-day attire.

599
00:31:44,767 --> 00:31:48,807
So it wouldn't have been seen as any way
being sort of frivolous or naughty.

600
00:31:48,807 --> 00:31:50,447
Peta's quite a slight woman,
isn't she?

601
00:31:50,447 --> 00:31:53,327
I'd imagined that they
would be really burly.

602
00:31:53,327 --> 00:31:55,047
Well, not really. Not in every case.

603
00:31:55,047 --> 00:31:56,527
In the same advertisement,

604
00:31:56,527 --> 00:31:58,607
the English champion was described
as being small and petite,

605
00:31:58,607 --> 00:32:02,087
whereas the Irish champion
was described as being quite burly.

606
00:32:02,087 --> 00:32:04,207
So they had different sizes,
just as they do now.

607
00:32:04,207 --> 00:32:07,647
So, we're doing
bare-knuckle fighting, are we?

608
00:32:07,647 --> 00:32:09,127
Bare-knuckle fighting, yes.

609
00:32:09,127 --> 00:32:11,327
You're wearing these because
they actually harden the fists and arms,

610
00:32:11,327 --> 00:32:13,367
and they would have been delivering
quite some powerful blows,

611
00:32:13,367 --> 00:32:15,287
and Peta's fists and arms as well,

612
00:32:15,287 --> 00:32:16,807
so it's for your own protection.

613
00:32:16,807 --> 00:32:18,647
How long would they
have gone on for?

614
00:32:18,647 --> 00:32:20,807
Well, basically, until one person
couldn't stand anymore.

615
00:32:20,807 --> 00:32:23,967
Some fights are on record
as having lasted several hours.

616
00:32:23,967 --> 00:32:26,327
Oh, great.
So, what do we do?

617
00:32:26,327 --> 00:32:28,687
Just step forward
and start throwing punches, Tony.

618
00:32:28,687 --> 00:32:30,166
Alright.

619
00:32:32,447 --> 00:32:33,927
Ooh!

620
00:32:33,927 --> 00:32:36,087
You got me on the nose then.

621
00:32:36,087 --> 00:32:39,687
So, what kind of women were they
who did this fighting?

622
00:32:39,687 --> 00:32:43,967
For the most part, working-class women
who wanted to earn some extra money.

623
00:32:43,967 --> 00:32:47,607
Market workers. There's a record
of two women having a grudge fight.

624
00:32:47,607 --> 00:32:49,607
Yeah.

625
00:32:49,607 --> 00:32:52,007
She kicked me!
She's allowed to. She's allowed to.

626
00:32:52,007 --> 00:32:54,805
She's allowed to?
Yes, it was in the rules. Yes.

627
00:32:56,767 --> 00:33:00,367
In the case of the two women,
Elizabeth Wilkinson, Hannah Highfield,

628
00:33:00,367 --> 00:33:03,167
they held half-crown coins
in their hands.

629
00:33:03,167 --> 00:33:05,767
If they dropped a coin,
that would signify the end of the fight,

630
00:33:05,767 --> 00:33:08,047
thus preventing excessive injury.

631
00:33:08,047 --> 00:33:10,402
Can I have a rest?
OK. Sit down, then.

632
00:33:12,967 --> 00:33:15,003
So, apart from the...

633
00:33:17,247 --> 00:33:19,287
...bare-knuckle business,
what else was there?

634
00:33:19,287 --> 00:33:20,927
Well, they fought with weapons -

635
00:33:20,927 --> 00:33:23,007
two-hand swords, battleaxes,
sword and dagger,

636
00:33:23,007 --> 00:33:24,967
sword and shield,
quarterstaffs, cudgels.

637
00:33:24,967 --> 00:33:26,647
They were all-round martial artists.

638
00:33:26,647 --> 00:33:28,807
They were the equivalent
of your Shaolin fighter.

639
00:33:28,807 --> 00:33:30,487
What's this thing?
Looks like something for fishing.

640
00:33:30,487 --> 00:33:32,327
(Laughs) It's actually a cudgel.

