Available online
Description
Presenter Liz McIvor tells the story of the people who operated the canal boats, carrying fuel and goods around the country. Conditions were tough, days were long. Victorian society began to grow s...uspicious of these 'outsiders' and they gained reputations for criminality, violence and drinking. But was this reputation really deserved? Liz discovers grisly canal crimes, investigates health and welfare onboard working boats, and looks at why canal children were last on the list to be offered safeguards and formal education. The Victorians eventually championed the needs of children who were forced to labour in factories and mines, but the boat children were often ignored. Liz discovers the campaigners who set out to tackle this injustice, including George Smith of Coalville, Leicestershire, and Sister Mary Ward of Stoke Bruerne.
Presenter Liz McIvor tells the story of the people who operated the canal boats, carrying fuel and goods around the country. Conditions were tough, days were long. Victorian society began to grow s...uspicious of these 'outsiders' and they gained reputations for criminality, violence and drinking. But was this reputation really deserved? Liz discovers grisly canal crimes, investigates health and welfare onboard working boats, and looks at why canal children were last on the list to be offered safeguards and formal education. The Victorians eventually championed the needs of children who were forced to labour in factories and mines, but the boat children were often ignored. Liz discovers the campaigners who set out to tackle this injustice, including George Smith of Coalville, Leicestershire, and Sister Mary Ward of Stoke Bruerne.
| Series: | Canals: the making of a nation |
|---|---|
| Episode | 5 |
| Published: | 2015 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:29:00 |
| Note: | BBC One version |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Andy Richards |
| Contributor: | Liz McIvor |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Link to related site: | BBC One website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b068c3zh |
| Subject terms: | Canals--Great Britain--Design and construction--History; Canal construction workers--Great Britain--History; Child labour--Great Britain--History; Inland navigation--England--History; Narrowboats |
| Production number: | FKIC346T |
| Available to public: | no |
