Blast from the past
Steph McGovern travels the country to re-create great British products from history
We live in the age of technology, yet recently there has been a revival of traditional craft techniques, from artisan baking to knitting.
Many products have a long and rich history, but some disappeared with the advances of time – along with the skills needed to make them.
Immersive
In a new six-part series, the BBC’s Breakfast business reporter Steph McGovern tasks four modern craftspeople with making things that haven’t been produced for centuries.
‘Charlton is a chef, Katie a blacksmith, Claire a potter and Jason a leatherworker. Each week we look at the origins of a particular product and see if our craftspeople can make them as they would have been made in a different era,’ explains Steph. ‘It’s living history. They experience what life would have been like, how much they’d have been paid and the food they had for lunch.’
One of the more challenging tasks sees the team head to Sheffield, where they attempt to manufacture a scythe in a traditional forge, involving blazing hot fires and dangerous grinding machines. They then jump forward in time to find out about life in a Victorian factory mass-producing cutlery.
Fascinating
Other episodes find the group diving into York’s rich chocolate history and grappling with the changes in British cheese production through the years.
‘The history of some of our most important products is fascinating,’ says Steph, 36, who also co-hosts Shop Well for Less with Alex Jones. ‘I’ve learnt so much. The series has loads of, “Wow, I didn’t realise
that!” moments.’