641
00:33:32,327 --> 00:33:33,967
It's a weapon in its own right,

642
00:33:33,967 --> 00:33:36,247
but also used to train
the art of sword fighting.

643
00:33:36,247 --> 00:33:38,847
And this was in simulation
of the metal hilt, to protect the hand.

644
00:33:38,847 --> 00:33:41,447
But they did actually use these...
Oh, yes. This was called a pot.

645
00:33:41,447 --> 00:33:42,926
...for their fighting?

646
00:33:47,207 --> 00:33:51,287
Did they get... very... badly... injured?

647
00:33:51,287 --> 00:33:53,287
Oh, yes,
people died on occasion,

648
00:33:53,287 --> 00:33:56,647
usually from poor medical treatment
rather than the wounds itself.

649
00:33:56,647 --> 00:33:58,287
They didn't try to kill each other.

650
00:33:58,287 --> 00:34:03,647
They actually tried to cause wounds -
cutting of muscles, arms, tendons.

651
00:34:03,647 --> 00:34:05,207
How much did they get paid?

652
00:34:05,207 --> 00:34:06,847
Well, it was difficult to say.

653
00:34:06,847 --> 00:34:08,767
The money was thrown in the ring
in appreciation,

654
00:34:08,767 --> 00:34:11,047
a bit like your modern boxers
call nobbins.

655
00:34:11,047 --> 00:34:14,007
Every time somebody scored a point,
or, rather, caused a wound,

656
00:34:14,007 --> 00:34:15,487
people threw money in the ring.

657
00:34:15,487 --> 00:34:17,167
TONY: Oh!

658
00:34:17,167 --> 00:34:19,607
So then, just then,
they'd have lobbed some in for...

659
00:34:19,607 --> 00:34:21,727
Oh, blimey! Peta!

660
00:34:21,727 --> 00:34:23,367
Stop a minute. Please.

661
00:34:23,367 --> 00:34:25,407
Ow!
Oh, nice shot.

662
00:34:25,407 --> 00:34:27,287
I'm sure she's not
supposed to do that.

663
00:34:27,287 --> 00:34:29,887
So, were there any other weapons
that they used?

664
00:34:29,887 --> 00:34:31,967
Oh, yes, they fought with
swords of different kinds, yes,

665
00:34:31,967 --> 00:34:34,327
such as this broadsword here.

666
00:34:34,327 --> 00:34:37,527
This is slightly later in period, but the
same type of thing they would have used.

667
00:34:37,527 --> 00:34:40,127
Oh, that kind of thing
must have hurt them, surely!

668
00:34:40,127 --> 00:34:43,687
Absolutely, yes. It caused
serious wounds, yes. It caused deaths.

669
00:34:43,687 --> 00:34:46,487
There was a famous fight
in the early 1720s

670
00:34:46,487 --> 00:34:49,047
between the English and Irish
fencing champions.

671
00:34:49,047 --> 00:34:51,287
In the first bout, the Irishwoman,
poor woman,

672
00:34:51,287 --> 00:34:54,367
she had a severe cut across her forehead
which required stitching up on stage.

673
00:34:54,367 --> 00:34:57,887
No anaesthetic. Needle and cotton,
glass of whisky - on she went.

674
00:34:57,887 --> 00:35:00,047
Bout two - same thing,
another wound.

675
00:35:00,047 --> 00:35:03,407
Stitched up on stage again.
Another glass of whisky. On she went.

676
00:35:03,407 --> 00:35:05,727
The third wound,
right across the neck and throat,

677
00:35:05,727 --> 00:35:07,687
was so bad,
she obviously couldn't fight on.

678
00:35:07,687 --> 00:35:10,247
She didn't die,
but she couldn't fight on.

679
00:35:10,247 --> 00:35:12,327
Took her share of the money
and went home.

680
00:35:12,327 --> 00:35:14,647
And this is what I've got to do now?
Yes. Absolutely.

681
00:35:14,647 --> 00:35:16,239
Right.

682
00:35:18,847 --> 00:35:20,519
Hang on, Peta.

683
00:35:21,607 --> 00:35:24,247
(Terry laughs)

684
00:35:24,247 --> 00:35:27,159
I'd have slaughtered her.
It would have just been horrible.

