Victorian Pharmacy Episode 2 - TV Thursday

For this week’s TV Thursday we are back on High Street (that’s the British version of “Main Street”) to spend some time at the Victorian Pharmacy.

If you didn’t catch it, make sure you watch Victorian Pharmacy Episode 1. This 4 episode series is by the makers of the Wartime Farm series andfeatures Ruth Goodman as the domestic/lifestyle specialist along with pharmacy professor Nick Barber and doctorate student Tom Quick as the pharmacy experts.

Each of the 4 episodes sort of “takes place” in a different time period of the Victorian era and covers some of the changing social, medical, and commercial aspects of the pharmacy. This week the team is in the 1850’s and 60’s. England at that time was quite industrial and cities and towns had become crowded and unsanitary. There were many outbreaks of disease caused by “bad air” or “miasma”. The medical “miracles” of the time were various “Cure-alls”, so the team tries their hand at making one (without any of the dangerous ingredients like mercury or opium that may have been used at the time of course)–to includes hand making the pills. Veterinary health was another sideline for most pharmacies, and germs are discovered in this time frame, so disinfectants become popular, and a huge product line for the pharmacy.