The Real Mill with Tony Robinson

Beginning (1x1)

Air date: Aug 24, 2014

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 explores how the mill's visionary founder, Samuel Greg, offered this workforce an extraordinary deal. In exchange for their labour, he provided a factory community, with houses, a church, a school, 'adult education' classes and a shop. But Tony discovers how this close relationship between employer and worker came under pressure when one young girl began to question the system.