685
00:35:32,007 --> 00:35:34,967
But after the fight was over
and the bars were closed,

686
00:35:34,967 --> 00:35:37,087
you still had to get home.

687
00:35:37,087 --> 00:35:40,927
And there was no street lighting
in the dangerous back streets.

688
00:35:40,927 --> 00:35:43,127
And the rule of thumb in
Worst Jobs in History

689
00:35:43,127 --> 00:35:47,087
is that when there's a job that's so awful
no-one in their right mind will do it,

690
00:35:47,087 --> 00:35:49,247
you get a small child.

691
00:35:49,247 --> 00:35:53,287
So when the city gents decided
that they needed to be escorted home

692
00:35:53,287 --> 00:35:56,567
by someone acting
like a mobile street lamp,

693
00:35:56,567 --> 00:35:58,047
who did they choose?

694
00:35:58,047 --> 00:35:59,527
A little boy.

695
00:35:59,527 --> 00:36:03,727
These children were called 'link boys',
and in cities like Edinburgh,

696
00:36:03,727 --> 00:36:08,607
they guided people home
with their flaming torches, called links.

697
00:36:08,607 --> 00:36:11,127
So, why was it such a bad job?

698
00:36:11,127 --> 00:36:12,847
Let's imagine
these streets at night.

699
00:36:12,847 --> 00:36:15,967
There were no toilets,
and at 10 o'clock at night,

700
00:36:15,967 --> 00:36:19,447
you were allowed to throw all the waste
out these windows.

701
00:36:19,447 --> 00:36:24,807
Down it came, onto the cobbles
of the closes, down the walls,

702
00:36:24,807 --> 00:36:27,327
and these poor kids had to
walk through in their bare feet

703
00:36:27,327 --> 00:36:29,287
in these disgusting conditions,

704
00:36:29,287 --> 00:36:34,727
either escorting gentlemen walking
or perhaps ladies in sedan chairs.

705
00:36:34,727 --> 00:36:39,247
And, presumably, these boys
had no idea who the men were?

706
00:36:39,247 --> 00:36:41,167
Ah, no. Indeed, that was
another danger.

707
00:36:41,167 --> 00:36:43,807
They could be drunk,
they could be obstreperous,

708
00:36:43,807 --> 00:36:45,687
but they could also be dangerous.

709
00:36:45,687 --> 00:36:47,647
I mean, uh...

710
00:36:47,647 --> 00:36:51,647
...older men preying on young boys,
you know, in the dark, late at night.

711
00:36:51,647 --> 00:36:53,607
These boys, also,
were very poor

712
00:36:53,607 --> 00:36:55,647
and probably could be tempted
by a few pennies.

713
00:36:55,647 --> 00:37:00,880
So, yes, indeed, it was
a very dangerous job from that angle.

714
00:37:03,207 --> 00:37:06,327
Was there much work for these lads?
Oh, yes.

715
00:37:06,327 --> 00:37:11,167
Although Edinburgh can be a cold, windy
city, a lot of activity took place outdoors.

716
00:37:11,167 --> 00:37:16,407
In Edinburgh, there were lots of coffee
shops, alehouses, houses of ill-repute,

717
00:37:16,407 --> 00:37:19,847
and just around here, of course,
is the old Assembly Rooms,

718
00:37:19,847 --> 00:37:24,407
where the aristocrats
came to dance and socialise.

719
00:37:24,407 --> 00:37:28,878
And the link boys, of course, would stand
outside these places looking for work.

720
00:37:32,967 --> 00:37:35,567
So these boys must have been
quite a fixture of the city.

721
00:37:35,567 --> 00:37:38,687
Oh, yes.
Visitors to the city noted them.

722
00:37:38,687 --> 00:37:41,767
For instance,
the poet Robert Burns stayed here.

723
00:37:41,767 --> 00:37:45,407
He says about the link boys
in one of his poems,

724
00:37:45,407 --> 00:37:49,247
"Whose flambeaus flash
against the morning skies

725
00:37:49,247 --> 00:37:52,047
"and gild the ceilings
of our chambers."

