Culture

Victorian Slum House

"Victorian Slum House" takes viewers back to the British slums of the 1800s, where a group of modern-day families, couples, and individuals recreate life in London's East End, just as their forbearers once lived between 1860-1900.

The 1900s

53m 39s

Observe the social changes the slum dwellers face as they move into the 20th century. A few families prosper, but others continue to face the poverty endemic in Britain. See what steps are finally taken to alleviate the plight of the poor.

Episodes

  • The 1900s: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The 1900s

    S1 E5 - 53m 39s

    Observe the social changes the slum dwellers face as they move into the 20th century. A few families prosper, but others continue to face the poverty endemic in Britain. See what steps are finally taken to alleviate the plight of the poor.

  • The 1890s: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The 1890s

    S1 E4 - 54m 12s

    Enter the 1890s, when mass manufacturing and social reform offer a bit of hope for some of the residents, while others are plagued by a water shortage that dashes hopes for a promising laundry business.

  • The 1880s: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The 1880s

    S1 E3 - 54m 10s

    Despite high unemployment and intolerable conditions, people flock to London, desperate for work. When curious upper-class visitors are permitted to visit the slum as tourists, the participants realize how precarious their situation truly is.

  • The 1870s: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The 1870s

    S1 E2 - 54m 9s

    Witness a dire economic depression heightened by the arrival of Irish migrants seeking work. Daily, the slum dwellers toil to fulfill clothing orders and make artificial flowers for factories. Some won’t be able to settle their debts.

  • The 1860s: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The 1860s

    S1 E1 - 54m 10s

    Follow participants as they move into an 1860s tenement made up of sparse rooms, a shared water pump and outhouses. They seek to make a living by matchbox making, wood turning and the rag trade, work once done by their impoverished forebears.

Extras + Features

  • The Hardships of the Rag Trade: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Hardships of the Rag Trade

    S1 E1 - 1m 27s

    Tailor Russell and his family get to grips with the Victorian rag trade. Andy meanwhile discovers just how hard Victorian slum dwellers worked.

  • Preparing for Market Day: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Preparing for Market Day

    S1 E1 - 1m 45s

    As the Howarths finish their wares for market day, Mandy feels close to her own ancestors and is moved by what they must have gone through.

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