The Real Mill: The Private Life of the Industrial Revolution

Tony and social historian Professor Emma Griffin discover who the Quarry Bank mill workers were and where they came from. They included orphan children who were legally bound to work at the mill, and adult workers who trekked hundreds of miles from the deprived south of England to secure work.

Tony Robinson and Professor Emma Griffin discover how, as industrialisation transformed Britain, workers across the country joined together to fight for their rights. By the 1810s, steam engines were powering factories as never before, and Quarry Bank was no exception. But the steam-fuelled industrial boom had a tumultuous effect on the social fabric of the nation.