726
00:37:52,047 --> 00:37:53,847
How much would a link boy
have earned?

727
00:37:53,847 --> 00:37:56,567
Oh, very little.
Just a penny or two.

728
00:37:56,567 --> 00:37:59,207
And, you know, the sad thing is
that sometimes they had to beg

729
00:37:59,207 --> 00:38:03,687
to actually get the money
to buy the links, of course,

730
00:38:03,687 --> 00:38:06,807
so that they could
work in the evening.

731
00:38:06,807 --> 00:38:09,047
So they would be tired,
they'd be covered in filth,

732
00:38:09,047 --> 00:38:10,807
they ran the risk
of being assaulted,

733
00:38:10,807 --> 00:38:13,247
and at the end of the day,
they earned a penny?

734
00:38:13,247 --> 00:38:14,839
That's it.

735
00:38:21,407 --> 00:38:24,247
But it wasn't just kids
who did the worst jobs.

736
00:38:24,247 --> 00:38:27,207
Urban Britain has been built
on immigrant labour.

737
00:38:27,207 --> 00:38:30,882
Before the Asians there were Jews,
before them, the Irish, and so on.

738
00:38:32,047 --> 00:38:34,607
They arrive with nothing
and start at the bottom,

739
00:38:34,607 --> 00:38:38,847
ironically, often in the fashion industry,
making clothes for the very rich,

740
00:38:38,847 --> 00:38:41,447
like the fur processors,

741
00:38:41,447 --> 00:38:46,123
who softened pelts for the haute couture
of Jane Austen's London.

742
00:38:50,607 --> 00:38:54,247
Vest and pants.
You're probably thinking, "Tub of lard."

743
00:38:54,247 --> 00:38:56,367
And you'd be absolutely right

744
00:38:56,367 --> 00:39:00,767
because lard, or tallow,
as they used in those days,

745
00:39:00,767 --> 00:39:04,687
was central to my next worst job,
which is fur processing,

746
00:39:04,687 --> 00:39:09,807
which was done in the late
18th and 19th century by immigrants,

747
00:39:09,807 --> 00:39:12,287
mainly German Jews.

748
00:39:12,287 --> 00:39:16,367
What they did was
that they got bits of fur

749
00:39:16,367 --> 00:39:20,367
and turned them
so that the skin-side was uppermost,

750
00:39:20,367 --> 00:39:28,007
and then they would put the tallow on
them, like a very thick marge sandwich.

751
00:39:28,007 --> 00:39:29,607
(Groans)

752
00:39:29,607 --> 00:39:31,207
There we go.

753
00:39:31,207 --> 00:39:36,807
Fold it in two, put it into the barrel,

754
00:39:36,807 --> 00:39:42,207
and then you just jumped into the barrel
and started treading.

755
00:39:42,207 --> 00:39:46,327
And you trod for hour
after hour after hour.

756
00:39:46,327 --> 00:39:53,607
Imagine a room, a basement, like this,
full of blokes in barrels,

757
00:39:53,607 --> 00:39:55,487
treading in their underclothes.

758
00:39:55,487 --> 00:39:57,607
Some of them were actually naked,

759
00:39:57,607 --> 00:40:00,647
because it got incredibly hot
in these places.

760
00:40:00,647 --> 00:40:02,567
Partly, they had to
keep the temperature up

761
00:40:02,567 --> 00:40:06,287
so that the tallow would mix
with the fur properly,

762
00:40:06,287 --> 00:40:11,247
but also, just the sheer effort
of the exercise made you sweat.

763
00:40:11,247 --> 00:40:16,607
In fact, there was a German countess
who came into a place like this

764
00:40:16,607 --> 00:40:20,807
and was confronted by all these blokes
dripping with sweat -

765
00:40:20,807 --> 00:40:23,207
so much sweat, in fact,
that she thought

766
00:40:23,207 --> 00:40:28,647
that the perspiration itself
was the thing that made the fur soft.

767
00:40:28,647 --> 00:40:32,276
No wonder they called these places
sweat shops.

