5: How to be a Victorian | 1900s House

Duration:

Synopsis

After four weeks of the drudgery of a Victorian level of housework, Joyce comes up with a 1900 solution: finding a servant to do the dirty work, as most women in her position would have done a hundred years ago.

Further Information

More clips from 1900s House

1: The Time Machine | 1900s House

1: The Time Machine | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

We go behind-the scenes to find out how an ordinary terraced house in the shadow of the Millennium Dome was transformed into a time machine...

10: A Year to Remember | 1900s House

10: A Year to Remember | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

The Bowlers reflect on the highs, lows and unforgettable moments of their three month living-history experiment.

2: Time Travellers | 1900s House

2: Time Travellers | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

In Somerset, the Bowlers indulge in a last supper of junk food before saying goodbye to the 20th Century and hello to life in the year 1900.

3: A Rude Awakening | 1900s House

3: A Rude Awakening | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

The Bowlers wake up to their first morning in the 1900 house. There is no water, potties need emptying and the milk has gone off. The dream...

4: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness | 1900s House

4: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

It is a week since the Bowlers began their time travel experience. But no-one has had a decent bath. The range cooker, whic...

6: Upstairs / Downstairs | 1900s House

6: Upstairs / Downstairs | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

A newcomer arrives at the house as Elizabeth, their new "maid of all work' starts domestic service. Scrubbing,washing,ironing,carpet b...

7: Women's Liberation | 1900s House

7: Women's Liberation | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

The arrival of the maid has given Joyce the freedom to investigate the history of the suffragette movement. But the more she learns about...

8: The Good Old Days | 1900s House

8: The Good Old Days | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

A night out at a Music Hall is a great success but proves a rude introduction to the seedy world of Victorian London.

9: Back to the Future | 1900s House

9: Back to the Future | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

After three months of living in the past, the Bowlers' Victorian odyssey is coming to an end. Before they leave, they decide to throw a p...

More resources about Urbanisation and social reform

1: Britain's Moral Makeover | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

1: Britain's Moral Makeover | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'24''

Ian Hislop salutes the unsung heroes of Victorian Britain who improved cities, housing and working condition...

1: Painting the Town | The Victorians

1: Painting the Town | The Victorians

BBC One | 2009 | 59'20''

Jeremy Paxman begins his exploration into Victorian Britain by investigating the most dramatic event of the age - the explosion of grea...

2: Home Sweet Home | The Victorians

2: Home Sweet Home | The Victorians

BBC One | 2009 | 58'17''

Jeremy Paxman continues his exploration of the Victorian world by entering the Victorian home, a haven of order. But he soon discovers al...

2: Suffer the Little Children | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

2: Suffer the Little Children | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'18''

Ian Hislop celebrates the dynamic and eccentric Victorian reformers who brought about the most remarkable ...

2: Time Travellers | 1900s House

2: Time Travellers | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

In Somerset, the Bowlers indulge in a last supper of junk food before saying goodbye to the 20th Century and hello to life in the year 1900.

3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'13''

The perils of booze and sex are the focus for the final episode of Ian Hislop's series about Victorian ref...

3: The Circus | Britain's Best Buildings

3: The Circus | Britain's Best Buildings

BBC Parliament | 2017 | 58'36''

This edition visits the Circus, a perfect circle of palatial terraced houses in the centre of Regency Bath.

4: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness | 1900s House

4: Cleanliness is Next to Godliness | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

It is a week since the Bowlers began their time travel experience. But no-one has had a decent bath. The range cooker, whic...

4: Dreams and Nightmares | The Victorians

4: Dreams and Nightmares | The Victorians

BBC One | 2009 | 58'31''

Jeremy Paxman discovers how, during the dying years of Victoria's reign, artists led a revolt against Victorian values of money and...

5: Fire at York | Cathedral

5: Fire at York | Cathedral

BBC Two | 2005 | 58'19''

Documentary drama series that reconstructs momentous events that shaped the building of Britain's cathedrals. Today, the story of York Minster Ca...

8: The Good Old Days | 1900s House

8: The Good Old Days | 1900s House

Channel 4 | 1999

A night out at a Music Hall is a great success but proves a rude introduction to the seedy world of Victorian London.

Divorce in Victorian Britain | A House Through Time

Divorce in Victorian Britain | A House Through Time

BBC Two | 2018 | 6'03''

David Olusoga investigates divorce in Victorian Britain, through the case of a resident of 62 Falkner Street who tried to...

Episode 2 | Full Steam Ahead

Episode 2 | Full Steam Ahead

BBC Two | 2016 | 59'07''

This episode looks at how railways began to move people, rather than just goods, around the country.

Episode 3 | Full Steam Ahead

Episode 3 | Full Steam Ahead

BBC Two | 2016 | 59'14''

Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn find out how railways transformed the British diet.

Episode 4 | 24 Hours in the Past

Episode 4 | 24 Hours in the Past

BBC One | 2015 | 57'59''

Six celebrities work in four Victorian workplaces. The six celebrities spend their final 24 hours in the workhouse.

Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts

Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts

BBC Radio 4 | 2001 | 27'08''

An ear of corn is at the heart of the second programme in the daily series. Ian Hislop charts an Act tha...

S2E1: The Church in Danger | The Battle for Britain's Soul

S2E1: The Church in Danger | The Battle for Britain's Soul

BBC Two | 2005 | 58'58''

The 18th century was a time of great upheaval, with forces old and new poised to attack the established Protestant...

S2E2: Power to the People | The Battle for Britain's Soul

S2E2: Power to the People | The Battle for Britain's Soul

BBC Two | 2005 | 59'04''

The Rev Peter Owen-Jones explains how Victorian Britain marked a real turning point in religion, as a growing numbe...

S3E2 | A House Through Time

S3E2 | A House Through Time

BBC Two | 2020 | 58'55''

David Olusoga traces the house's fortunes from the late 18th to the mid-19th century, discovering tales of scandal, domestic violence and the asy...

S7E9: The Great Fog | Secret History

S7E9: The Great Fog | Secret History

Channel 4 | 1999 | 50'15''

A report on how the government ignored warnings for over 80 years that the thick fogs which once loomed over London would eventually cau...