768
00:40:43,007 --> 00:40:47,762
The smell of semi-putrefied skins and
sweat would have been overpowering.

769
00:40:53,927 --> 00:40:57,327
Try jogging for eight hours
on a treadmill at your gym

770
00:40:57,327 --> 00:41:00,603
and you'll see just what it took
to create high fashion.

771
00:41:06,607 --> 00:41:09,167
Well, I think that's enough for me.

772
00:41:09,167 --> 00:41:13,487
But, amazingly, these Germans
didn't have the worst job in the city.

773
00:41:13,487 --> 00:41:17,878
That job was reserved
for some Italians.

774
00:41:19,967 --> 00:41:21,807
I've been looking at the worst jobs

775
00:41:21,807 --> 00:41:24,607
which make our towns and cities
what they are.

776
00:41:24,607 --> 00:41:27,644
But which is the worst job of all?

777
00:41:28,647 --> 00:41:34,127
Being a human tap was hard work,
but a lot cleaner than some jobs.

778
00:41:34,127 --> 00:41:38,917
Pure collecting was certainly the smelliest,
but could earn you a fair wage.

779
00:41:40,007 --> 00:41:45,007
And the risky job of fireman at least had
hero status right from the beginning.

780
00:41:45,007 --> 00:41:50,047
No, for me, the very worst job
was a tedious, sticky, painful task

781
00:41:50,047 --> 00:41:53,807
which was done by Italian immigrants
in the 19th century.

782
00:41:53,807 --> 00:41:55,967
This was their tool of choice.

783
00:41:55,967 --> 00:41:57,607
It's called a punner.

784
00:41:57,607 --> 00:42:00,647
It may not look much,
but it weighs about 5kg.

785
00:42:00,647 --> 00:42:02,647
So you wouldn't want
to lug this about all day.

786
00:42:02,647 --> 00:42:06,287
Nevertheless, carrying this
was the least unpleasant part

787
00:42:06,287 --> 00:42:12,087
of the deeply revolting Italian job
of being an asphalt paviour.

788
00:42:12,087 --> 00:42:14,887
Until the 19th century,

789
00:42:14,887 --> 00:42:18,407
our city's roads were cobbles
or compacted stones.

790
00:42:18,407 --> 00:42:22,207
Perfect for cartwheels,
but terrible for tyres.

791
00:42:22,207 --> 00:42:27,767
City transport as we know it depended
on the invention of asphalt roads.

792
00:42:27,767 --> 00:42:33,007
It allowed bicycles, cars,
taxis and buses to move freely.

793
00:42:33,007 --> 00:42:37,007
The first asphalt road in Britain
was laid in 1871.

794
00:42:37,007 --> 00:42:41,247
It was a marvel, but it was only made
on the sweat and pain

795
00:42:41,247 --> 00:42:43,607
of the asphalt paviours who built it.

796
00:42:43,607 --> 00:42:45,887
What did they use
these things for, Dave?

797
00:42:45,887 --> 00:42:50,007
Well, the asphalt itself was poured out
as a molten substance,

798
00:42:50,007 --> 00:42:53,047
and then to compress
and to compact the asphalt,

799
00:42:53,047 --> 00:42:57,167
the workers would use these punners
to hammer it down.

800
00:42:57,167 --> 00:42:59,207
Why has yours gone into a stove?

801
00:42:59,207 --> 00:43:02,007
Because the punners also had to be
heated before they could be used.

802
00:43:02,007 --> 00:43:03,487
How hot's that?

803
00:43:03,487 --> 00:43:05,717
I can give you an idea.
If we put it in here...

804
00:43:07,767 --> 00:43:10,207
So it's seriously hot.
Seriously hot.

805
00:43:10,207 --> 00:43:13,567
So once the stuff had been laid,
what did the guys actually do?

806
00:43:13,567 --> 00:43:17,687
They would pummel it down
until you had a flat surface.

807
00:43:17,687 --> 00:43:20,127
But this is really hot stuff.
How did they get near it?

808
00:43:20,127 --> 00:43:21,727
They would have to walk on it.

809
00:43:21,727 --> 00:43:23,567
In what?

810
00:43:23,567 --> 00:43:26,287
Well, this is the extra twist
to the job.

811
00:43:26,287 --> 00:43:29,407
Because all the contemporary accounts
emphasise the fact

812
00:43:29,407 --> 00:43:32,567
that not only did workers have to
walk on the asphalt to pummel it down,

813
00:43:32,567 --> 00:43:36,807
but in order not to injure the asphalt,
as the contemporary accounts put it,

814
00:43:36,807 --> 00:43:40,367
they had to do this
while not wearing boots.

815
00:43:40,367 --> 00:43:42,967
This is an Indian fakir's job, isn't it?
It is.

816
00:43:42,967 --> 00:43:45,967
And this is what I've got to do now?
It most certainly is.

817
00:43:45,967 --> 00:43:47,559
I'd better heat this thing up first.

818
00:43:50,927 --> 00:43:54,920
I'm really not looking forward to this.
I'll go and get my clobber on.

819
00:44:01,607 --> 00:44:03,807
In order to build a modern road,

820
00:44:03,807 --> 00:44:06,807
the asphalt has to be heated
to over 150 degrees

821
00:44:06,807 --> 00:44:09,924
so that it can be worked
into a smooth surface.

822
00:44:11,887 --> 00:44:14,327
Now we've got machines
to cope with the heat,

823
00:44:14,327 --> 00:44:16,247
but back in the 19th century,

824
00:44:16,247 --> 00:44:20,207
it had to be laid and worked
by hand, or, rather, foot.

825
00:44:20,207 --> 00:44:25,327
So there's just this
between me and first-degree burns.

826
00:44:25,327 --> 00:44:27,607
Yeah, we've got accounts
from Charles Booth,

827
00:44:27,607 --> 00:44:29,767
the great chronicler
of the late-19th-century poor,

828
00:44:29,767 --> 00:44:31,247
and others,

829
00:44:31,247 --> 00:44:34,567
to attest to the fact that those
laying the asphalt wore slippers.

830
00:44:34,567 --> 00:44:36,127
It's bizarre, isn't it?

831
00:44:36,127 --> 00:44:37,967
Shall I get some
of this stuff out, then?

832
00:44:37,967 --> 00:44:39,447
I can hardly walk in these things.

833
00:44:39,447 --> 00:44:42,127
And rake it out of here.
And rake it out.

834
00:44:42,127 --> 00:44:43,606
OK.

835
00:44:45,687 --> 00:44:49,807
In front of me was a truck
with over four tonnes of asphalt,

836
00:44:49,807 --> 00:44:51,807
heated up to 160 degrees Centigrade.

837
00:44:51,807 --> 00:44:54,007
Ow! Blimey!

838
00:44:54,007 --> 00:44:56,237
Oh! It's like little pinpricks.

839
00:44:58,047 --> 00:45:02,207
Working on the asphalt was so bad
that English workers refused to do it,

840
00:45:02,207 --> 00:45:06,447
claiming folk from the Mediterranean
had naturally harder feet.

841
00:45:06,447 --> 00:45:08,247
I start in the middle?

842
00:45:08,247 --> 00:45:10,636
Yep. Start in the middle
and work out.

843
00:45:12,967 --> 00:45:14,559
Doesn't feel too bad.

844
00:45:18,727 --> 00:45:21,567
It's getting warm.
It's getting warm.

845
00:45:21,567 --> 00:45:23,247
(Chuckles)

846
00:45:23,247 --> 00:45:27,445
I can't concentrate on the pounding.
I'm just worried about my feet.

847
00:45:31,247 --> 00:45:34,487
It's a very weird sensation,
'cause it's starting to get hotter,

848
00:45:34,487 --> 00:45:37,524
but I just don't know how hot
it's gonna get.

849
00:45:40,087 --> 00:45:43,687
Do you know what,
I'm slightly apprehensive about...

850
00:45:43,687 --> 00:45:45,247
...these slippers, which...

851
00:45:45,247 --> 00:45:46,967
God almighty, I'm getting off here.

852
00:45:46,967 --> 00:45:48,847
(David laughs)

853
00:45:48,847 --> 00:45:51,007
It suddenly shoots up.

854
00:45:51,007 --> 00:45:52,807
Right, back.

855
00:45:52,807 --> 00:45:55,241
Oh, God!
(CAR HORN HONKS)

856
00:45:56,607 --> 00:45:58,527
Oh! I got some in...

857
00:45:58,527 --> 00:46:00,245
(Groans)

858
00:46:01,967 --> 00:46:03,446
Yow.

859
00:46:06,167 --> 00:46:09,204
I got that in... in the slipper.

860
00:46:10,407 --> 00:46:14,087
And let's see the state of those,
underneath.

861
00:46:14,087 --> 00:46:16,047
Right.

862
00:46:16,047 --> 00:46:19,607
In contrast to their
blistering work on the roads,

863
00:46:19,607 --> 00:46:22,327
the Italians also sold ice-cream
on their days off.

864
00:46:22,327 --> 00:46:25,127
Like most immigrants,
they saw their worst jobs

865
00:46:25,127 --> 00:46:27,807
as a stepping stone
to greater things.

866
00:46:27,807 --> 00:46:32,567
One, Signor Geradani, ended up
owning his own asphalt company.

867
00:46:32,567 --> 00:46:35,687
I've been going... I must have
been going for about five minutes,

868
00:46:35,687 --> 00:46:38,207
and it's completely useless.

869
00:46:38,207 --> 00:46:44,007
Apart from anything else, the level
of the pounder keeps altering all the time,

870
00:46:44,007 --> 00:46:47,687
and because my feet get so hot,
I keep running through the damn stuff.

871
00:46:47,687 --> 00:46:52,247
Losing skin was agony,
but to add insult to injury,

872
00:46:52,247 --> 00:46:56,127
the Italians were actually paid less
than their English workmates.

873
00:46:56,127 --> 00:46:59,007
I tell you what the real problem is.

874
00:46:59,007 --> 00:47:01,407
When you first start,
your shoes are really cold,

875
00:47:01,407 --> 00:47:04,207
and they take some time
to warm up.

876
00:47:04,207 --> 00:47:06,487
Look, see all that stuff on me here.

877
00:47:06,487 --> 00:47:08,487
Can you see? All that... that...

878
00:47:08,487 --> 00:47:11,445
It's all really burning...

879
00:47:12,647 --> 00:47:14,407
...burning into me.

880
00:47:14,407 --> 00:47:17,247
As you continue doing it,

881
00:47:17,247 --> 00:47:19,687
your shoes get hotter and hotter,

882
00:47:19,687 --> 00:47:22,287
so you've got
no cooling-down time.

883
00:47:22,287 --> 00:47:24,247
I've got blisters. Can you see?

884
00:47:24,247 --> 00:47:26,647
That's gonna be a zonking great blister
tomorrow.

885
00:47:26,647 --> 00:47:29,798
I've got tiny little burn marks...

886
00:47:31,367 --> 00:47:32,887
...all over the bottom of my feet.

887
00:47:32,887 --> 00:47:34,367
I haven't even st...

888
00:47:34,367 --> 00:47:36,767
Look at the sole of that foot there.

889
00:47:36,767 --> 00:47:42,087
I've sacrificed my sole
for the British road system.

890
00:47:42,087 --> 00:47:45,727
Oh, that's actually
burnt the skin off there.

891
00:47:45,727 --> 00:47:50,887
But if you think that this job's bad,
believe me,

892
00:47:50,887 --> 00:47:54,118
there are plenty more
worst jobs in history.

893
00:47:58,447 --> 00:48:00,727
Next time, I'll find out
what women with cricket bats

894
00:48:00,727 --> 00:48:03,287
had to do with the king's love life,

895
00:48:03,287 --> 00:48:07,167
how being a royal messenger
could be a painful business,

896
00:48:07,167 --> 00:48:11,447
and why the very symbol of monarchy
meant mushing up rotten shellfish.

897
00:48:11,447 --> 00:48:13,438
Phwoa! (Coughs)